Melissa Johns welcomed her first child with her husband, Dan Hampton, earlier this month.
Now, the Coronation Street star, 35, has revealed her baby girl’s unique name, Ottilly, and opened up about worrying news she and her husband received at her 36-week scan.
In a new interview and photoshoot with The Mirror, Melissa shared that they had initially planned to name their daughter Vera Violet. However, they changed their minds at the last minute, ultimately deciding on the name Ottilly.
She told the publication: ‘Dan and I have a grandmother on either side called Nanny Vera, and violet is the favourite flower of my other nan who I am incredibly close with. When I looked up ‘wild violets’ last year, it said that the world can’t live without them, but they can’t be tamed, and I really loved that.
However, Melissa worried that her daughter would constantly have to correct people, reminding them that her name was Vera Violet and not just Vera.
She continued: ‘I’d met someone who had a daughter called Ottilly about 10 or 15 years ago, and I’d forgotten about it until I happened to come across it when scrolling through a list of the top baby names.’
Melissa Johns welcomed her first child with her husband, Dan Hampton, earlier this month (Melissa pictured 2023)
Now, the Coronation Street star, 35, has revealed her baby girl’s unique name, Ottilly, and opened up about worrying news she and her husband received at her 36-week scan
The actress added that both she and her husband loved the fact that the name included ‘Otter,’ as otters are ‘incredibly cute,’ and they had inevitably fallen in love with it.
She explained that the name really stands on its own, and if her daughter wants to go by Tilly when she’s older, she can, but for now, her name is Ottilly.
Elsewhere in the interview, the star revealed that during her 36-week scan, the couple were told their baby was starting to ‘plateau in her growth’.
She said: ‘We were told that the baby was starting to plateau in her growth, and that if we tried to go to 40 weeks, the risk [could be] fatal.’
Melissa added that healthcare professionals advised her that the baby would need to be delivered at 37 weeks, and she ‘panicked,’ as it was only the following week and, in her mind, she still had another four weeks to go.
Despite the birth not being what Melissa had envisioned, she described it as equally enchanting, surrounded by her midwife and doula, with Dan by her side.
Melissa welcomed her baby girl via caesarean section, with Ottilly weighing 5lb 10oz.
She and her partner spent a total of five days in the hospital after their daughter was born prematurely; however, the staff were incredibly supportive.
In a new interview and photoshoot with The Mirror, Melissa shared that they had initially planned to name their daughter Vera Violet. However, they changed their minds at the last minute, ultimately deciding on the name Ottilly (pictured in February)
The actress added that both she and her husband loved the fact that the name included ‘Otter,’ as otters are ‘incredibly cute,’ and they had inevitably fallen in love with it (pictured 2023)
According to The Mirror, they helped Melissa find comfortable positions for breastfeeding with one arm, as the star was born without her right forearm and hand.
Earlier this month, Melissa and her husband, Dan, announced the arrival of their baby girl by sharing several sweet photos on Instagram.
In one picture, the couple were seen carrying their newborn out of the hospital in a car seat.
She captioned the post: ‘Our baby girl is here. We can’t take our eyes off of you.’
Another photo showed the tot in a cradle with her tiny feet poking over the top of the basket.
Before the birth, Mellissa hit back at trolls as she revealed she felt people ‘limited’ her dream of being a mother because of her disability.
The Grantchester star, who was born without a right forearm or hand, announced in June that she was expecting her first child.
And while Melissa has said that being pregnant with a disability has made her feel empowered, she revealed people made her feel like her body ‘limited’ her life.
The activist told The Mirror that people have commented on and judged her arm all her life, and made her feel she should think her disability restricted her ability to have a baby.
Hitting back at the cruel trolls, she said: ‘There’s something about growing and carrying a baby that makes me feel limitless. Growing up feeling people were limiting me to growing a child and feeling limitless, it’s a lovely feeling.’
Melissa then explained that when she was a child, she was told she was ‘special and brave’ and that people commenting on her pregnant body isn’t ‘shocking’ to her as she has experienced it her whole life.
Earlier this month, Melissa and her husband, Dan, announced the arrival of their baby girl by sharing several sweet photos on Instagram
‘Me hating and loathing the body I have growing up, that wasn’t a product of me and how I felt about my body,’ she added.
‘It was a product of how I was told I should feel about my body.’
Melissa announced the joyful news earlier this year with a sweet clip.
Sharing a video of some cute baby booties and her scan on a sandy beach, she captioned the post: ‘Oh Baby. We made a wish and it came true…
‘Baby H-J – we can’t wait to meet you. Forever grateful.’
In the clip, the mirror showed them walking out onto the beach as she then turned around in her pretty red and pink dress to tenderly touch her bump.
Last October, Melissa exchanged vows with her partner Dan in a romantic Hertfordshire ceremony.
