When Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny’s younger daughter Morgan Kenny was planning the delivery of their first grandchild, she decided on a water birth – and what could be more natural for the grandchild of the golden couple of the pool and surf?
But beautiful little Flynn Melchior Gruell, who was born on March 5th, had other ideas.
“I’d planned to have a water birth because I love being in the water, and I’d heard great things about how comforting it was for a baby to go from the womb to a similar environment,” explains 27-year-old Morgan.
The plan, however, went right out the window when Flynn decided he didn’t want to follow the careful schedule worked out by Morgan and her husband Ryan Gruell.
“We were in the car on the way to the hospital [for the second time, after a false start] and I felt like I was pushing him into the world,” Morgan says.
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Lisa admits she shed a few tears when she first saw Flynn, while Grant was “so proud.”
The couple say Flynn is an amazing bond between them.
“If we’d left 10 minutes later, I would have given birth in the car. It was a little bit scary on the way back to the hospital.”
It was 10.30pm and the young couple from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast had been in bed only a few minutes when Morgan’s contractions started and her waters broke.
The proud parents and grandparents with the beautiful bub.
Flynn is Lisa and Grant’s first grandchild.
“Baby whisperer” Grant is adept at settling Flynn, whose middle name Melchior is Ryan’s dad’s first name and Ryan’s middle name.
They headed straight to hospital but decided to return home after their midwife explained it could be a “couple of hours or a couple of days” before they met their baby.
Morgan – who famously danced at the Moulin Rouge in Paris before she married– barely had time to make herself comfortable, while Ryan did a couple of household chores to keep his nerves in check, before they were racing back to the hospital.
“I cried because it was like our baby’s having a baby,” Lisa shares.
This is one loved boy.
Morgan and Ryan dote on Flynn.
“Fifteen minutes later, the baby was in our arms,” smiles Ryan, 29, with a note of wonder in his voice.
“I didn’t cry but I felt the bond straight away. He was exactly what I expected to see and be. And just to know he was healthy and Morgan was healthy was such a relief. I was ecstatic.”
Morgan, who married Ryan two years ago after a 12-year courtship, says her handsome husband turned what could have been a “traumatic” experience into one of the most wonderful and beautiful moments of her life.
Morgan and Lisa shower Flynn in kisses.
“I felt the bond straight away,” proud dad Ryan says.
Welcome to the world, Flynn Melchior Gruell.
“Ryan just kept reminding me to breathe,” she says.
Flynn’s doting parents aren’t the only ones obsessed! Morgan’s mum, Olympic and Commonwealth Games legend Lisa Curry, wells up with tears when she hears Morgan talk about her love for Flynn and Ryan.
“I cried because it was like our baby’s having a baby,” the 55-year-old says.
Lisa and Grant are on cloud nine.
Mother and daughter take a moment with the new bundle of joy.
“I woke up in the morning to 100 missed calls, and all of a sudden I was a grandma. I cried, of course, he was just so adorable and content, and Morgan was so content. He had his eyes open when he was eight hours old, and was looking around at us with such interest. He’s beautiful.”
Morgan’s dad, famed ironman Grant, 54, was also overwhelmed with love for the little fella, and has quickly taken the title of “baby whisperer” for his uncanny knack of being able to quiet Flynn with a simple touch.
“I couldn’t wait to get to the hospital to meet him,” admits Grant, who was the only family member to wait until Flynn was born to find out if it was a girl or boy.
“I got a text saying, ‘You have a grandson.'”
Lisa and Grant ended their marriage nine years ago but have remained good friends and are clearly relishing the experience of being first-time grandparents, even if they enjoy teasing each other a bit over who is the better baby wrangler.
For more stunning family moments with the Kennys, get the new issue of Woman’s Day – on sale now!
What a gorgeous family unit – congrats!
