Simone – Ramsay Family Classics

Ten fingers, ten toes, no worries

At 8:48 last night Charlotte Isabelle Ramsay made a rather undignified but otherwise uneventul entry into this world.

I was reading Carl Sagan’s book “Contact” recently and a short section towards the start describes things quite well I felt:

When they pulled her out, she was not crying at all. Her tiny brow was wrinkled, and then her eyes grew wide. She looked at the bright lights, the white and green clad figures, the woman lying on the table below her. On her face was an odd expression for a newborn – puzzlement perhaps.

She is rather cute, and both her and Simone are doing fine.

The all important vital statistics are: 2.34kg (5lb 2oz), 46cm length, 32cm head circumference.

Below, for your edification, are the first of what promises to be many many photos of her.

I was thinking before that she might need her own website, so I can to some extent separate my fatherly blubberings from my opinionated rantings, but that will be another task for another day. anyway, without further ado:

(Click on the thumbnails to see the larger versions of the photos)

Initially displeased at the reception:

But happier once we got her in some clothes:

Settling in well in grandad’s arms:

Happy with mum:

But showing contempt for her father (pull that tongue in missy)

That’s better:

Feeling contemplative (my favorite photo of her so far):

Feeling sleepy:

Waving hello:

And finally another shot with mum:

Unfolding events

As some of you may have already heard Simone has ended up with her blood pressure up over the weekend, and as a result she was admitted to hospital yesterday, and was induced last night.

She’s feeling fine and doing well, and we should have an outside kid in the next day or two.

More news (and photos) as they become available.

Good news ladies, bad news ladies

First the good news (possibly). Boffins (to use the appropriate official top gear nomenclature) have figured out how to create sperm from female bone marrow cells. Now, in theory at least, women can reproduce without the aid of men, although as the page points out, we’re still useful to keep around for mowing the lawn and fixing cars. The technique sounds pretty high risk (from the stand point of the proportion of the sperm that have cellular structural (and thus presumably chromosomal or genetic) defects, but as with all science once the concept has been proven the wrinkles usually get ironed out pretty quickly).

The bad news is that even if they can reproduce sans men, they are still going to get forgetful when it happens. Ozzie scientists have proven that so called pregnancy brain is a real phenomenon, although they have not tried to speculate on what the actual cause is. This is all quite funny because I’ve been listening to Simone complain for a few months now about how she keeps on forgetting things and feels generally somewhat more wooley brained than usual. One of her old bosses said that she didn’t realise how bad it was until after she had had her baby and her memory came back. Perhaps it is supposed to serve an evolutionary purpose, helping women forget just how unpleasant pregnancy can be so that they can do it multiple times and advance the species…

Career change

Well today marked a change in both Simone and my careers.

I started my first day as an orthopaedic registrar (no more ward call – Yay!!!) and Simone began a career diversion as a one year lady of leisure (well perhaps not an entire year, but until the baby arrives at least).

I got to operate all day, and Simone got to sleep in until 10:30am.

Still I also arrived home to a cooked dinner and a martini (both of which had been part of a recent running joke between the two of us), so I can’t really complain about her getting to have a sleep in.

And baby makes Three

Well actually it’s four, given that Jack is such an integral part of the family.

Today Simone had her first (12 week) ultrasound of our first attempted child. Apparently all is well to date with bones being where they should be and the like. Another 2 months before we get to the good scan (with fingers and brains and heartbeats etc) but it’s still a significant milestone. According to or reckonings it should be cooked and ready on about the 20th of April next year, although for those inquisitive souls out there you may have to wait until then to find out a sex, as we think we’re going to let it be a surprise.

In other related news Simone is planning on taking next year off work, and since Cairns have offered me a non-training job doing Orthopaedics we’re going to be staying in Cairns for another year, which obviously wasn’t the initial plan when we decided to come up, but as they say, life is what happens when you’re making other plans.

Divination

While the orb may not reveal its shadowy secrets to me, nor the tea-leaves provide me with predictive insights, I do now posess the power to predict the future.

This is because for our Beer and Pizza anniversary Simone got me a Magic eight ball, and my experience so far this year (we also have one in ED) the magic eight ball never lies to me.

Now if only I can figure out how to use it to predict the lotto numbers…

According to Simone…

As the fount of all knowledge which is correct and unquestionable, apparently today is our second, and therefore “Beer and Pizza” anniversary.

Simone made the comment when I asked her what she had planned for tonight (she has some plan, but hasn’t told me what it is yet) and she said that the second anniversary was the beer and Pizza anniversary (the first being “paper”, I think), so that was what we were doing, and after all, who am I to question such obvious truths….

🙂

Don’t mean to boast

But when I got home at 1:30am I found ice cold beer waiting for me in the fridge.

I’ve got the best girl ever!!!

Trial separation

After 14 months together we are having a trial separation.

Now before you all go getting startled, this is simply a stupid work thing.

Both being doctors on career paths, we knew and had discussed even before we got married the probability that at some point we would be sent to different places apart from one another for some period of time. It’s a sad reality, and it’s just a little irritating that it’s had to happen so soon.

Simone has finished her job doing paediatric surgery at the Mater, and is now set to spend the next 6 months doing general surgery at Nambour hospital, about 2 hours north of our house.
I’ve been scheming constantly for most of the last week, trying to figure out a last minute way out of it, since I frankly rather like having my girl around to come home to in the afternoons, do stuff with in the evenings, and snuggle with at night (and while Jack is admirably fluffy, friendly and cuddly, he isn’t quite up to the task of substitution).

It’s close enough that we can spend weekends together, and as it involves significantly less on call than the Paeds job did, we will hopefully be able to have good quality time on those weekends, but it still kinda sucks.

On weekdays however, since I no longer have a moderating female influence around, there will be frequent parties, poker nights and keg offs. Jack tells me he’s got a huge one in the works for wednesday already, and all his biker mates are coming, so if you don’t have other plans, drop in, bring some vodka, and don’t forget your pool cue for the inevitable end of party front lawn fight.

And when that’s done I’ve heard rumors about teddy organising jelly, handcuffs, and a limosine load of strippers – frankly I’m afraid to ask. Still, Jack and teddy do throw the most happening parties, so perhaps I shouldn’t question, and just go with the flow. 🙂

Simone can’t come to the phone

She’s off hanging with the cool people now.

On saturday (after a week of tech troubles, the details of which I won’t bore you with) Simone bought herself a shiny new white MacBook macintosh laptop.

It does everything her old computer did, just without her having to know anything about settings or configurations or the like.

And of course since all the cool people have Mac’s, she’s been getting invites to avant garde poetry readings, exclusive coffee tastings, and other understatedly cool social events since then.

Don’t know what Jack and I will do while she’s off at these. Maybe there will be a bland movie on TV for us… 🙂

(Of corurse the other thing is that as it has been a while since I last used a Mac to any great extent, I will be ringing all my Mac user friends and relatives to find out how to do all the tricky and fiddly little things I can never remember how to do. Mac owners – you have been warned).