Falkirk performer and new mum Dionne sings maternity staff's praises

Thankfully the maternity staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital were on hand to make sure the birth of little baby Islay on June 26 went as smoothly as one of Dionne’s polished pop performances.

“If we do have another baby at least it can’t be much harder than having a baby in a pandemic,” said Dionne. “The actual birth couldn’t have gone any better and the staff couldn’t have done any more to make it so normal.”

Islay, a name Dionne and her partner Chalmers Hill both liked, was born at 11.34pm on her due date and weighed 7lb 2oz. She is now the centre of attention at the family home in Skinflats, near Grangemouth.

The real worry for Dionne was the last few weeks before her pregnancy.

"The way I coped with it was to start writing a brutally honest blog, stating all my fears and worries. My experience got worse the longer it went on and I had visions of Islay’s grandparents only being able to see her through a window.

“All through the pregnancy I was not able to do the normal things you would do and take for granted like go and meet my friends – but the biggest worry was possibly not being able to have a birth partner at the birth – not having anyone there with me.

“My mum did all our shopping and we also got deliveries to the house so when I was able to go out again with Islay recently I didn’t have a clue what to do to comply with all the restrictions because I hadn’t been to shops during the lockdown.”

There was another worrying time for Dionne when Chalmers, who is a roofer, was called out to work on the temporary COVID-19 hospital at Glasgow’s SECC. She feared he could be exposed to coronavirus and then bring it back home.

“He was going out to work with all these people from different places, but in the end it was totally fine.”

While the performer, who has been wowing crowds with her vocal talents for a number of years now, did give the odd online lockdown concert from her kitchen, Dionne – like performers the world over – is not able to sing her heart out in pubs and clubs at the moment.

However, she is looking at this setback as a positive situation that gives her more time to bond with her new daughter.

“I’m totally loving it, Islay is brilliant. It was a bit of a shock to the system, but it’s been great. It’s actually like a blessing in disguise because I was planning to take two weeks off and go back to the gigs.

“Being a mum takes up more of your time than I realised. When entertainers do start performing in pubs and clubs again I will get back to it, but right now I’m enjoying being with Islay.

“I will still be recording my radio show from home though.”

Dionne is back with her evening show on Central FM next week from 7pm Monday to Friday.