At 8.11am local time, our son came into the world. It had already been a long day, with Ma-in-law and I waking at 4.30am and leaving for the hospital at 5.30am. Ava had a C-section booked for 7.00am and, although it didn't go terribly smoothly, she was back in her hospital room by 9.30am. After a couple of hours in the ICU, our baby was brought to the room and it all finally began to feel very real!
Introducing...
English name:
"James David Hider"
(James after my brother and Grandfather, David after my other brother). We'll be calling him "JD". It's easier for the Chinese to pronounce, leaves options open for him to choose a more grown-up name later, and chimes with Ava's favourite gemstone, "jade".
Chinese name: "Zhū Pĭn Xiū" (朱 品 修)
Pronunciation is “Jew – Pin – Shoo”. The meaning is hard to translate, but something like "Scholar of Moral Character" with the first character being Ava's family name, of course.
First reactions: Disappointment at not being allowed to go into the operating theatre, worry about Ava's health on hearing the word "complications", shock at how small the baby is, frustration at being clueless as to what was happening through a lot of the day and surprise at just how much JD's face changed in the twelve hours I spent with him - twelve hours without any screaming, incidentally!
(I'm sure all the "love and bonding" stuff will happen soon enough!!)
Finally, one of the surgeons said that they had come up against four distinct medical problems this morning, any one of which could have prevented conception or a safe birth. Something of a miracle baby, it seems!
[Click here for more photos of JD's early days]
