It started on the evening of the 12th of January. Labour was induced at Middlemore Hospital because your arrival was not going to be left to chance. Mum had been monitored closely in the weeks leading up to this night, and the doctors made the call. It was time. By 11pm, things were moving.
The membranes ruptured at 12:45am. Fifty-seven minutes later, you were fully on your way. The room was calm but purposeful. Our lead midwife Fateme Moloodi was steady and reassuring throughout, alongside the team who had gathered to bring you safely into the world. Dad stood close, not quite knowing what to do with his hands, heart hammering.
At 1:42am on the 13th of January 2026, you arrived. The world became a completely different place.
Your Very First Details
You weighed 3265 grams and measured 48 centimetres long, with a head circumference of 34.5 centimetres. Your Apgar scores were 9 at one minute and 9 at five minutes, strong, healthy, and already doing brilliantly. You were placed skin to skin with Mum at 1:42am, and you stayed there for 68 minutes. We think you both needed it equally.
You were born via ventouse at Middlemore Hospital, and the moment you were out, the room seemed to exhale. No resuscitation needed. No complications for you. Just a healthy, beautiful baby boy, looking up at the world with wide, curious eyes.
The People in the Room
Midwife Fateme Moloodi led the way, with Ashley Chan assisting the birth. Cate Johns and Samana Hussaini were also present, a room full of people whose one job that night was to bring you safely to us. And Dad, of course, who was the only non-medical person in the room and absolutely the most terrified.
You received your Vitamin K at 3:00am, a tiny 1 milligram, intramuscularly, just to give you the best possible start. By the time the sun came up, we had already been staring at you for hours. We couldn’t stop. We still can’t.
News to Dada-Dadi and Nana-Nani
At 2:15am, Dad called Dada-Dadi. At 2:49am, he called Nana-Nani. Both calls were video calls, which meant you were there too, even if you had no idea. They saw your face for the very first time through a screen, in the middle of the night, and they were overjoyed. There were tears, there were smiles, and there was a lot of not quite knowing what to say because some moments are just bigger than words. You were less than two hours old, and already you had people on the other side of the world completely in love with you.
Your Maami’s Arrival
Your Maami’s flight was landing at 6:45am, and it was one of those quiet stresses that Dad was carrying on top of everything else. Once we were moved to the ward, you fell into a deep sleep, and Dad saw his chance. He didn’t want to leave you and Mum, not even for an hour, but there was no one else who could go. So he went.
At the airport, it turned out your Maami had been pulled aside for a random baggage check, which made the wait even longer. Dad stood there, exhausted and anxious, just wanting to get back to you both. But eventually she came through the doors, and they drove straight to the hospital. No detours, no delays. And that is how your Maami met you, just hours after you came into the world.