Byron Livingstone's Big Day Out

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Byron Thomas Livingstone was born on 10 March 2009, at 1.29pm (Hong Kong), weighing 3.3kg, and was 53cm long. Simone and Byron are both in good health and recovering well from their exciting but nonetheless tough experience.

Child birth is a wonderful and beautiful thing, but it is accompanied by behaviours that take some adult discipline to understand that they're beneficial.

Byron's introduction to the world was when the surgeon grabbed him by the head with industrial sized multi-grips and pulled with all his might. This was accompanied by some celebratory banter by those present, and then Byron was handed to paediatrician who started beating him on the soles of his feet, apparently to make his lungs work harder. All in all, I wouldn't blame Byron if he was a bit grumpy.

Of course, compared to his unconscious mother, he got off lightly.

But these things pass quickly in the delight of welcoming such a lovely little person. Byron has a peaceful smile, and often looks curiously, quietly around him. His voice sounds fragile and unsure, unless he's hungry. Then it can be strong, confident and insistent. However, the attentive Simone hardly gives him cause to burst beyond a whisper, and while there may be medical rather than affectionate reasons for his smiles, they happen most often in Simone's company.

If we had to say who Byron looks like, we'd have to say he looks like Georgia when she was born. It feels a bit spooky. They share a lot in common, although thankfully, not Byron's big feet and hands.

Georgia loves babies and took an immediate shine to Byron. At 16 months Georgia is a delightfully engaging little girl, and she wanted to kiss Byron straight away. We had a lovely afternoon together - Simone, Georgia, Byron, Joggy and me. It is wonderful to think of Georgia and Byron as our children. We feel extremely lucky.

Thank you to everyone who sent kind wishes and flowers. We're so grateful to have Georgia and Byron and such special family and friends.

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Photos

The night before ...
Where's Byron?

Nesting
A new home for Byron

And here he is!
Byron at 1 hour old.

Pretty good.
Byron passes the taste test.

The four Musketeers
Georgia, Simone, Byron and Joggy

Thank you
for all the kind wishes we have received.