Gregory Simon Allen

Born Friday 11th April 2014

Birth

His life:  Birth ♠ Week 1 ♠ Weeks 2-3 ♠ Weeks 4-7 ♠ Weeks 8-13 ♠ Weeks 14-22 ♠ 5-7 months ♠ 7-8 months ♠ 1st Christmas ♠ 8-10 months ♠ 10-12 months ♠ 1st birthday party ♠ 12-15 months ♠ 15-18 months ♠ 18-21 months ♠ 21-24 months ♠ 2nd birthday ♠ 2-2½ years ♠ 2½-3 years ♠ 3rd birthday ♠ 3-3¼ years ♠ 3¼-3½ years ♠ 3½-3¾ years ♠ 3¾-4 years ♠ 4th birthday

In summary:  Index ♠ From birth to four years old ♠ Four years old onwards

Special features:  Gregory translator ♠ Gregory phrases ♠ Gregory cookery

Much as I love Daisy, I was not always completely convinced of the virtues of having a second child, particularly on evenings of tantrums and tears.  (In fact, I think even Lynne had her doubts when Daisy was being particularly difficult.)  However, the penny dropped when Gareth at work noted that they could play with each other - ah, the power of distraction!  I was thus fully on board...

Lynne falling pregnant this time came much more in expectation than hope, so there was less of the raw emotion of the first time, but still much joy.  The first taste of the logistical issues of managing two children came with the first scan, being arranged for when Daisy was at nursery (on Thursday 19th September).  There were further complications: it was a close-run thing as we were due to head to Menorca the next day and we were pretty keen to make sure everything was ok before we went; plus, on the day of the scan, I had a work awayday to attend across the Pennines in Wakefield (which was the boring work bit that I ultimately missed) and in Pontefract (for the subsequent horse races).

(The weekend before, I had arranged a tapas evening for the Allens at ours, managing to keep the reason for the invite - to tell them the news - a secret under some questioning.  My standard tapas repertoire is obviously a good cover for such ulterior motives.)

We got there on time but had been waiting a while when we were finally called in.  Well, they called out Lynne's name but someone else went instead.  It soon turned out, after we followed them, that they shared a surname, so we did manage to get our rightful place ahead of them.  We were told that they were operating with one person down, hence they were rushed off their feet (doing that thing where they try to make you feel sorry for them, like Basil Fawlty).  Anyway, we were proud to see a picture of our baby in the 12-week scan, having a due date of 29th March.

On Wednesday 13th November, it was time for the 20-week scan.  We were soon told that it was a boy, which took Lynne aback a little, convinced as she was that the baby was a girl (on no evidence whatsoever).  Unfortunately, they could not get all of the check-up complete in one go due to awkward posturing, so we had to walk around and wait for a second opportunity.  Eventually, it was all done and dusted - we had the all-clear.

Fast forward to April the next year and we were, yet again, patiently waiting for the baby to get into position (see also: Daisy).  The due date came and went, despite a day of twinges prompting me to be put on high alert and Nana Sue rushing round the motorway on the Friday morning as cover (the disappointment of not being there when the action happened - or rather, of being there when the action turned out not to happen - was palpable).  The longer it went on with nothing further happening, the more inevitable induction seemed, and we were booked in on Thursday 10th April 2014.  The midwives who had inspected Lynne post-due date had reported that the baby was two-fifths engaged, whatever that actually meant (in a way, it meant nothing - there was no guarantee on the length of the subsequent time period having reached this position).

Mimicking the photo of a heavily-pregnant Lynne from last time, with better lighting and camera quality, here is a shot on the morning of the induction.  Whilst inside, Daisy was known as Queenie; Gregory's primary name was Julian, courtesy of Daisy - other names included Sebastian and Barnaby (all three of which we had, luckily and (it must be said) easily, ruled out of our shortlist).

We arrived for our 11am appointment and were given a spacious room on the first floor delivery suite.  Before long, the induction lady was here!  The whole thing felt a bit like waiting for an exam that we haven't done much preparation for, although we did do it once before, and I'm not actually sitting it.  Although Lynne is ready (ready for pain?).

And then we waited.  Lynne had a mild expectation that things would happen more quickly with the second birth; I was less convinced and expected a slow process.  My expectations were very much met when the first midwife referred to a waiting period of 6 to 8 hours following the first application of the gel (at 12.30pm).  Such waiting prompted reading, gaming, crossword-solving while being on the monitor (pictured), hobbling around, eating, drinking, and visiting the ladies'.  We had half-hourly visits from the midwives and one of them brought some co-codamol for Lynne's increasing back pain.

And still we waited, with Lynne occasionally switching from the bed to the birthing ball.

At 6pm, roughly six hours after the first gel application, Lynne was put back on the monitor for an hour or so, to check on things in advance of a second application of the gel.  Lynne then felt increased twinges from around 7pm and there was much inspection of the charts being printed off in live feed from the monitor.  We were then greeted by a very high-spirited female doctor with a Caribbean accent - she seemed to breathe some positivity into the room.  There had been sufficient progress such that she could break Lynne's water at 7.30pm.  Yes, that's right: sweet progress!

