Birth Of A New Baby

We had just got Christmas out of the way, and we were going to spend New Year with grandma and grandpa. I was very excited, as it meant another Christmas tree with presents underneath; as my grandparents kept all the presents there waiting for us. Throughout my childhood, he would say that Father Christmas thought that she had too many presents under her own tree; that he had to deliver to their address just so that he could have an extra cookie and glass of milk. It also meant another Christmas dinner and crackers and games, which grandpa always made me laugh when we played games to amuse ourselves. Grandpa was a silly man, but he always had time to play with me; even if it meant that he was playing with my dolls; he always made me laugh no matter what. Grandma was more serious, and spent most of her time knitting. Not to say that she did not play with me or enjoy me being there, because she did. It was more the fact she was not as silly as grandpa, and grandma often called him a big kid and that he should act his age. This always made mother and father laugh, as it was true and he was even sillier than my father. It was whilst I was having a weekend with grandma and grandpa, that whilst I was sat at the dinner table mother made an announcement. We had just sat down to have dinner, when my father tapped his glass with his pen; as he told me to put my fork down as I was just about to start eating, also reminding me that before we eat, it is traditional to say grace; and be thankful for what is on the table. We were not a religious family, but father always insisted that we say grace on a Sunday, and always whilst we are at my grandparents. He then made a speech for New Year, thanking them for their presents and for always being there for us. Then he ended by clearing his throat, as he said that mother has something to say. Mother got up, and by now you could see that she was excited.

"Come on dear, what is the surprise?" Grandpa asked, as he fidgeted just like an excited boy waiting for a bag of sweets to appear

"We are having a new baby." Mother told us, as my grandparents were over the moon with joy; and as grandpa jumped in the air and congratulated father, before going over to congratulate mother.

"Where is the new baby mommy?" I asked, as I started to look around the lounge

"The new baby is in mommy's tummy." She replied, as she held her tummy gently stroking it.

"You mean you have eaten the baby mommy?" I said very shocked

"No Amanda. The baby is growing inside mommy's tummy." She giggled

"How did it get in your tummy mommy?" I said

"The baby angels put it there Amanda, would you like to touch my tummy?" She asked me

I put my hands together as I clapped them, telling my mother that I would like to touch our new baby. So I placed my hand onto mother's tummy, and then lowered my head where I then said.

"Hello little baby, I am your sister Amanda."

Well my grandparents were over the moon, and once grandpa had settled down after grandma had told him to; he went to the drinks cupboard and brought out a bottle of champagne.

"I was saving this for Amanda's wedding, but we may as well have it now to celebrate." Grandpa said.

"I will have a whisky dad, champagne gives me acid." Dad replied

"Ok son, you know where the whisky is; and as you are having one you may as well pour me one. Let the ladies have this posh stuff." Grandpa said

Grandma called me over, and as she wrapped her arms around me, she handed me her glass as she let me have a drink of her champagne, and I can remember pulling such a face; and telling them that it was horrible. They all laughed at me, and then grandpa offered me his glass of whisky.

"No thank you grandpa, I am going to have a glass of cola; because I like that. I don't like what you are drinking, or what grandma is drinking because it is horrible." I said, as I stamped my feet and crossed my arms.

"That's a good girl; this is really bad for you anyway Amanda." Grandpa said

"Then why do you drink it if it is bad for you?" I replied, rather inquisitively.

"She is very clever this one son. We drink it because it is nice." He told me, and he then gave me a kiss with his whisky breath

My mother then told us that the new baby would be due to arrive by the end of June. I was so excited, that I put my arms around my mother and told her that I loved her so much; and I hoped that she had another baby girl so that I could have a sister to play with. It was a day of celebrations for my parents and my grandparents that day, not forgetting me; as I must have drunk so much fizzy pop I could have exploded.

Although the first few years of my life are just a distant memory, what I can start to remember clearly was the time I started the infant and junior school, which was four months after mother told me she was having another baby. Going to mothers and toddlers for the last six months to get me prepared for schools really did help, as mother thought I may not take to it that well as I was always with her. This time I would not be going to school for just a few hours, I would be at infant school; and would be there till 3.30pm. This was short lived, as arriving at the school I was very excited to go into the playground with the other children. Some of which I recognised from pre-school, and some I recognised from where I lived.

The school was of red brick and had a very large pointed roof with a clock in the centre, and below that it had a stone plaque which read A.D 1851. The school was surrounded by a brick wall, which had iron railings within the brickwork; so that the children could still see their parents and wave to them as they went along their merry way. I was marched through the gates, as I was a curious child and often stopped to take things in; and mother always seemed to call me a slowcoach. We walked up the three steps to the main entrance, and then mother walked me down the long corridor; with doors appearing all the way along the corridor like bedrooms in a house. I could hear the noise of other children, and wondered why I did not go straight into the classroom, which was explained to me by mother; that I had to go and see the headmistress first before being allowed to go to class. I sat outside her office, as mother and I waited to be attended too. Just then a lady came out of the room with a big door that had no windows like the classroom doors; where she invited mother and me inside. After getting inside her office, mother then introduced me to her.

"Mrs Roberts, this is my daughter Amanda, and she is to start infant school today."

"Very nice to meet you Amanda, I hope you will be happy here at our lovely school." She said, as she looked down at me with her strange glasses sticking on the end of her nose.

"I am very excited and cannot wait to see where my class is." I said as I jumped up and clapped my hands in excitement

After all the formalities had been discussed, the headmistress looked at me and told me to say goodbye to my mother. So I looked at her and gave her a kiss, as I waved and told her goodbye. Mother then told me that she would be back at the school around 3pm to pick me back up, and she hoped I enjoyed my day. The headmistress then took hold of my hand, as I saw my mother walk down the corridor; turning around at the very end before the double doors.

