In an exclusive interview and shoot for New Idea, Home and Away star Penny McNamee introduces the world to her 1-month-old baby, Neve, and shares the details of how she and husband Matt Tooker chose their second child’s name, why she was convinced she was having a boy and plans for more babies.
How was the birth?
I was a week early and it all went very smoothly. Our doctor was amazing and the nurses too. We stayed in hospital for five days, which was amazing. It was very calm and very good. And we got little Neve as the result.
How are you feeling now?
Second time around everything is a lot easier and a lot less painful, the recovery is a lot quicker. I think because you’ve already got another child you have to get off to preschool and make their dinner, you can’t just sit and recover like you can the first time. The body is amazing, it recovers very quickly.
What was your first reaction when you saw her?
When I gave birth and they held her up and I saw she was a girl I was so shocked! I was convinced it was a boy! I had a really similar pregnancy to Jack and I actually couldn’t picture myself having a girl. So, it took me about a week to stop calling her a “him” and to comprehend that she was a little girl!
How did you choose the name Neve?
My family heritage is Irish and we’ve got one of those families that’s very connected to our Irish heritage, so we grew up learning all the Irish songs. I always wanted to give my kids Irish names and Neve is as Irish as they get! It’s a classic Irish name. In Australia, it’s a unique name but as the international Home and Away fans on social media love to point out – it’s not very unique! It’s a very popular Irish name. There was one headline that said, “Penny McNamee names her daughter a very unique name!” And in all the comments below the story, all these Irish girls named Neve were like, “Every second girl in Ireland is called Neve!”
Did you know that was the name all along?
Yes, but we didn’t know that we were going to have a girl so we had a boy’s name and a girl’s name picked out. We’ve had her name picked out for four years. So, when we were pregnant with Jack, if Jack was a girl, he would have been Neve. We never changed our mind on the name in four years.
Do you think you’ll stop at two kids?
I think ultimately, we would like to have a third. I’m not going to pump another one out now but we’ll give it a few years and if it’s in the cards for us, then great. I think now that I have two and Jack has a sibling, I think if we never had a third that would be fine but having a third would be a pretty special bonus. With my health and things, it might not be guaranteed so we’ll give it a few years and try again, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ve been so blessed to have these two.
To read the full interview and see the gorgeous exclusive pictures, pick up the latest issue of New Idea.
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