Later

"He's amazing," said Al of his new son. "All he does is eat and sleep." Squiffany's birth hadn't been all that easy, and by the time she was born she had inhaled a lot of stuff she shouldn't have, and it took her and her parents a while to get over it. This time, it was simple and happy.

I will call him Pugsley. No one else will, but it is my small tribute to Charles Addams, whose cartoons I loved as a very small child (I have a feeling that this explains something about me) and to Carolyn Jones, the original television Morticia, who was gorgeous and who died young. An odd connection perhaps, but why not.

Squiffany has been so good today. Her parents woke her at 5.30 as they wanted to be able to say goodbye at 6, so that she knew they had left the house and wouldn't look for them all day. Her face lit up with pleasure in a gratifying way when I went in at 6 and she kissed them and waved goodbye cheerily. Her aunt came at 9 so that I could spend the morning in the shop, then I took over for the rest of the day. I finished reading 'Fox in Socks' at 7.10 and was finally able to cook dinner, glass of champagne in one hand, after that. Proud daddy of two came home about an hour later, with photographs. Squiffany did ask for her mother a couple of times - "Mummy, mummy" excitedly at 5 o'clock as the front door opened. "Sorry, only me," said Ro - but she was not upset and, on being shown a mobile phone photo of her brother, repeated "Baby brother" in an interested sort of way before going to cuddle her doll. If only I thought it could be as easy as that all the time........