"Will you put that laptop down for once?" Michelle said as she walked into my bedroom a few days later. Her, Mum and Grandma had put me on very strict bed rest since I'd had the scare with the baby the other day.

"I've tried telling her." Mum lied as she sat beside me in bed, on her laptop as well. She had let me get away with it this morning on the understanding that I'd try and sleep this afternoon.

"Well, I'm putting my foot down." Michelle said, sitting on the bed beside me and shutting my laptop.

"Come on Chelle, it's been four days of sitting in bed now. Give it back." I asked as she took my laptop from me and put it on the chest of drawers beside my bed.

"I know you are your mother's daughter and a complete workaholic but Orlie, that nurse said rest, not just for your sake, but for this one's too." Michelle said, as she leant forward and stroked my bump. Mum closed her laptop beside me and put it on the floor before pulling me into her, so my head rested on her shoulder. I put my hands on my bump as the baby gently kicked as if she knew we were talking about to her.

"She's right, Orlie." Mum said quietly.

"I know she is, but if I don't work, then I won't have anything to bring up this baby with, will I? There's a pram and a cot and clothes and food and nursery fees and car seats and school uniform for the rest of her life. And I'm doing all of that on my own, which is why I need to work." I said to them both. Michelle had climbed into bed on the other side of me and put her hand on mine

"Orabelle, you're not on your own, you know that you have us, this baby, will always have us too. I'm just worried about you, you know with everything that happened with Ruari and your Mum too, nearly when she was pregnant with Isla." Michelle said.

"I know, and I am worried too. I don't ever ever want to lose her, she's my world already Chelle and she's not even here yet. But I need a balance, I can't just do no work at all, not if I want to take a decent maternity leave." I told her.

"We understand Orlie, we do. But we need you to understand that you're not alone in this, apart from the actual birthing of the baby, Chelle and I will be there for you and her every step of the way. And if something goes belly up and you need money, we will be there as well." Mum said to me as she reached her hand over mine on top of my bump. "Both of us know how it feels to be single mothers and both of us have done it more than once, so we know how you're feeling now."

"I'm sorry, I know that. I know that you'll always be there, because you always have been, both of you have. I'm sorry, it just feels like a lot of weight on my shoulders." I told them, now holding onto both of their hands.

"Hey, they are strong shoulders my girl and a very wise head rests on them. I have no doubt that you are going to be an amazing Mummy." Mum said. "Come on, let's get you a cup of tea and a biscuit and then you can have that sleep we talked about."

I was almost 32 weeks pregnant when I was sat in the office at the bakery on a Sunday lunchtime and Mum text me and asked me to come home. It had been two months since the scare with the baby and since then everything had been fine. It was scary to think I was now less than two months from the baby coming.

The bakery was quiet on a Sunday. We only opened for a couple of hours in the morning so by midday, the smell of bread filled the air, but the hustle and bustle had died down and the place was much quieter than being at home. We had opened the commercial kitchen to supply to local shops a few weeks ago so this was the first weekend in a while where I'd had time to sit in the office and read my emails properly.

I shut my laptop and put it in my handbag before grabbing my phone and my keys and leaving the office. I switched all the lights off and then left out the door, locking it before crossing the road and heading into the pub. It was now the beginning of July and the weather outside was lovely, not too hot, but warm enough for not wearing a coat and sitting outside for longer than about 10 minutes. I thought about next summer and taking the baby for walks to the park after we'd picked the girls up from school. I opened the front door of the pub. The lights were off and apart from the sunlight shining through the windows, the place was pretty dark.

"Surprise!" Voices shouted as the lights came on and I looked around me at all of the people in front of me. Everyone was here, the girls from the factory, the girls from the bakery, some of my friends from netball, a couple from school, Mum, Michelle, the girls and Rosie, all of them and hanging across the bar was big sign which read ORLA'S BABY SHOWER in pink letters. I gasped in shock before putting my bag down on the bar and then thanking everybody for coming as I walked around the room.

For the rest of the afternoon, I chatted with friends I hadn't seen in ages. There was the odd awkward conversation about the baby's Dad and whether he would be making an appearance. But I continued on with the story of a random guy on a night out and no one batted an eye lid. People had bought me gifts and at the end of the afternoon we played a few games before everyone started to make their way home.

It was 5 o'clock when Mum, Michelle, Jenny, Daisy and I were left. We'd closed the pub and Peter had come back and taken the girls down to the park as they had got a bit bored as the afternoon had gone on.

"So, are you opening your presents then Orla?" Daisy asked as they sipped on their baby themed cocktails. I nodded and slowly they handed me presents. I took them time to read the cards and open them each. I was so grateful for people's generosity and even got a little teary reading some of the cards.

