Special Delivery - Please Handle with Care
June Galloway
As the bells rang out on the stroke of midnight, the Minister announced, "A Merry Christmas to all". From the upstairs gallery, we watched as everyone greeted their neighbour with a handshake and perhaps a kiss, some taking the opportunity to mingle among the Congregation. Everyone was happy and smiling, the atmosphere warm and joyous. Filled with anticipation, singing the final verse, "Yea, Lord we greet thee, born this happy morning" all began leaving the Church. We made our way downstairs to join the crowd and take a last look at the magnificent Christmas tree, resplendently bedecked with coloured lights and a shining star.
On arriving home, we switched on our own tree lights to share an early Christmas morning with anyone in the Avenue who was still awake. The tree, which had been lovingly decorated, looked beautiful and beneath it was the Nativity Scene I had made from a covered shoe box with figures of the Holy Family, Shepherds and Kings, carefully cut out from several issues of a "Woman's Weekly" magazine. With all the cards displayed around the room, everything was ready in preparation for Christmas.
Upstairs, preparations were also in place for the arrival of our own first baby - expected date of delivery 24th December. The cradle, with its white broderie anglaise drapes and hand stitched padding, stood in place at the end of our bed. The baby clothes, all carefully folded and waiting, the little hand knitted cardigans and jackets all stitched up in time - the hospital bag ready to be picked up at the top of the stairs. On retiring to bed, I felt relaxed and content, falling soundly asleep till three o'clock when I was awakened by sensations which indicated to me that our new baby was on his/her way. "Are you sure this time?" asked a sleepy voice (the question quite justified as we had had a false alarm two weeks previously). Yes I was sure alright, so my husband and I got dressed and into the car to make the short journey to the Hospital. Having attended all the ante natal classes together, I felt we had prepared for the unknown as best we could. We had been well-supported by our tutor from the National Childbirth Trust, and were confident we would manage alright, but, this being our first baby, I wasn't sure just exactly what to expect. We were reassured, however, when greeted by two cheery midwives, with Christmas tinsel in their hair By twelve minutes past seven in the morning, we were the thrilled parents of a 9lb l2oz baby boy.
As I had been taken to theatre for some repair surgery, I woke up in a ward decorated with paper chains and Christmas pictures. There were three other new mothers in the ward, all with sleeping babies in cots by their bedsides. So where was my baby? "We're just keeping him in the Nursery to give you the chance to recover from the anaesthetic. He's fine. We'll bring him up in a little while. You can get showered and dressed first", and the nurse handed me a white silken gown, "For the Christmas mother", she smiled.
It seemed like an eternity before they brought him to me, wheeled in a special cot, draped with white satin and ribbons. "Here's our Christmas baby!" and the two nurses beamed with satisfaction as they set the cot alongside my bed. As I peeked behind the silken drapes, I had the first proper glimpse of my infant son, sleeping peacefully wrapped securely in a hand knitted shawl. All this special attention had been quite unexpected by me, but it seemed this was a Hospital tradition. Even though several babies had been born that day, our boy had arrived first, so he became the Hospital's "Christmas baby".
"I had to feed him", the nurse explained apologetically. "We knew you had opted to feed him yourself, but there was nothing else we could do. He was so hungry." At the time I didn't appreciate the full implications of this, but I soon learned that all my good intentions to breast feed our baby now went for nothing. No matter, I was so grateful to the nurse for looking after our new arrival till I was able to hold him myself. On first cradling Andrew in my arms to feed him, I was overwhelmed with love and a sense of responsibility for our baby, this new life which was to change my life completely - a most precious Christmas gift.
