Day 25 - Monday 20th August

Normally we put our iPhones on silent during the night so we don't get disturbed. Last night we did the opposite - we made sure the iPhones were audible so we could get any messages that John might send us from the hospital. This meant that we woke up and jumped for the phone every time an email message came into our inbox from anyone.

Eventually the message we had been hoping for arrived just before 2am. It was an SMS message from John:

"Baby Alexis Cubbin was born at 12:22 on Monday 20th. 3.2kg. Both mum and bub are doing well."

After Amelia woke up, we told her that the baby had arrived and that she now had a little sister. I don't think she really understood.

John got home at about 9:30am. Apparently he slept at the hospital in a bed in the same room as Nicky and the baby. He was full of praise for the way Nicky handled the labour process.

At about 11:30am, we all set off to drive to the hospital to visit Nicky and Alexis. She is an absolutely gorgeous baby.

I took the opportunity to take lots of photos. Amelia was quite active and so it was hard to get her to pose for photos.

While we were there, a nurse came to take Alexis away for her first bath.

Their security system is very strict. The mother and baby each wear a bracelet. If the baby is moved to a different floor or a certain distance away from the mother, the lifts shut down and alarms sound. In other words, there is no way that anyone could take the baby away from their mother.

Nicky and John had organised a present for Amelia from the baby (a baby doll). Amelia enjoyed opening the present and then playing with the doll.

John decided to stay at the hospital and so Suzy and I used John's car to drive Amelia home for her lunch and a sleep.

It was the first time that I'd driven John's car. John gave me a quick lesson on how to use the BMW's inbuilt satellite navigation system.

The London traffic and the narrow streets were a little nerve-racking but we got home safely. On the journey, Suzy entertained Amelia in the back seat to avoid her falling asleep.

It was after 2pm before she got to bed. Because it had been such a big morning, we let her sleep for a couple of hours. By that time it was too late to get her to her 4pm Gymboree class.

Instead we took her for a walk in her stroller to the playground at Highgate Wood which is more than 1km away.

At about 6pm, John rang to say he had just arrived home and so Suzy and I caught the bus back to East Finchley with Amelia. John said everything is going well at the hospital.

After Amelia went to bed, John ordered some takeaway pizza online which I collected from the local Domino Pizza shop.

Suzy found a photo of Amelia as a baby. Amelia has changed a lot since she was born. This photo was very similar to baby Alexis.