A BONHILL mum reckons she's earned a spot of rest and recreation in 2017- after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl on Christmas Day.

Dawn McPhillips, 23, and her fiancé Ross Ledgerwood, 27, received the best Christmas present of them all when Penelope Mae Ledgerwood came into the world nine days ago.

The tot weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 7oz at the Royal Alexandria Hospital and was one of several Christmas babies born across the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

Now delighted Dawn, who lives in Redburn, Bonhill, is looking forward to some mother and daughter time as the new year kicks off.

She told The Reporter: "Everything's been all right since Penelope was born and it's actually been quite calm in the house.

"The great thing is I can now sit at home with my Jammies on!

"But we're definitely over the moon and looking forward to 2017.

"She's a good wee baby and we love her to bits."

Dawn described the birth of baby Penelope as a "surreal experience" but one that went smoothly from start to finish.

She said: "It's been such a surreal experience and we could not be any happier.

"Things could not have turned out any better.

"It really was a straight forward birth.

"I started getting contractions at about 6am on Christmas Eve and she was here by 6am on Christmas Day- right on her due date."

Dawn admitted that the name of her baby girl was inspired by a film from a few years ago.

She said: "We just like the name.

"I remember watching a film and one of the characters was called Penelope and that's where it comes from.

"She weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 7oz and I don't think there's many girls out there called Penelope."