Family welcome newborn baby girl into world - after being told to expect a boy

 
Unexpected: Baby Lola in her blue rugby baby grow
Forde Family Collect
Josh Pettitt19 May 2015

Baby Harry’s nursery had been painted blue, his father had bought a rugby team baby-grow and was already imagining his son running out for his local club in south west London.

It wasn’t until a whole half an hour after the chaotic homebirth of his first-born that Steve Forde realised that baby Harry was in fact – a girl.

At 16 weeks into the pregnancy, Mr Forde and his wife Shelley, 31, paid £79 for a gender screening at Ultrasound Direct Twickenham.

The private clinic promises a 99 per cent accuracy rate and the sonographer informed them a baby boy was on the way.

Steve Forde, with his wife Shelley and their daughter Lola
Forde Family Collect

The young couple, from Esher, spent hundreds of pounds decorating the nursery, buying a wardrobe of boys’ clothes including a Harlequins rugby club baby-grow, and argued for three months over his name – eventually settling on Harry.

The Forde family spent hundreds of pound decorating their nursery blue
Forde Family Collect

Two weeks before her due date, Mrs Forde’s waters broke and she gave birth on her dining room floor, surrounded by nervous paramedics, the previous week’s bin bags and cat food.

The family had settled on the name Harry
Forde Family Collect

Mr Forde, 34, an IT consultant, said: “Shelley did amazingly and after a bit of wiping down what I thought was Harry was straight into my arms, wrapped up. Obviously the focus was on Shelley at that point and I didn’t even think to check the gender because we had been told it was a boy.

The Fordes' decorated nursery
Forde Family Collect

“So I was calling the baby Harry and I had half an hour having that Simba moment from the Lion King, the Circle of Life playing in my mind and couldn’t believe my luck.

“It was only when the midwives arrived and started taking charge of things that I realised my mistake. One of them put Harry on the scales and just said, ‘This is a girl’. I was on the other side of the room and just remember this strong adamant feeling of, ‘No this is a boy. Who are these people, calling him a girl?!

“When I eventually took a look I was just in shock and Shelley and I just stared at each other for a good 60 seconds.

“It do feel like Harry existed, albeit briefly. I was looking forward to my son getting into rugby, so it was quite strange when suddenly he didn’t exist anymore.

“But I am 110 per cent grateful for our baby girl and happy with the way things panned out in the end. I guess we’re just that one per cent where they get the gender scan wrong.”

Lola was born on February 16, weighing 6lbs 5oz
Forde Family Collect

The couple quickly settled on the name Lola for their baby girl, born on February 16, weighing 6lbs 5oz. Friends and relatives were on hand with girl’s clothes for the newborn, but the nursery is yet to be repainted in a more feminine colour.

Ultrasound Direct has been contacted for comment.

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