Reality star gives birth to first baby and tells fans she’s ‘in the newborn trenches’
MADE In Chelsea star Caggie Dunlop has given birth to her first baby telling fans she is in “the newborn trenches”.
Caggie and her boyfriend, whose name she is yet to share, learned she was expecting in September.
The 35-year-old former reality star announced the arrival of their bundle of joy in a post on Instagram.
Caggie also revealed her baby’s sex, after waiting to give birth to find out.
In an honest post, the Made In Chelsea alum said the first few days of taking care of their newborn has been a “brutal awakening,” and she promised to share more photos of the baby when she felt up to it.
Caggie penned: “These were the last pictures taken of me pregnant.
“I gave birth to our baby girl on Wednesday morning, our hearts are exploding with love. And I’m completely overwhelmed by the tiredness.
“The initiation into motherhood has been unlike anything I could have imagined.
“I’m just trying to keep my head above water. I’ll share more in the coming days, but for now, we’re deep in the ‘newborn trenches,’ as they say.
“Everyone told me to take photos while pregnant because I’d regret it if I didn’t.
“At the time, I really didn’t feel like being in front of a camera… but I’m so glad we captured these, the day before she arrived.”
She continued: “I already miss her being in my belly—the safety, the unity. It’s been replaced with a constant undercurrent of worry and anxiety.
“I remember someone once described this part as “your heart now living outside your chest”—and I’m learning what that really means.
“Every cry pierces deeply. Every feed touches a part of you you didn’t know existed.
“It’s a brutal awakening, a maddening kind of magic.
“I can’t believe I’m a mum.”
Caggie’s followers empathised, with one writing in the comments: “Congratulations give yourself alot of grace during these next few weeks and months, & continue taking pictures. Newborn stage flies by.”
Another shared: “Congratulations your honesty is so powerful.
“The volume of love and the fears that can come with it absolutely caught me by surprise.
“Please be super kind and gentle with yourself. None of us know what we are doing but you are leading with love and she is safe. You are already an amazing Mum.”
Caggie was an original Made In Chelsea cast member whose time on the show was entwined with her relationship with Spencer Matthews.
She quit after three series to concentrate on her music career.
Using her full name Catherine Dunlop, the West Londoner released a single, Neverland, and has launched a clothing range, ISWAI (It Started With An Idea).
She has now rebranded as Caggie, and her latest music release was the 2024 track, Breakfast. It came five years after her previous single, I Wish I Knew.
In total she’s achieved nearly 4million streams and describes her sound as “soft, nostalgic, ethereal and feminine”.
The multi-talented star also has a keen interest in astrology and in 2023 released her first book, Saturn Returns: Your Cosmic Coming of Age.
She told Hello! of her career change: “A lot has changed in the last 10 years, when I was in my early twenties. I think I was just trying to be someone that I wasn’t, someone that didn’t really feel authentic.
“I think for a long time I was sort of looking backwards and feeling that because I’ve done a reality show that would forever pigeonhole me.
“I was not going to be able to be taken seriously in other industries, but now I’m like, that’s just my own stuff, you know, that’s just my own limitation… I think for a lot of my 20s I was in quite a victimhood mentality.”