How long had you known each other when you decided to have children, and how did you feel when you found out you were going to have a baby?

Well…we didn’t exactly decide – it was decided for us! I found out I was pregnant about a month after we moved in together. The timing wasn’t perfect, but we were both happy with it, despite the initial shock and panic!

My main worry was telling my mum. I don’t know why I panicked, it was stupid! She had always told me to do things the right way round – ie. Find a man, marry him, and then have kids – not to do it all the wrong way round like she did. So I worried…and worried…and worried! My mum and dad came up to Edinburgh for the day with my baby nephew, and I spent the whole time trying to break the news. I still didn’t manage it.
I eventually took the coward’s way out. I went home one weekend, and on the Monday morning I wrote a letter, put it in a envelope with the picture of the first scan, and ran away! I told everyone at work to say we were busy so I wouldn’t have to talk to them on the phone, and when I got home I unplugged the phone! I eventually spoke to them the next day, and they suggested that the two of us came home even if just for an overnight to chat about everything. My dad said to me “Be careful on the icy roads…there’s three of you now.” That made me cry.

Once we got home the next evening, we walked into the house, and my mum and dad got the champagne out. They berated me for not telling them sooner, but were happy about the baby.