Welcome, @DisgraceToTheYChromosome and @SimonJT, and thanks for sharing your offspring related news. Simon, that's particularly good news. When he's a teenager it will take a crane to get him out of bed.
Thinking about the whole first and second sibling thing, it wasn't really an issue with my two. Perhaps the fact that they were only 22 months apart helped.
Spudlet, alergies can indeed give you a cough. Mine are awful now as well, and I'm taking three different medications for them, twice a day.
I spoke with the surgical scheduling person yesterday. It's not final, but she has target the 8th of July for my surgery, which is a Thursday. She said that she should have final confirmation for me today. Then I have to find someone to do a preop physical for me as I'm going under general anesthesia. I was offered the option of having it done with a spinal block but since I could easily be on the table for an hour or more I don't want to be awake for the whole thing. I'm sure my ortho is pleased as patients who are completely under are much less bother.
Most people don't realize what a boon general anesthesia is. There was a TV show that aired here as London Hospital (I think it was called Casualty 1906 on your side of the pond) that portrayed what surgery was like without it and with the very early use of it.