William Hector Whipple was born on October 9, 2015, at Lewisham Hospital to Catherine, 34, and Tom Whipple, 33
“We thought about calling him Hector, but I think the middle name is for the flight of fancy,” says Tom, The Times science editor. William’s 23-month-old brother, Felix, has responded well to his new playmate. “It’s been a bit like the 12 days of Christmas. Every day William has bought him a present, so that has greatly facilitated the transition into a world in which he is not the absolute centre of attention.”
As the son of two journalists — Catherine (née Nixey) is The Times radio critic — William may be drawn into their article research. His brother has enjoyed a ride on a skateboard pram in the name of journalism. Tom is happy to have another assistant: “He can start off with a career appearing in ludicrous features that help my career.”
Stella Lucy Packer was born on August 9, 2015, at St Thomas’ Hospital in London to Jennifer Barton Packer, 33, and William Packer, 31
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Stella shares her birthday with her oldest sister, Diana (New Readers, Oct 9, 2010), and was born weighing 9lb 4oz — not quite enough to beat her other sister, Livia (New readers, Feb 9, 2013), who weighed an impressive 10lb 5oz at birth. Of her third pregnancy Jen says, “I think I finally got the hang of it”.
Stella’s siblings have been taking it in turns to hold her in their laps. “They are both fighting over who spends time with her. It’s always ‘I need to hold her, I need to kiss her, I need to read her a book now . . . ’ She has integrated well into our chaos.” William is resigned to being utterly outnumbered in the house but, as a cricket fiend, he is still doing his utmost to teach Stella and her sisters about the game.