Zafar rushes around, ensuring everyone is comfortable and getting the couple’s three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Rose ready for nursery.
Meanwhile, Natalie serenely feeds their newborn daughter, who we can exclusively reveal is named Lily Saloni Franciszka, with their beloved dog Pickle patiently by her side. It’s no wonder that jazz singer Natalie is never happier than when she is at home with her babies.
“Without sounding twee, I feel like I was meant to be a mother,” she tells us during this exclusive shoot and interview. “Zaf and I went out together for the first time yesterday and I was like: ‘Can we go home now?’ I just like being here with my babies. I’ve always been very family orientated and I feel so content.”
Their daughter’s first name was partly inspired by a romantic gesture, while the middle ones came from their joint heritage.
“After our first date in 2010, Zaf sent me huge bunch of lilies. So it was always on our contender list,” Natalie tells us. Zafar, the son of celebrated author Sir Salman Rushdie, continues: “I’m half Indian, so felt it would be nice to give a nod to my family background and we both love the name Saloni.”
Franciszka comes from Natalie’s beloved grandmother, who bears the same name and is from Poland. “She turns 96 this year and is the most inspirational woman I know so we wanted to give a little nod to her with that name and spelling.”
Lily entered the world at 7:39 am on April 19 at the Kensington Wing of London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, weighing a healthy 9.8 lbs. Delivered by planned caesarean-section at 38 weeks, her arrival marked the end of a challenging pregnancy for Natalie, who experienced sickness and bleeding throughout.
Thankfully, the delivery went smoothly. Natalie opted for the same jazz playlist she had for Rose’s birth, with Lily arriving to the sounds of Etta James and tears from her mother.
“It was really a very positive experience,” she says. “When Lily was born I cried because I was so happy and relieved she was here and everyone was fine.”
Zaf, 44, the founder of PR and events company The Green Room, was calm throughout. “You have to trust in the doctors and their skills, don’t you, as it’s they who know what they’re doing… certainly not me! It was an amazing privilege just to be able to be there, really special.”
