20 years ago | Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK | 5th February 2004

Twenty years ago, we knew we were expecting a baby but, while we’d shared the news with the closest family, it was still, officially, a secret. And then one day, we decided to reveal it.

Like many expectant couples, we were determined to keep the pregnancy under wraps until the first scheduled scan, at 12 weeks. But then, as if preparing us for the frequent loss of control of situations that becomes the hallmark of being a parent, fate intervened. After a couple of unwanted symptoms, we felt it necessary to go to Liverpool Women’s Hospital for a check-up, one evening.

After an ultrasound scan, it turned out that the symptoms were nothing to worry about – although we were reassured that we should always seek help if we had any concerns. We also had, four weeks earlier than scheduled, our first scan picture of the new addition.

Given this first piece of tangible evidence and also a reassurance that the pregnancy was progressing well, we decided we could share our happy news. Any announcement like this would have been a happy one but this was a particularly special one because it would be the first child of a new generation in both of our families: the first grandchild to both our parents and the first great-grandchild to my grandparents.

As you might expect, the news was warmly welcomed by those around us. Equally predictably, some of my mates rightly took the opportunity to react just as we always have done. “Congratulations, you’re having a slipper!” was one response to my group email.

And so our journey of parenthood had officially begun. It was often scary and frequently amazing. And I have to say, twenty years on, it still is…