By 8pm, contractions had started in earnest and this time (in contrast to the birth of Daisy) they lasted a mere two hours, helped by the fact, we suspect, that they were natural (i.e. Lynne hadn't needed to go on the drip).  This was a much less stressful experience, helped by having done it before.  The back-rubbing service was ordered, but Lynne, whilst sat on the birthing ball, had the waves of pain more or less under control (relatively speaking) by application of gas and air, reverting to fully lucid in the gaps.

By 10pm, it was time to push, and it was looking like he would be born on the same day we had arrived.  However, it was soon apparent that Gregory was following in Daisy's footsteps (or, rather, wasn't) as he was being troublesome on exit.  Twisted sideways at first, he eventually managed to turn (perhaps with a little help from the doctor), although he was facing up (known as "back to back") which can be more difficult.

The main session of pushing lasted for two hours, from 10pm to midnight.  Progress was slow; he was stubbornly staying put.  As we approached midnight, the midwives were still optimistic of him coming out the same day, but the doctor was becoming increasingly realistic (pessimistic), and also aware of the possible complications.

They decided to move us to the operating theatre as it looked like Lynne might have to have a caesarian section, which would not have been an ideal situation, particularly given what we (by which I mean Lynne) had gone through.  Another (seemingly more junior) doctor read out the risk warnings, but managed to make it sound like the worst thing in the world with no upside.  The original doctor reassured us that they do lots of them and they are generally fine.

So, at midnight, Lynne was wheeled off to the operating theatre to be prepped, while I was put in a small triangular room and told to put some fetching scrubs on... and wait.  And wait.  Time seemed to be going quite slowly and I alternated between sitting and pacing.  Eventually, I started to hang around in the doorway to try to get some news, and was reassured when told that Lynne was chatting normally once she had been given the anaesthetic (through a spinal tap), and the pain had gone away.

There was still hope of avoiding a c-section by using forceps, but an army of surgeons still hovered - there were probably 10 to 12 staff in there (possibly more).  It was noticeably very bright in the operating theatre (you have to see what you are doing, I guess).  The doctor who had been with us for some of the pushing used the forceps and, lo and behold, it actually only took three or four waves of contractions before he was out, at 12.25am on Friday 11th.

After giving us a view, he was whisked to be cleaned up and weighed, while I staying with him.  He weighed 3.77kg which, despite tiredness, managed to guess (well, try to work out than give an educated guess for) as 8lb 5oz (although I ruined it a little by following up with a secondary guess of 8lb 7oz).  So he was a little heavier than Daisy, although he looked pretty skinny to us.

I don't know how people can say that a particular name suits or doesn't suit a baby based on what they look like when they first come out, but in any case we were tired and defaulted to our primary pre-selected choice of Gregory Simon Allen.

I got to hold him while Lynne was fixed up, much as I did with Daisy, including taking the obligatory photographs for dispersion to close family members.  Gregory looked at me with what looked like suspicion.

After temporarily moving out of the operating theatre and into another area, we were finally shifted to our room.  As with Daisy, it was one of the four-beds-to-a-room, er, rooms, but thankfully we had the, er, room to ourselves (thus continuing the quiet feel we had experienced throughout - where is everyone? - perhaps reflecting the possibility that people only have babies at weekends).  Lynne remained on a drip, the machine which had a habit of beeping noisily.

We were being looked after by a midwife who seemed somewhat of a stickler.  I was chastised for using another bed to search through the well-packed overnight bag (I think it was taken away to be remade for sterility reasons - oops).  She also would not help me move Lynne due to health and safety reasons (it was fair enough; I had tried on my own and nearly done my back in).

It had reached about 3am as I debated when I should go home, not wanting to leave the ward until Lynne was mobile enough to look after Gregory (her bottom half was still a little numb), but also aware that I perhaps needed *some* sleep before returning the "next day".  Amusingly, the midwife informed me of all the hours that I could stay until - "you could go at 6am or 7am, or 4am or 5am", she said unhelpfully.  I eventually disappeared at 4am, finally getting my head down at about 5am.

Here is Gregory in his hospital cot.  His hat didn't stay on easily and, in the end, we took it off as it seemed to be causing him discomfort.  Not surprisingly really, given that he had had a ruddy great pair of forceps gripping his head just two hours earlier.  (You can see the mark on the side of his head.  Thankfully, it all healed rapidly.)

Two hours' sleep later and Daisy (who had stayed at home with Avis and Graham) came into my room, and I blearily told her that she now had a baby brother.  I made a round of bacon butties before driving back to the hospital with Daisy for our first visit (immediate family members did not have to wait until the restrictive visiting hours).  This was Daisy's first glimpse of her brother - she duly introduced him to her Hello Kitty toy.

All the while, Gregory was fast asleep, having a dream about playing the castanets.

I got to have another hold, posing for my best proud father look.

Daisy was also happy to pose, as a proud sister

"Gregory, may I introduce you to my good friend Hello Kitty".  "What on earth is that?".  You'll soon find out, young man; you'll soon find out.

She can do empathy: "don't be sad, Gregory", she is saying.

And before we turn to the next page, as part of my continuing to do on this website exactly what I did for Daisy (what is potentially lacking in originality is doubtless made up in photographic quality), it seems an appropriate juncture at which to highlight how similar Gregory and Daisy looked when born.  This photo compilation was brought to you by Katie Allen Stick Two Photos Together Associates Limited.

Move on to the next stage of Gregory's early life here.

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