The name
Seoras is (Scottish) Gaelic for George. We named him after Neil's grandfather, George Montgomery, who passed away in 2000. There are many George Montgomerys in the family and the inspiration for using the Gaelic version came from a University friend of Neil's called Seoras.
David is the name of Megan's brother, as well as of Seoras' intended godfather. It also met our criteria for a short, Scottish/English name as a middle name.
Bluebells?
We'll always associate Bluebells with Seoras. They were blooming outside our flat the morning he was born and growing along the edges of the motorway when we drove him to Scotland a week later. We had wanted to put them in the flower arrangement for his funeral, but they are not a traditional cut flower and we couldn't obtain any. We saw them everywhere when we were travelling in the North of Scotland in the week following the funeral. By pure coincidence we ended up staying in a B&B in Inverness called Bluebell House.
When we returned home, we discovered that the flower symbolises eternal love.
Homebirth
Despite everything that happened afterwards, we are both pleased we decided on a homebirth for Seoras and have already decided to plan another for our next child again with an independent midwife. The outcome would have been the same had we been in a hospital but I believe we would not have had the same fantastic birth experience. Not only has that helped on an emotional level, but also on a practical one. Sarah's care and expertise meant that the delivery was straightforward and my recovery was quick. The longish labour and my difficulty getting pushing right might have led to an instrumental delivery or even a caesarean section had we been at a hospital. In either case I would have faced the following days with physical scars, as well as emotional ones. For more information on homebirth, including research and contacts, see the links page.
