I had my babies 25 years apart

There are moments in life that you wish you could live in forever – times that make you so happy that you want to relive them over and over again. When I phoned my son Kye on his 25th birthday, I’ll never forget the excitement I felt and the anticipation in knowing how happy I was going to make him. As his face filled the screen on my phone, I waved into the camera. ‘Happy birthday!’ I grinned. It was August 2022 and Kye was celebrating at home with family and friends who’d gathered for a party that I’d organised.

I should have been there, instead I was in hospital. But I knew that I’d be giving Kye what I hoped would be the best birthday present ever. ‘Meet your baby sister, Storm,’ I smiled, panning my camera phone to my chest and across my newborn daughter’s face. I’ve never seen Kye so elated as he held up his phone to proudly show Storm off to the rest of the party. As cheers and shouts of ‘Congratulations’ echoed down the phone, I breathed in my baby daughter, never wanting the moment to end. Finally, after years of heartache, I was a mother again – 25 years to the day that I’d first become a mum.

Teen surprise

Times were very different when I found out I was expecting for the first time back in 1997. I was a quiet, studious teenager with good grades – the last girl anyone expected to get pregnant at 18. I’d only ever had one boyfriend and was on the pill, but when I missed a period I went to a family planning clinic with my best friend. A nurse talked through my options and, despite being shocked, I immediately felt certain I wanted to keep my baby.

For the first 17 weeks I kept my pregnancy a secret – but when I finally told my family they were surprisingly supportive, agreeing to help me take care of the baby.

I sat my A levels as planned and gave birth to Kye on 19 August, the week after getting my exam results.

I remember feeling judged by strangers because of my age – even the nurses at the hospital seemed dismissive, not engaging with me as much as they did the other mothers. I knew there was a stigma attached to being a teen mum and an assumption that I wouldn’t amount to anything, but I was determined to prove everyone wrong.

I went to university and got a degree in media studies, leaving Kye in the creche when I had lectures. His dad and I briefly tried to make our relationship work and even got engaged on my 21st birthday, before deciding