Twins have given their parents the best possible festive gift by arriving four weeks early – but will not share the same birthdays.
Adeeqa Parveen Ali, 31, and her partner Faisal Imran, from Livingston, West Lothian, went to St John’s Hospital on Christmas Eve, almost one month ahead of the expected due date.
Baby boy Jami and his sister Rumi were born soon after, but will not share the same birthday.
Jami, who weighed in at 5lb 8oz, was born at 11.44pm on Christmas Eve, but his sister, tipping the scales at 4lb 2oz, was born almost one hour later at 12.27am on Christmas Day.
Both, with their mother, will stay in hospital for a few days, staff said, but hope to be out by Hogmanay.
Rumi came within minutes of being the first Christmas baby in Scotland, but was pipped to the post by Eliza Shearer in Aberdeen.
Maja Shearer, 27, and Jason Shearer, 28, dashed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Christmas Eve as Eliza made an appearance a few days before she was due.
The change in plans, Mr Shearer said, meant Mrs Shearer’s parents, who were visiting from Poland, had to host the traditional Christmas Eve celebration without the expectant parents in their home.
“Maja’s Polish, so we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and British Christmas on Christmas Day, and Maja’s folks are over just now so they had to host Christmas dinner without us last night because we’re here, and they’ll probably get a nice Christmas dinner again today,” said Mr Shearer, a planner in the oil and gas industry.
Asked what he was doing when Maja went into labour, Mr Shearer said: “Sleeping – it was 5.30am. She woke me up at 5.30am, it was all quick, then it was quite slow – 5.30am yesterday morning, in here at 7am then we were here the whole day.”
Eliza could well be the first Christmas baby in Scotland this year, arriving at 12.18am and weighing 7lbs 8oz.
Mr Shearer, from Aberdeen, said it was “touch and go” whether she would be born before or after midnight.
The new father also extended his gratitude to the midwifery staff at the hospital, who he said had been “absolutely amazing”.
Elsewhere, Lauren Haddock and Jordan Hamill welcomed their son Finley at 12.33am at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The new arrival, his parents’ firstborn, weighed in at 7lb 8oz.
Meanwhile, at 12.59am on Christmas Day, Lexi was born to Marissa McLean, 31, and Kevin Lothian, 33, from Edinburgh.
Weighing 7lb 8oz, Lexi arrived at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
At 1.24am, Ashleigh Gillon and Dean Halup welcomed their baby boy at Forth Valley Hospital, weighing 7lb 6oz.
The couple, from Clackmannanshire, are still deciding on a name.
