Baby boy!

Definitely the New Year to beat all other New Years!! My very dear friend Elinor and her devoted partner Hamish gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy at their flat in Mt Eden last night at 12.16 and I was priviledged enough to be there. It was a perfect birth with Eli doing a brilliant job pushing and only occasionally telling us all off, while the ever-positive Hamish kept close by her side with the odd short break to the kitchen to sip a gin and tonic. There were two midwives who were just wonderful with their constant encouragement and calm directions. I was on hand to boil water (yes, I really did have to) and make cups of tea after. The whole thing felt safe and relaxed, and a little unreal. I could see New Year fireworks bursting red into the black sky outside the window just before he was born.
Being there was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It wasn't too freaky as I'd been at the birth of my little sister Jenny when I was five years old, so there were a lot of things which seemed quite familiar, like the colour of the newborn baby , or what the placenta looks like.
This has got to be the happiest New Year I've ever had, and I'm sure Eli and Hamish are a million times happier than me. So I feel like I have a lot of love in my heart when I wish you all a very happy new year!!