With his million-dollar smile beaming, rugby league hard man Manu Vatuvei held a pair of scissors tightly and proudly cut the umbilical cord of his baby daughter Savannah.
It was an emotional moment for the Warriors winger who desperately wanted to perform the precious fatherly duty ever since he missed the birth of his first daughter, Makayla (4), because he was playing league in Wellington.
So when wife Jennifer (25) broke the news they were expecting another baby, Manu (24) was determined to be there for that special moment, no matter what.
“I wasn’t going to miss another birth, I was sure of that,” Manu explains. “As soon as I discovered I was going to be a father again, I just focused on being there for Jennifer and trying to support her as much as I could.”
Even when Jennifer toyed with the idea of having a water birth, Manu was dead set against it. “I wanted Jennifer to have a normal, natural birth because I wanted to experience every single moment she went through. That was important to me.”
With Savannah due after the busy Warriors season ended, the Auckland sportsman knew nothing would get in the way of him being there for her birth. And so when Jennifer started having contractions, two weeks before the due date, Manu was eager and prepared. Driving Jennifer to the hospital, Manu couldn’t believe the big day had finally arrived.
“I was excited. I was happy that I was gifted with another child and, most importantly, I was going to be there to help deliver her.”
After Jennifer gave birth to Makayla, she was upset knowing Manu hadn’t made it back in time from Wellington to be there with her. The second time around, with Manu by her side, Jennifer describes giving birth as a “breeze”.
“With Makayla, I had to tell Manu what it was like. He was sad that he wasn’t there. This time he experienced it for himself and it was nice to see him get excited.”
Manu says the only births he’d seen prior to Savannah were on TV and in the movies. He was surprised to find that a real-life birth was actually very similar.
“It was everything I had imagined it would be. There was the screaming, the panting, the excitement…”
But the moment that brought tears to Manu’s eyes was when he got to cut the umbilical cord. “That was so special and I couldn’t wait to do it,” a proud Manu says.
Born on 26 September and weighing 6lbs 15oz (2.7kg), baby Savannah is the spitting image of her famous father.
Jennifer recalls looking at her daughter for the first time, “I held her and counted her fingers and toes, and I noticed she looked exactly like her dad,” she says. “And she also had her dad’s legs, his big feet and his big hands. It was so cute.”
Weeks after Savannah was born, Manu was preparing to leave his family once again because of league commitments.
He was set to be a key member of the New Zealand team to play in the Four Nations tournament in October, which meant being away from his family – and newborn daughter – for a whole month.
But then the unexpected occurred. Minutes after the first game against England, Manu broke his arm and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
Although it was a devastating injury, Manu now sees it as a silver lining. He was forced to take a break from the rigors of sport and spend more time with his family – and little Savannah.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” says Manu. “It allowed me to stay home more. In a way I was happy to break my arm, so I could stay at home and help with the kids.”
And Manu has discovered that little Savannah likes her dad having a broken arm – she loves to fall asleep on his cast!
“Whenever I want to calm her down, I lay her on my cast and rock her to sleep. It’s one of her favourite things to do,” he explains.
Manu says he adores his two daughters and is very eager to have more children. He hopes the next one will be a boy, but since witnessing what Jennifer went through to give birth, Manu says he won’t be putting any pressure on her.
“While I was pregnant, he kept saying we have to try for another one straightaway, hopefully a boy,” says Jennifer. “But after he saw what I had to go through, he’s laid off that idea – for now.”
Manu hopes that he’ll be at any future births, and get to cut the cord too. And there’s another ritual he goes through for every baby he has. After each birth, he has tattooed his child’s name across his back. Makayla holds the prime position, and her sister’s name now sits underneath. Manu says he has the markings so that his children are with him everywhere he goes.
“I love being a dad,” Manu says. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
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