Exclusive: Oti Mabuse reveals details about baby daughter's name a year after 'traumatic' birth
FormerStrictly Come DancingchampionOti Mabuse welcomed her first daughter with her husband Marius Iepure last autumn and has since managed to keep their baby's name a secret.
In a new interview with HELLO!, however, the TV star, 34, has shared new details about how she chose her baby's moniker, as well as fresh insights into her daughter's personality and her perception of motherhood.
The Dancing on Ice host gave birth to her first child prematurely at 28 weeks. It was a "traumatic" experience for the professional dancer, with her newborn having to spend six weeks in the NICU.
Oti, who delayed announcing their daughter's arrival until Christmas Day, explained that she opted to keep their child's name a secret "because we just felt super protective over her."
Reflecting on her family's special naming tradition, the Latin dance champion went on to reveal that her mother, Dudu, had a huge part to play.
"My mother is the one who named her. My mum named all the children in the family. I think three months before she was born, the name was already set."
She continued: "I was going to name her my name and then I was like, 'OK, let me just share one,' and then we decided on the day once we saw her, her other name for my husband's side."
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Oti and her family are due to celebrate their little one's first birthday later this month. Musing on her daughter's milestones, the mother-of-one gushed: "We celebrate every single milestone. She is so cheeky. I see myself in her and I'm just like, 'Wow she's a force.' She's very clever."
She went on to say: "She's starting to walk. She's teething. She can speak, [she's] not articulate but she knows who is who already, she knows her name… She's quite advanced which we're really happy about for her level of prematurity."
Oti described her birthing experience as "one of the scariest" things because she felt unprepared. "I had a spontaneous birth. I just felt unprepared. And I guess you don't really have that opportunity to run around and get everything together," she explained.
"There was an anxiety of 'Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?' and 'What does this mean? What does this look like for us?' I was very anxious… Your body has created all these hormones, all these protective layers in your body and it's just there, so you're feeling scared, you're emotional, [and] protective."
Despite experiencing a traumatic birth, Oti felt empowered by Pampers Preemie Protection Nappies which have been developed with neonatal nurses and parents to be extra gentle on even the most fragile of skin.
In her role as an ambassador for Pampers, Oti explained: "A neonatal unit can be a daunting place for any parent, but thankfully the nurses were so supportive and encouraged my husband Marius and I to be involved in her day-to-day care.
"I'm so proud to be partnering with Pampers as we used the Pampers Preemie Protection nappies whilst on the neonatal ward. We are so grateful that they allowed us to have those special moments of touch and bonding during nappy changes, whilst keeping her delicate skin protected."
The experience has unsurprisingly shaped her perception of motherhood. "I don't really know what I expected. I just [knew] that I wanted to be a mother," she revealed.
"You have this instinctive feeling that you really [want] to be a mother and you don't have a picture of what that feels like until that happens. But it's genuinely formed a perception for me of what motherhood is like. The first couple of months is like, 'How am I functioning on waking up every two hours.' And then it's learning [how to do] the first bath, the first nappy change, the feed.
"The idea that this human being and I are so connected and there are so many things that could go right, but so many things that could go wrong at the same time. When they say motherhood is a journey, it's the truth. It's constant and it's nonstop.
"Even now, she's teething [and] she's screaming at night. It's a lot, but it's the most beautiful thing."
