Par
Gael Arcuset
Published on
Nov. 14, 2024 at 6:16 p.m.
; updated on Nov. 14, 2024 at 7:07 p.m.
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Pink notebook. Robin Chedal and Julie Lemarechal are pleased to announce the birth of their daughterCharlotte, Saturday November 9, 2024, in Bazas, a peaceful town in Gironde… in their friends' parking lot.
The pitchoune was born near a Peugeot 3008, on a gravel driveway, in the middle of the night, at 3:19 a.m.
Their car stranded on the way to the maternity ward
A few minutes earlier, on their way to the Langon maternity ward, about fifteen kilometers away, his parents had seen an 'engine failure' light come on on the dashboard of their car. The anxiety…
Let's go back in time. It all begins on the night of Friday November 8 to Saturday November 9. Robin Chedal and Julie Lemarechal are then in their house, located in the pretty village of Cudos (790 inhabitants), in the south of Gironde. The children, Mattéo, 9 and a half years old, Maël, almost 7 years old, and Capucine, 3 and a half years old, sleep soundly.
Unlike her brothers and sister, Charlotte is very restless. The due date is November 24, but she already wants to go out.
Golden rule: always have a plan B
At 2:30 a.m., Julie's water broke. Illico soonhis companion takes his phone and calls the babysitter to watch the kids. No response. Fortunately, the couple has a plan B. Their names are Nicolas and Laura Landes, friends living in the neighboring town of Bazas who they met in front of the school where the children of the two couples attend school.
Very quickly, everything is organized. Robin and Julie, 32 and 36 years old, just have to drop off their children with Nicolas and Laura. Then head to the maternity ward. Relatively simple, on paper, at least… In the meantime, the babysitter calls back and then arrives at Cudos to take care of Mattéo, Maël and Capucine. No more stopping by their friends. Everything is going according to plan. For now…
Parents have free rein. They can therefore climb into their Renault Scénic 3 and drive towards the Langon maternity ward. Estimated travel time: 17 minutes. Widely playable. Except that fate will play quite a trick on the couple, originally from Normandy.
After a few miles, a light came on on the dashboard. The engine had a problem. Robin asks me: 'What do we do?' We decided to call Nicolas and Laura once again; this time to ask them to lend us their car. Well, we knew they were awake (laughs)
So here is the couple who arrives at their friends' house. In the middle of the night. An impromptu pit stop to change cars. “But the change didn’t really happen,” Laura reports.
“I come home, I take gloves, a towel”
“When I got out of the car,” Julie said, “I felt severe pain. I managed as best I could to change vehicles. But, at a certain point, I understood that we weren't going to start. ” Because Charlotte is here soon ! Imminent arrival. Julie decides to stand up, near the Peugeot 3008.
“The turning point came when she told me: ‘It’s growing,’” Laura comments. I decide to call 15. I go home, take gloves and a towel. The doctor tells me that I need to look. »
If Laura is a nurse in everyday life, midwifery is not really her specialty. However, in such conditions, his medical experience and his serenity prove to be valuable assets.
Childbirth by cell phone
Her partner, Nicolas, is promoted to logistics manager. He goes back and forth to bring hot towels and a hat. In short, all the necessary equipment. All without waking up his in-laws, who are sleeping in the house…
For the four friends, a moment begins as unforgettable as it is intense.
Robin, the father, was born on a national
Robin Chedal, forestry technology teacher at the Terres de Gascogne high school in Bazas (Gironde), was also born in special conditions. “In the week before Charlotte's birth, I was just thinking about it… I told myself that it was still wrong, that my parents could have left earlier. I was born halfway between the house and the hospital, on the Nationale 15, in the car But finally, now, I understand!”
The situation is delicate. Dark night. At 3 a.m., no public lighting. The lights piercing the darkness come only from two cell phones. In these conditions, however, this chic and shock medical team, formed unexpectedlymanages to keep his cool. “None of us panicked,” Laura confirms.
Julie, the mother, overcome by fear
The trio follows to the letter the instructions of the Samu doctor, on the other end of the line. “It’s like she’s with us,” Robin smiles. I considered her our guide, everything depended on her. Chole, that’s her first name, was great. »
Julie is almost paralyzed, overcome by fear. The delivery of Adam, her child born with a brain tumor and who died three days later, floods her thoughts. Two years have passed, the mother has not forgotten anything about this moment.
“I hurt everywhere. When Charlotte's head came out, I had a blockage, she confides. I was terrified, blocked by the fear of not being able to do it. »
At this moment, again, the presence of loved ones proves essential.
Robin and Laura told me: 'Yes, you will succeed.' And I succeeded. When I tell my loved ones about the scene, they are not aware of the risks, the fear, the intensity of the moment, this adrenaline rush
Just by the light of the phone, crouching under her friend, Laura begins to make out a few hairs. “Little by, I see the eyes, the nose, the mouth… Everything takes shape. »
A few minutes that seem like an eternity
This suspended moment, appearing like an eternityactually only lasts a handful of minutes. Julie continues to push, encouraged and supported by Robin. Laura is preparing to 'receive' the darling child. Little moment of stress. “I was afraid it would slip out of my hands,” confides the resident of Bazas.
3:19 a.m. Charlotte, 3.410 kg for 48 cm, is born and lets out its first cry. Julie takes off her t-shirt and snuggles her beloved daughter against her for a first moment of tenderness. This essential skin-to-skin contact for the newborn.
A pink lace on the umbilical cord
Nicolas, following the instructions of the Samu, rushes home to find a lace which should be used to tie two knots on the umbilical corbon. “I took a shoe at random, without being careful,” he slips. And it turned out pretty well, it was a pink lace. »
A few minutes later, emergency services arrived on the scene. Surrounded by a survival blanket, Charlotte in her arms, Julie climbs into the fire truck accompanied by Robin. “There,” said Laura, a big smile on her lips, “I said to myself that we absolutely had to take a photo to immortalize this moment. »
Laura becomes godmother of Charlotte
Today, after a stint in maternity ward, Charlotte and her mother have returned to the family home. They are doing wonderfully.
And the four friends obviously celebrated together this birth not really like the others. “Before the birth, we had already chosen a godfather and godmother,” reveals Julie. Then we learned that a child could have several godparents. So, Laura was asked to be Charlotte's godmother. »
The South-Gironde Republican sends its most sincere wishes of happiness to the family of Robin Chedal and Julie Lemarechal.
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