Welcome to the World Charlie James ...

Our experiences with Alfie taught us that anything can happen in twenty four hours, and in his case it took that long to coax him out! At 5:08am today (16th February) ... confusingly 6:08pm on the 15th for many of you guys back home ... we welcomed Charlie James into the world. The fact that he was a boy may not have been a suprise to us ... sorry guys! ... the timing certainly was.

Beth had been getting twinges for the last couple of sleepless nights and so the fact that she was up walking about at midnight wasn't too unusual although the fact that I found her standing in the bath with waters broken was! We made a quick call to the hospital and loaded the car for the ten minute drive. We arrived at the hospital and got up to the Birth Centre and saw a very familiar face in the form of a midwife ... a friend of Matt and Sharrons from Bristol. I managed to get some snaps of a comfortable looking Beth before she seriously got down to work. There was some talk of sending us home to come back later with more regular contractions although very quickly my redened, gnawed and hideously disfigured arm and hands suggested that things were well on their way. The Birthing Centre at the John Hunter has a natural birth ethos and so there are many choices of delivery on offer. Beth tried out the traditional bed option before sampling the bath and then the shower. After a little under five hours and absence of any pain relief Charlie James was ready to enter the world ... bang on time his due date!

By this point there were four people in the shower (only one was dressed appropriately!) and with water and everything else everywhere a pillow was called in as a safety net. It was a case of head first, then an arm followed very quickly by everything else. I think the third umpire may need to take a look at the catch again but there is some debate over whether the pillow played a part! It was an amazing moment for everyone, and one which gave us the opportunity to experience everything that we'd missed out on with Alfie nearly three years ago. I cut the cord ... Beth had skin to skin contact. Perfect!

I was amazed at Beth's strength and resiliance last time, I didn't think she could go better .. I was wrong. Our midwife likened child birth to running a marathon ... having done it and felt the pain I empathise but I don't think it comes close. Beth made a marathon look like a walk in the park... amazing, awesome!

After the delivery it was time to do all those things that need to be done after childbirth and time to bond. Charlie seemed quite content and set about getting some rest... an opportunity not lost on his parents. Up on the ward it was time to start seeing some guests. Nan and Gramps came along, followed by Kate, Kel and Brett who were all on site for one reason or another. Then it was time to see cousins Liam and Joel and Uncle Matt and Auntie Sharron. Most importantly he also got to meet his big brother Alfie.... the first meeting went well with hands held, kisses exchanged, a little tickle on the forehead and no mention of the name Russell!

It was one amazing, unfortgetable day. Take a look at some random snaps of the day...



Tommorrow it's back to the hospital to help out where I can before getting back to school for two days before the paternity leave starts proper!