Lathams News: A NEW GRANDSON...

We were woken this morning at 1.30am by a phone call from Pete to let us know that we were grandparents again to another beautiful baby boy...

Elliot Hjerm Latham was born at 1.30pm (Danish time) on Monday 14th December (Tuesday 15th Aussie time). Both Mum and Bub were doing well...

It was such exciting news for us after all the drama of the previous two weeks. Elliot was 13 days overdue.

I do have to wonder how much all the Covid Drama played in the delay of his birth...

The Covid Drama all started around Maria's due date with both Pete and Theo getting bad colds and in Pete's case a chest infection... Before he would be able to be present at the birth, it meant he needed to go and get covid tested. It came back all clear as he suspected. The following day, Maria gets a phone call from her Midwife support person who was to be there for the birth, informing her that the girl she worked closely with had just tested positive for Covid so she now needed to quarantine until she was tested and returned a negative test... Unfortunately she tested positive so that meant that she would not be able to be present for the birth...

Pete and Maria have been pretty much been living in a bubble keeping away from people for quite some time now and only associating with those close by. Four days after her due date, her friend and neighbour from upstairs (they had also been living in a bubble) came down to Pete and Maria's appartment for a play date as they have youngsters the same age. Her friend spent all afternoon downstairs with them, and then the following Tuesday she rang Maria to let her know that she had a bit of a sore throat on the Monday so thought she should be tested for Covid and sure enough her test had returned positive for the disease....

Poor Maria, it was a very emotional day for her... It also meant that as a family they needed to isolate and all be tested, not just once but at least two or three times, before she was able to go to the hospital and give birth and also before Pete would be able to join her...

She was pretty stressed because being in the medical profession she really didn't want to put any of her colleagues at risk if she had the disease and regardless she wouldn't be able to isolate for two weeks at this stage because by now she was already 7 days overdue. It was a very trying time for them all..

Fortunately her first test came back negative, which was a pretty good sign, but she and Pete still needed to return another negative test before he would be allowed to be at the birth with her..

She was also stressed at the idea of being induced, as she really wanted to have the baby naturally...

All testes returned back negative and she then had Elliot the following day naturally, a day before they would have wanted to induce her...

I really believe it was all an answer to prayer. God is faithful..

Anyway, we now have a third grandson...

It has been a very emotional time for me also, and I have shed many a tear, as I realize that I just might not get to see our latest grandson as a baby. With the Covid situation in Europe it does not look like any of us are going to be able to travel in the foreseeable future... And, even though I am incredibly thankful for Technology and in particular Facetime, it is definitely not the same as being there and being able to cuddle our little darlings... I think the hardest part is not even knowing when in the foreseeable future we might be able to travel.. I try not and dwell on it for if I do it just makes me feel very very sad...

I know I am not the only grandparent in this boat, and my heart goes out to all those other parents who have children living abroad...

Meanwhile, I am thankful for this new life that has been born and that now blesses our family. I am filled with absolute love for this little darling even though I haven't had the pleasure of holding him yet...