... and Niamh makes three ...

There are life's events that interrupt the ordinary flow of things ...

Cheeky little monkey, with her full head of hair, couldn't wait any longer to peer out at the world. Here she is after a wash and two days of delicious colostrum.

And so it was, at 9:26 PM on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, that a little girl decided she wanted to enter into society two weeks early, taking us all by surprise. Routines had to be suspended while her her family dealt with the excitement and overwhelming flush of love.

To be honest, I've seldom seen people as thoroughly prepared for an event as Andrew, Kate and even Shelley-ann (Shan) were with two weeks to go. Plans to look after the dog, plans for meals for weeks ahead, all the accoutrements of babydom acquired and assembled, clutter removed ... you name it, it had already been done. There was even a process in place for the seamless integration of baby and dog into the family. Although the thoroughly foul wind and flooding rain has pressed the pause button for a day or two while Storm Darragh runs its course so that Georgie the terrier can be returned safely to Hungerford from Faringdon.

Come to think of it, does the name Darragh not have an Irish ring to it, lending a certain portent to Niamh[1] Ava Lyon coming into this world in the cusp of Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire. No "Hurricanes Hardly Happen(ing)" here.

Above [l-r, top-bottom]: hair; that pixie picture with the pursed lips, eyes screwed against the light; first contented "I love my Mum"; Andrew loves his daughter.

The one thing I, personally, was unprepared for was the heart-stirring affection I felt when I gained first sight of the little pixie picture we were presented with on Thursday morning. I think Kate's long 30+ hour labour, resulting in a C-section, had something to do with it, honing the senses, but mostly it was this perfect little face pursing back at me from Andrew's first WhatsApp pictures. And, before that, all the hair.

I finally got to hold little Niamh nearly a day later in the Great Western Hospital with the storm's harbinger already raging. Shan had been able to take the first and third slot and now we await Darragh's abatement to be able to see our granddaughter a deux and witness the first encounter with Georgie the small, but lively, Parson Terrier.

We are so fortunate to live a relatively short distance away which will enable us to witness and enjoy the next steps in her young life. Not that it seems that long ago that Kate was going through those same phases.

We are going to have to be careful not to make a nuisance of ourselves as the Lyon family develops into its next stage of what looks to be a fulfilling and happy life.

Coming next

Niamh's arrival diverted any reasonable attention from the Portuguese blog I ​had been working on so maybe I'll be able to restart that in a day or two in between trips to Hungerford.

[Endnotes]:

1. For those without our Irish background going back through Shan's ancestry, Niamh is pronounced "Neeve".  It's quite simple when you know how and, after all, Kate and Andrew could have chosen Aoife or Órfhlaith!