"I love you mommy." I said, waving my hand and blowing her a kiss.

"I love you too Amanda, now you be a good girl." She replied, as I saw her get her handkerchief out and wipe her face.

The headmistress then took me a short journey down the corridor, where she then knocked on the door and walked in where she said.

"Good morning Miss Higgins, this is Amanda Daniels; she will be joining your classroom today."

"Good morning headmistress and good morning Amanda, now where do I put you?" She replied, scratching her head as she looked around the classroom.

"I will leave her with you then Miss Higgins, now you be a good girl Amanda, and I hope you settle in nicely." She told me, as she then walked out of the room.

"I know I will put you on the table in the corner with Gregory, Alison and Susan." She told me, as she walked me through the classroom dodging in between the other children.

I was introduced to the children, who in turn all welcomed me to Miss Higgins' classroom; where I then sat down next to April and Susan.

"My name is April and this is my brother Gregory, who is also my twin." April said.

"Hello April, my name is Amanda, and my mommy is having a baby very soon; so I hope it is a sister so I can look after her and play with her. Hello Gregory, hello Susan." I replied, now very excited.

Once we had all been introduced, the teacher placed some books on my desk which were just for me. I had lots of books to write in, which I could take home; or leave in my desk, which was much bigger than the desks in playschool and this time the desk was mine and no one else would use it.

"I am so glad I am not in Vicky Stephens' class." I told April

"Who is Vicky Stephens?" Greg asked me, all puzzled as he just opened his spelling book.

"Vicky Stephens is the girl who lives next door to me, and she is not nice at all; and she is in Miss Samuels class I think." I replied, as Greg passed me a pencil that he had just sharpened.

"Why did you not want to be in her class then?" April asked me, as she placed her arms on the desk and lay on them a she looked up at me.

"Well, because she pulls wings off butterflies; and that is so cruel mommy says." I replied.

"How do you know she does that?" Susan asked me, not amused at all.

"Because she lives next door, and I saw her when we used to play together in the garden. Mommy will not let me play with her anymore, because she says she is a wicked little girl, and she lifts her dress up and shows her knickers to the boys." I said, now with a face grimacing like I had just eaten a very sour sweet.

"That's so rude, my mommy would shout at me if I did anything like that." Replied April, as Greg started to giggle

"It is not funny Gregory, it is very rude. That is something no little girl should do, because it is not ladylike mommy said." I replied, pointing my finger at him as though I had just told him off.

He just sank his head down into his books as he giggled a few times, as the teacher then wrote some words on the board for us to copy. That was the beginning of what was to become a very close friendship, as the days unfolded.

When we were in the playground, the three of us all sat together, as Susan went to look for her big sister who was in the junior section of the school. Greg, April and I would just sit and laugh; as well as play hopscotch and skipping. We were all developing a very strong bond, and wherever April and I were; Greg was never far behind; and I think he did it more because he protected his sister quite a lot; and I think he just enjoyed looking after the pair of us. I can remember once whilst Greg had just gone to the boys toilets, April and I were sitting on the grass making daisy chains; when these two boys came up to us. They stamped on a few daisies that we had picked, so that we could not pick them up or use them; as they started calling us silly names and throwing the trodden daisies at us. It was then that Greg looked over and noticed what was going on, where he quickly rushed over to us.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He shouted at them

"What's it to do with you?" They replied, as they continued stamping on the flowers.

"Well she is my sister, and she is my friend." Greg replied, now standing over us.

"AND!" they shouted

"And, leave them alone because they are with me." He said, as he stood in the face of one of the boys.

"Hit him, hit him Josh; he is a girl." One of the boys said, egging his friend on.

Just then the boy pulled his fist back, and before he could do anything Greg pushed the boy to the ground. He again told them to leave us girls alone, and before anything escalated into a fight the playground teacher came over to break things up. She scolded all of the boys telling them that there would be no fighting, and if they continued they would go to the headmistress's office. It did not end there, as a few times these boys kept antagonising us; where Greg came to our rescue. The only time it stopped was when Greg retaliated as he had finally had enough of them so he clenched his hand and landed his fist on Josh's chin. He was so in trouble with the headmistress, but he said it was worth it as he never liked those boys anyway; and they did leave us all alone from that day forward. That was the first time that Greg was my knight in shining armour, but it was not the last time he came to our rescue. Over the coming months I saw mother's tummy getting bigger, and noticed how uncomfortable she got at times. I helped out as much as I could by doing the dishes once we had all finished dinner, and helped out again before I went out to play in the garden, or with April. Finally mother went into hospital to give birth to our new baby. She told me that her labour was not as long as mine and she told me that she had a much easier birth, but it was still a stressful time for her as she felt much more drained with this pregnancy. When the baby arrived, she was told that it was a baby girl, and that she was a beautiful baby. She cried just the once when she was born, and once placed in mother's arms she never cried again; which was the total opposite of how I was, as I cried for a considerable amount of time I was told. Mother asked me what she should call her, and I just said Rebecca; so mother named her Rebecca Louise. Louise was after her own mother's middle name. Rebecca was born on Friday June 24th 1983, and I was so happy that I had a baby sister because we could play girly games together, and dress up; as well as playing with our dolls in the garden. I did not really like boys because they were very noisy, and they never understood girls; none of the boys were like Greg as he was different as he was the only boy who understood, and I think it was because he was close to his sister and having her as his twin that made him understand. Mother did not stay long in hospital, and whilst she was there; father and I made sure the house was clean and tidy, and that the bedroom was ready for mother. They never threw the cot out which they had for me, as they stored it in the garage and forgot about it; so it came in handy. Father just had to give it a clean, and then put it back together and place it in their bedroom ready for when mother and Rebecca got home.