Kate Ferdinand enjoyed a sweet day of pumpkin picking with her newborn daughter and her family on Tuesday after opening up about her difficult birth.
The former TOWIE star, 32, who gave birth to baby Shae with husband Rio Ferdinand in July, recently revealed their second child was born with congenital pneumonia.
In addition to being mother to her two-year-old son Cree, Kate is also stepmother to Rio’s children Lorenz, 17, Tate, 14, and Tia, 12, whom he shared with his wife Rebecca Ellison before she died of breast cancer in 2015, just now once 34 years old.
Kate shared photos from her family trip, accompanied by her stepchildren and friend, at Tulleys Farm in Crawley.
She opted for a casual look, wearing a khaki green hoodie with matching joggers and a bomber jacket.
Sweet: Kate Ferdinand, 32, enjoyed a sweet day of pumpkin picking with her newborn daughter and her family after opening up about her difficult birth
Family fun: Kate is not only mother to her two-year-old son Cree, but also stepmother to Rio’s children Lorenz (17), Tate (14) and Tia (12).
Kate smiled for a photo and cradled Shae in her arms, while another snap showed her stepchildren collecting pumpkins.
“A very sweet morning pumpkin harvest,” she captioned the post.
This comes after Kate spoke in more detail about her difficult birth with daughter Shae.
In an emotional episode of her podcast Blended, the former TOWIE star shared her panic after her newborn was rushed to the NICU just minutes after birth in July.
Kate and her husband, former footballer Rio, were shocked to be told their second child had been born with congenital pneumonia, and Kate has previously told how she spent days without her baby amid the health crisis.
Congenital pneumonia can cause difficulty breathing within the first 24 hours of life and may be caused by infection of the fetal fluid.
Kate spoke at length on her podcast about how she juggles raising her newborn with her other children Cree, two, and stepchildren Lorenz, Tate and Tia.
Kate opened the episode by apologizing to her fans for being absent from the podcast and her social media while she enjoyed her “baby bubble.”
Smile: Kate shared photos from her family outing on Tuesday, accompanied by her stepchildren and friend at Tulleys Farm in Crawley
On the go: “A very sweet morning pumpkin harvest,” she captioned the post
She then went into detail about her birth in July, noting that “in true Ferdinand style, nothing went exactly to plan!”
Shae was born via a planned C-section, with Kate admitting I was “so cold” in the days and hours leading up to the birth after undergoing an emergency C-section with her son Cree.
But she went on to explain that I immediately panicked when she entered the theater. I’ve never had a panic attack before, but I can imagine what a panic attack feels like.”
“I had a spinal injury so I was numb from the waist down and I just felt so claustrophobic.”
“Rio tried to talk to me, but I literally couldn’t talk to anyone. “Everyone in the room was happy and I kept saying, ‘Should I be excited now?’ I don’t know what came over me.”
Kate’s panic intensified after Shae was born when she remembers her daughter didn’t cry right away.
“She was really cold and very blue. “I felt very distant when they were given to me, so it felt very different to Cree, I couldn’t identify,” Kate told listeners.
“Then she screamed in the recovery room. Usually you can calm her down, so I asked the midwife, “Can I feed her?” I bottle feed her, and she looked at me and said, “I’ll feed her.” And when she said that, I knew that something was wrong.’
Kate describes midwives rubbing Shae to get more oxygen into her, a moment she described as “absolutely frightening”.
Mother: It comes after Kate spoke in more detail about her difficult birth with daughter Shae, describing her panic after her newborn was rushed to the NICU just minutes after birth
Traumatic: Kate and her husband, former footballer Rio Ferdinand, were shocked when they were told in July that their second child had been born with congenital pneumonia
Shae was then taken to the NICU and Rio accompanied her, leaving Kate alone. “I’m sitting in the room, no Rio, no baby, watching Love Island.” I just felt like it was a completely out-of-body experience. “I gave birth, no one is here, how guilty I feel watching Love Island and my baby is in the NICU,” Kate explained.
Later, when her spine gave out, Kate was allowed into the intensive care unit to see Shae. “I was hysterical. I couldn’t pick her up. “I didn’t really want to be there,” an emotional Kate recalls.
“It was harder to be next to her and not be with her and just watch her being unwell than being away from her.” Then I felt terrible guilt because I didn’t want to be there. My mother’s guilt hit me from the first moment she was born.’
After five days in the hospital, both Kate and Shae were allowed to go home, but Kate admitted that with Shay she “felt a little bit more needy, I want to feed her more and have her next to me.” I needed her for the first few weeks “Just have her by my side.”