Jodi Albert feels like her mother is "living on" through her baby son.
The former ‘Hollyoaks’ actress and husband Kian Egan welcomed second child Zekey into the world in May, on what would have been her beloved mum Eileen’s birthday and she can see a huge likeness between the baby and her parent, who died of cancer in February.
Jodi – who gave birth via a planned caesarean section – said: "We couldn’t believe he would be arriving on Mum’s birthday. And he reminds us so much of her too – same hair, same eyes. It’s like she’s living on through baby Zekey…
"It breaks my heart that she’ll never meet him, so the fact he was born on her birthday is extra special as it means she’s a part of him."
Kian added: "And she always will be now. That’s the incredible part about it, we’ll tell him, ‘You were born on the same day as your Nanny and she’d have loved you so much."
And the couple – who also have three-year-old son Koa together -are astonished by the physical resemblance between Zekey and his late grandmother.
Jodi said: "When Zekey came out we couldn’t believe how much he looked like her. We both cried our eyes out as we couldn’t believe what a miracle it was. I mean, Koa was blond and blue eyed."
Kian added: "When you have a fair child, you expect something similar for the next time. I look into his eyes sometimes and go, ‘Alright Ei?’ "
Jodi settled on her baby’s name before he was born and though it was particularly "appropriate" when she learned the meaning behind the moniker.
She told OK! magazine: "When I first found out I was pregnant, I got obsessed with naming my next child something beginning with Z, so I came up with Zeke.
"When I looked it up, it was an abbreviation of the name Ezekiel, which means God will strengthen and that felt so right and so appropriate as I’d only just found out my mum was going to pass.
"It was like the name picked itself and everything slotted into place.
"We added a y at the end after two weeks to make it easier for people to pronounce."
Jodi Albert feels mother living on through baby son
