Neil Waterhouse with Juliet Churchward and baby Albie, India, Megan and son Ollie. (0753730)

HERM’S fourth baby boy to be born in the past 18 months has finally arrived.

Albie Charles David Waterhouse came into the world exactly a week late in the early hours of 26 March.

Albie was born at 4.42am in Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

Mum Juliet had been convinced that he would arrive in the early morning after he’d woken her every morning at 3am for the last trimester of the pregnancy.

Neil and Juliet moved to Herm from East Sussex in August of 2007 with their daughter India, who is now five. Neil is the manager of the gift shops and Juliet has worked in the shops part-time for most of her time on the island. Neil has two children from a previous relationship, Ollie, 18, and Megan, who is 16.

Megan and Ollie also have another brother, 10-year-old Piers.

On the afternoon of the 26th, Juliet had a check-up with the midwife and doctor in Guernsey, who were planning to induce her as she was a week past her due date. But by 6pm that evening, an hour after arriving back on Herm, contractions began, and by 9.30 they were occurring every five minutes.

As the Flying Christine is currently out of service, the lifeboat was called out and arrived within half-an-hour. Juliet was driven down to the boat by island director and first-aider Andrew Bailey.

‘We went down on the Gator,’ said Juliet, ‘but Andrew drove wonderfully so it wasn’t too painful. The boat landed at Rosaire, so two of the paramedics had to come up and help me down the steps.’

The journey between Herm and Guernsey took only seven minutes.

‘It’s all a bit of a blur,’ said Juliet, ‘but I’d say I was in hospital within an hour of making the first call.’

The night of the 26th happened to be very busy for Guernsey midwives, with five or six other women going into labour on the same evening.

Juliet had planned to use the birthing pool but the room was being used as an extra delivery room.

‘The whole birth, from the contractions really starting to Albie being born, was only around seven hours, but when he came out he wasn’t breathing, so they took him away,’ said Juliet. ‘It’s only now when I think back that I realise how serious that could have been.’

After the initial scare, though, Albie was perfectly fine and came to his new home on Herm the very next day.

‘The staff at the hospital were wonderful,’ said Juliet, ‘especially the midwife, Laura Thomson, who pretty much saved his life.’

Two weeks later, Albie is healthy and strong and has gained 10 ounces.

He is now part of Herm’s baby brigade, which also includes thee-month-old Ethan Dyer, one-year-old Harry Moore and 16-month-old Alfie Pimblett.

With so many boys arriving in such quick succession, bets are now on for who will be the next to announce a pregnancy – and whether anyone will ever produce a girl.