The Yorkshire Vet's Matt Jackson-Smith announces baby news as he details past heartbreak
The Yorkshire Vet star Matt Jackson-Smith has shared his joy after baby daughter Anastasia arrived last month, just a day before his birthday, and opened up about the heartache of losing a baby before.
Matt Jackson-Smith has shared the agony and "shock" he experienced when wife Katherine miscarried their child, but revealed that she became pregnant again just six weeks later, and that their little girl was "the best" birthday gift ever.
The Yorkshire Vet star was initially traumatised over their loss, but after talking to family and friends and realising how "common" the couple's harrowing miscarriage experience could be, Matt felt "comfort" and the pair resolved to "carry on trying".
"The moment she showed me the [positive] pregnancy test [six weeks later], we knew life was about to massively change," the 34-year-old veterinary expert exclaimed.
"There's only been a few times in my life when I was speechless - that moment and when Anastasia was born."
Sure enough, Matt regarded his little bundle as "the best present ever" when she was finally born via planned C-section on October 25 - and Katherine joked that her right on time arrival meant she hadn't needed to buy her husband any birthday gifts.
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Despite admitting on Instagram he's already been "peed, pooed and vomitted on", Matt can't stop smiling.
He's going despite his status as expert vet, Anastasia joked that Matt had previously been more accustomed to looking after reptiles at home than kids.
In the past, she'd even become frustrated over not being able to leave dogs alone for more than a few hours - but now he is a hands-on dad.
Talking to OK! magazine, Matt revealed that coping with being a first time parent is all about "teamwork" - and that he's learnt how to "survive on four or five hours of sleep".
Matt is responsible for staying awake until 1am for feeds, and then he gets a gruelling early start again the next morning.
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"Cold showers, though, wow! They’re revolutionary for waking you up!" he joked.
The Channel 5 star had given his best shot at trying to guess the baby's gender before its birth, believing that his experience scanning "cows and dogs when they're pregnant" might be helpful.
However, he couldn't resist a sneak peek when it came to the 20 week scan at the ultrasonographer's office.
"She told us to close our eyes when she got to that part, and Katherine asked, 'Is he closing his?' She landed me in it, though, and said, 'He’s at it, he b****y well isn’t,'" he joked.
Meanwhile, Matt has revealed his ambitions for his daughter to follow in his footsteps and become a vet herself.
He's vowed that as soon as his little one is old enough, she'll "have her overalls on" - and that she might even make an appearance on an upcoming TV series that he's in the midst of filming.
However, he's unsure if he wants to expand his family further.
"We’ve got our hands full just now. This bundle of joy and chaos is more than enough," the delighted, but exhausted, new dad confessed.
