Bronwen Thomson - October 1971 -

Bronwen Leanne Thomson was born in Canberra Hospital, ACT, Australia on the 13th October, 1971. She was a very good baby - ate and slept very well. She didn’t particularly like having a bath. In fact she cried very loudly so I bought a dummy but she just spat it out and carried on crying!! I resorted to a glass of red wine to cope with Bronwen’s difficult time of the day!!

Peter was studying/researching for his PhD at the Australian National University (ANU) and I was teaching at Downer State Primary School 6 weeks before Bronwen was born. We were living in university accommodation in Campbell, Canberra where other couples with children lived. It was a totally new situation for us both. Peter studied late into the night and brought Bronwen into me when she was crying for her 2 o’clock feed. This was a special time. It was very quiet and Bronwen drank hungrily and often pooed her nappy between sides!!

It was suggested that a bath at 4-5pm would settle a baby before their evening feed. Bronwen did not like having a bath and would cry incessently - this is when I bought a dummy - easily spat out though. The odd glass of wine got us through! Once those first few weeks passed Bronwen was a very easy baby. She fed and slept very well and ticked off all her baby milestones - she was a delight.

Once Peter had finished his Ph.D he applied for a lecturing position in statistics at several universities overseas. He accepted an offer from Nottingham University in England. In August, 1972 we flew back to New Zealand to show Bronwen to our parents in Dunedin and Ashburton before we went overseas again.