At 14:14 (BST) on the 28th September 2010 in the hospital of St. Peters, Chertsey, Surrey our second child Amélie Iris was born, weighing just over 8lb 5oz (3.784kg). Like her sister Éowyn she has the Badger family ears and the Bagnall nose (another that needs to learn the Bagnall nose rub!). However, unlike her sister she has dark hair.
Unlike Éowyn, Amélie’s birth was straightforward and as easy as a birth should be. Lucinda woke at about 04:30 with very mild contractions, they got steadily stronger and more regular through the morning. We arrived at St. Peters at 12:16 (according to the car park ticket) and went straight to triage. The midwife there took us straight to the labour ward. We had to wait for 45 minutes for a birthing room and within 45 minutes of being in the birthing room Amélie was born. The only pain relief that Lucinda had was one paracetamol, a TENS machine and gas and air during the delivery. I am very proud of her.
The only reason that I came home alone on the first night, was due to the ward being so busy and a number of sick babies (my heart goes out to those parents) which meant that we were left longer than we should have before being admitted to the Ante-natal ward. At least that is better than coming home alone 7 nights in a row, as was the case when Éowyn was born.
Again, before people ask about our choice of name there is no psuedo-history or importance behind the name Amélie, we both just like it. Iris, on the other hand is in honour of my Great Auntie Iris (Amélie’s Great-Great Auntie Iris) who passed away last year.
Amélie is of Latin origin and is associated with French speaking countries (also a great film), while its variants Amelia and Emily are more common in Germanic and English speaking countries. All have the same meaning of ‘hardworking‘, ‘industrious‘ and ‘striving‘. Interesting coincidence: Amélie (d’Orléans) was the name of the last Queen Consort of Portugal, and she was born on the 28th September (1865).
Iris on the other hand is of Greek origin and has the meaning ‘Rainbow‘. Obviously, it is also the name of a flower. Iris was a messenger of the gods who rode rainbows between heaven and earth to deliver messages from Olympus to mortals thus linking the gods to humanity.
And I leave this for posterity, to remind us of how the story began:
My wife and I are pleased to announce that she is pregnant for the second time. The new addition to the family is due on the 26th September 2010. Sex (of the child) is unknown and we are keeping it that way, thus we are drawing up a shortlist of names for both.
Below is a copy of the 12 week scans.
Update number 1
On the 17th May 2010 we went for our 20 week scan. Although the newbie was a little wiggler and the sonographer had to work hard to make her measurements all does seem normal and the new baguette weighs in at a healthy 14oz. We await the next 20 weeks in eager anticipation.
Here is a copy of the 20 week scan:
