Hip-hop artist Dialectrix, and his partner, known only as Camilla, welcomed a baby boy named Lucius last winter. It was never reported in the press, and I came across the birth notice in a newsletter put out by his record company, Obese Records.

Dialectrix, born Ryan Leaf, is originally from the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, and was introduced to hip-hop via skate culture. He was part of the first hip-hop crew to win a Triple J Unearthed competition in 2004. Since 2008 he has been a member of Gully Platoon, described as a “hip-hop supergroup”, and has recorded two solo albums. When not emceeing, he works as a tradesman, and keeps his musical alter ego a secret from his workmates.

Hip-hop artist Lenny Pearce, and his partner Jodie Alvaro, welcomed their first child in July last year, and named their son Harley Kai Ruela Pearce. Harley’s birth was only recently alluded to in the mainstream media.

Lenny is a member of the all-male hip-hop dance and pop music group Justice Crew. They won the fourth season of Australia’s Got Talent in 2010, and signed with Sony. Their debut single And Then We Dance went platinum; their second single Friday to Sunday went double platinum. In July last year, Boom Boom became their first #1 single.

Lenny’s full name is Len John Ruela Pearce, and he has a twin brother named John Len Ruela Pearce, who is also a member of Justice Crew; the twins formed their first dance group while at high school in Sydney. Len and John are of Australian and Filipino descent.

There’s been something of a mini baby boom at the Warringah Ratettes, with these players welcoming babies recently:

Chris Ross – son Rocky (1 year)

Cheryl Soon – daughter Kofi (6 months)

Cassandra Williams – son Xavier (1 year)

Lisa Seiler – daughter Eva (6 months)

Kate Henderson – son Zac (9 months)

Last weekend the Ratettes showed that motherhood hadn’t slowed them down or lessened their level of dedication, as they won the grand final against Sydney University.

Actress Ada Nicodemou, and her husband Chrys Xipolitas, welcomed their first child on August 22, and have named their son Johnas Chrys. Johnas Xipolitas weighed 3.5 kg (7 lb 7 oz). Ada and Chrys have spoken openly about using IVF, and felt very fortunate to conceive on their first round.

Ada is originally from Cyprus, and moved to Australia as a child. She has appeared on television since she was a teenager, in the multicultural school drama, Heartbreak High, where she played aspiring dancer Katerina Ioannou. Since 2000, she has played Leah Patterson-Baker, making her one of the soap’s longest-serving cast members. Her character Leah is a big-hearted, hard-working single mother who runs a cafe and is very unlucky in love, with one of her husbands ending up in witness protection and the other killed in a freak abseiling accident. As her cafe was destroyed in a fire during a race riot, sending her into a spiral of depression, she can’t be said to be lucky in business either. This year Ada became the host of reality TV dating show, Please Marry My Boy, where contestants must move in with their potential husband’s mother, and mum makes the final choice. She has appeared in two films, including The Matrix, where she played Dujour, the “White Rabbit” girl.

Chrys is a chef with more than twenty years experience, and runs a Mediterranean restaurant in Sydney called Island. Ada and Chrys were married in 2007.

(Full story in this week’s New Idea)

Restaurateur and popular TV chef Kylie Kwong has spoken publicly for the first about the grief of losing her first child earlier this year. Named Lucky, the baby boy was due to be born last month, but the pregnancy, to Kylie’s partner, an artist known only as Nell, resulted in a premature stillbirth in early April.

Kylie and Nell have been together for five years, and were devastated at the loss of their son. Both of them are practising Buddhists, and have needed all their strength to remain positive.

I’m sure Kylie’s many fans will be saddened to hear of the loss she and Nell have experienced, and will send them their sympathies, if only in thought.