‘New baby and a 21st birthday’ no problem for mum Lucy

Lockdown has been a very interesting time for Asogen and Lucy Reddy.  It’s included the arrival of a new child, and the 21st birthday celebration of another!

Mum Lucy gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Aylah Hope, at Hibiscus Hospital in Port Shepstone, on May 6. She weighed a healthy 3.6kg and her arrival now makes it three girls in the family.

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The couple’s eldest daughter, Alexandra Dene, celebrated her 21st birthday last Sunday (17th). She would have liked to have had more of a celebration but this was not possible due to the Covid-19 restrictions. However, having a new sister more than made up for it.

Middle daughter, Alina Dene is a teenager, aged 14. You probably won’t find too many families with such big age gaps between children, but it works for them.

Lucy is originally from Umkomaas but moved to the South Coast in 1999 when she married Asogen, who is a senior traffic officer with the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality.

She said being pregnant and having a baby during the lockdown had had its pros and cons. “My husband and daughters were not able to visit, so it was a bit different to previous pregnancies, especially not having Asogen with me every step of the way,” she said.

“My girls were a tremendous help in the time leading up to the arrival of their little sister but I did miss not having my own siblings being able to visit.”

This was an experience she was sure other pregnant women had also endured in this time and her heart went out to them. Lucy was pleased to have had her husband with her on the day of the birth. It was also a time where her daughters needed to exercise great patience as they were very excited about getting to see their new baby sister.

But they had to wait for Mum to recover and then return home as they were not allowed to visit while she was in hospital.

Lucy said mums-to-be should not be anxious or worry about giving birth during this time. “What’s important is to follow all the Covid-19 regulations and if possible, have the child’s father with you during the birth. It all helps,” she said.

She said she found the quality of the nursing and care very good. “They took wonderful care of my baby, followed all the precautions and did all they could to ensure my baby was safe. They really did go out of their way,” she said.

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