Once we'd tided up the pub and put all of the kids in bed I went up to my room, where I put all of the cards up on my chest of drawers and put the presents for the baby away in her new drawers. I'd also got a cot for her at the end of my bed, which Peter had helped me put up last weekend. I had even cleared some space in my wardrobe to hand a few things up for her, but space was tight, and I knew once she was here, things were going to feel small in this room.

Michelle came in and helped me for a little while, I knew she enjoyed doing things like this, organising things with me, whereas Mum really didn't. Although, once Michelle and I were sat on my bed watching TV, Mum poked her head around the door, with a wrapped present and card under her arm.

"Hey, are you busy?" she asked. I shook my head as I switched the TV off. Mum came in and sat at the foot of my bed. "I was going to give you this earlier but I just, I wanted to wait until I had you to myself, sort of." She said as she handed me the present.

"Thank you Mumma. Shall I do the card first?" I asked her.

"No, no, do the present first." She told me as I began to unwrap the paper. Inside was a beautiful book with a grey cover and swirly writing which read Little One. "It's a baby book to write down everything she does. I never had one with any of you girls and I thought you'd love it, to record everything she does and when she does it." Mum said.

"Thank you, Mum, I love it." I said, leaning forward and hugging her. I sat back again, and Mum took a tissue from my bedside table and wiped her eyes.

"Are you crying already?" Chelle asked her.

"Just you wait, you'll be bawling in a second too." Mum said as I began to open the envelope. Inside was a card and inside the card was a folded-up piece of paper, which I opened up and read.

Dear my Orabella Michelle Connor, my girl,

I can't quite believe I am writing this to you, but you know I would be awful at saying it out loud and these are all things I want you to know before you become a mum to your very own little girl.

You are the one who made me a Mother, Orla, and for fourteen years, you were the only one who made me a mother and my god could I have wished for anyone better. Anyone braver, anyone kinder, anyone more hard working than you. The answer is no, and the answer will always be no.

You are the pride of my life, my reason for living, for every late night working in the factory, every meeting that meant I was late to pick you up from school, every time I sent you to bed early so, I could get other things done, all of it, all of it has always been for you, my girl. It will always be you, always and forever be you.

And that doesn't mean that I love you more than your sisters, or you're my favourite, but you are special Orabella, special in a way that in twenty-two years I haven't been able to put my finger on. I think it's because you're fierce and brave and strong and kind and every quality I could want when raising a child, I see it in you, and I know you'll pass that on to your gorgeous little girl.

And to think, that once upon a time ago, a 25-year-old me never wanted you. Well not you, but I never wanted a baby, and you know that I'm not afraid to say it now. But never ever did I think I'd get you. Never did I think my world would be so rocked by love and adoration like it was when I held you in my arms and lay my eyes on you.

I know that things haven't always been easy, and don't think they're about to get easier. Having a baby will be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. But my girl, I promise you it will be one of the best things you'll ever do. Because when you hold your girl in your arms and see her eyes looking back at you, you will feel a love you've never felt before, an indescribable love that will change your life forever. That love that I still have for you and will always have for you.

And my girl, I know you can do this, because for seven years you have been a mother to my girls in everything but the title. You've put plasters on their cuts, you've wiped tears from their eyes, you've played every game with them they've ever asked, you've held their hands when they needed help, you've got them to sleep at night when it was the last thing they wanted to do, you've given a cuddle when they needed a squeeze and you have loved them for all of their little lives. I know they don't know it now, but you have brought them up to be the people they are. I will never be able to thank you for bringing up my girls, but now it's your turn, your turn to bring up your little girl.

My Orlie girl, you truly are the missing piece of my jigsaw, and always will be the thing that made me complete.

I love you always and forever, from your Mumma xxx

I had tears rolling down my face as I finished reading. I placed the letter on the bed beside me as Mum moved up the bed towards me and pulled me into her.

"I love you." I whispered quietly.

"I love you too my girl, always and forever." She whispered back. We stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away. Michelle was now holding the letter as she read it. She put her arm around me as she continued, tears falling from her eyes as well. Mum held onto both of my hands and when Michelle had finished reading, the three of hugged each other.

"I have something I wanted to run past you now that you're both here." I said as the three of us pulled away from each other. Both of them looked at me inquisitively. "It's about her name, I want to follow your tradition of naming her after someone I really love, whose really special and well Michelle is already taken in my name." I smiled at Chelle, who smiled back before we both looked at Mum. "And you know I love you Mumma, but I couldn't bring myself to call my daughter Carla, so I did a bit of thinking, and her middle name is gonna be Clarabel, the Clara after you Mumma, and the bel after the girls."

"That's gorgeous." Mum and Michelle both said in unison as Michelle squeezed my hand and Mum gently rubbed my bump as the baby kicked.

"And her first name?" Michelle asked.

"Still a work in progress." I said.