Actor James Bye who plays Martin Fowler in EastEnders features in a recent edition of OK! magazine with his pregnant wife Victoria and their two year old son Edward. Inside he discusses his excitement about his impending arrival — a second son — who is due on February 28th and life with his young family.

To read the interview and to see additional photos please click

 

On how Victoria’s pregnancy has been so far:

Victoria: I had a lot of morning sickness early on, which people said meant it would be a girl, but obviously they were wrong! I’m also carrying him really low, so I get tired quickly and find it more difficult to run around after Edward, but I’m wearing a belt to support my bump which helps.

On if she’s had any pregnancy cravings:

V: Yogurt and cod liver oil, which I can’t have while I’m pregnant. As soon as I’ve had the baby, I’m going straight for the cod liver oil!

James: I think you might want some actual food!

On if they were actively trying for a second child:

V: Yes, Edward is two now and we didn’t want the age gap to be too big between our children. We wanted them to grow up together.

J: We both come from big families and you tend to recreate what you know, don’t you? I’d love to add a little girl to the brood.

V: I’d love a little girl next too, although I’m destined to be surrounded by boys!

On finding out they were having another little boy:

V: I know people say it’s best to wait for a surprise, but we were too excited not to find out the sex of the baby. So it will just be me in a house full of boys — even the two dogs are boys!

On if they have decided on any names:

V: We have a name that we call him when we speak to him in my tummy, but we’ll keep it to ourselves just in case we change our minds

J: With Edward we were calling him Teddy throughout the pregnancy, then he came out and seemed more like an Edward so we went with that. Edward is also a family name.

V: We like traditional, old-fashioned names — Victoria, James, Edward. Regal names.

On what type of birth they would like:

V: I’d really like a water birth with lots of candles — although health and safety might not allow the candles! I’d planned a water birth with Edward, but there was meconium [faeces] in the amniotic fluid so it could have been dangerous.

J: I’m planning to get in to the pool — I’ve got my trunks ready to go! My mum’s a midwife and said, ‘Are you sure you want to get in, James? It won’t just be the baby in the water. There’ll be other things floating about!’ People say it freaks them out to see a woman give birth but it’s completely natural.

V: James had his hand on Edward’s head as I was giving birth. He was saying: ‘He’s got so much hair!’

J: Luckily Edward inherited his mum’s thick hair and not my hairline.

On choosing the hypnobirthing technique and what it is:

V: It’s how I delivered Edward and it made the whole process very calm and meant James could be completely involved. I’m now recommending hypnobirthing to all my friends and James’s sister Scarlett, who’s also about to have a baby.

It’s a lot to do with having a positive attitude. Embracing the idea of giving birth rather than dreading it, if you can relax, the whole experience is much less painful.

J: With a hypnobirth, you don’t refer to pain, you call contractions ‘surges.’ It’s just about redefining the terms you see birth in, so it’s not as scary and you don’t get as tense.

V: The dad is really involved with a hypnobirth — he often takes charge of your breathing and keeping you calm, whereas in a regular birth the man can be a bit redundant.

On if James is a hands-on dad

J: I try to be. When Edward was a baby we split the night feeds — if I fed him, Victoria would burp him and vice versa — and now I try and get home early from work as often as I can for bath time. Obviously EastEnders doesn’t have a set schedule, so sometimes I’ll make it home in the evenings and sometimes not. But luckily the working patterns mean that if I have to work late lots of nights one week, I might have a few days off the next week.

On Edward’s daily routine:

J: He goes to nursery most mornings. Not only does it give Victoria a break, while she’s so heavily pregnant, but we think it’s really important for him to socialise with other children of his age.

V: He’s two so he’s tearing along the house and his speech has come on leaps and bounds since he’s started nursery. He has a southern accent and corrects me when I say ‘bath’ and ‘dance with the northern pronunciation

He’s even got a little girlfriend. She’s four so she’s an older woman!

On if he’s excited about becoming a big brother:

J: He’s so excited. We’ve got the baby’s crib next to our bed and keep a doll in there to prepare Edward. Every morning he comes in and wakes ‘the baby’ up , talks to him and puts on his socks

V: Although he does then tend to drag the doll around by its leg, too.

J: I’m sure he’ll be a brilliant big brother. He’s a very sensitive little boy.

V: He [talks to the baby] all the time — he sits and rests his head on my belly. He thinks my belly button is the baby’s nose poking out, it’s very sweet.

Source: OK! Magazine  Date: February 9th 2016  Issue: 1018  Photos: Tony Ward