The tensions and tears when a mother and daughter have a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 at the same time. ‘I was having my 12-week scan when Olivia rang me to tell me I was going to be a grandmother.’ Sally Peach, 39, a former legal adviser, lives near Nottingham with her husband David, 50, a team leader for a construction company, and has four 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, Olivia, 21, Bradley, 18, Alfie, 12, and Luca, one.

 Sally says: Nervously waiting in hospital for my 12-week scan, my mind was full of concern for my 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦. Then my phone rang. It was my 19-year-old daughter, Olivia – and she had shocking news. Not only was I an expectant mother, but I was going to be a grandmother, too. I wept happy tears when I heard the excitement in her voice.

The pregnancy test she’d taken at home was positive and she’d called me even before her husband, Richie. ‘This is the happiest moment of my life, Mum,’ she sobbed. ‘I’d given up hope this could happen to me.’

Olivia had always dreamed of having a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 but, at 18, she’d been told that because of a serious ɢʏɴᴀᴇᴄᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ condition, it would be impossible for her to conceive. She’d taken the news so badly I hadn’t told her I was trying for a fourth 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦.

So, when I found out I was pregnant, my first thought was: ‘How on earth will I tell Olivia? I was in tears when I phoned her, and with good reason. I knew my daughter and how much it would ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛᴇ her. Sure enough, it did. She started sobbing, but after a few minutes started trying to congratulate me.

Hearing my darling girl putting on a brave face made me feel even ᴡᴏʀsᴇ. So, when she called to say that she, too, was pregnant, I confess that my tears of happiness were also mixed with ones of sheer relief. My guilt at falling pregnant slipped away only at that moment. But it was immediately replaced by a maelstrom of other horrible emotions.

Christening: Sally Peach with Luca and daughter Olivia with Morgan. The two babies were christened together

There was a moment of sʜᴀᴍᴇ: would people judge us for being a mother and daughter pregnant at the same time? Would they write us off as lower class?  It was upsetting to think people might start making false assumptions about us.

The thought of the two roles I would be expected to fulfill also overwhelmed me. Olivia would be looking to me as her mother for help and guidance. How would I be able to support her emotionally and physically when I was sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ with morning sickness and tiredness myself?

I’d always dreamed of being a hands-on grandmother, but it was going to be impossible to devote time to Olivia and her 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 when my own 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 would need me more.

Bonding over babies: Sally Peach, left, with Luca and her daughter Olivia with her son Morgan

‘My husband David and Olivia’s brothers Bradley and Alfie weren’t perturbed at the prospect of having a sibling and nephew at the same time and in the same house – they were just excited. We shared fantastic  times as we clocked up the pregnancy milestones.

I remember my  20-week scan with Olivia at my side, genuinely excited for me and then, two months later, it was my turn to  be excited for her. And to discover  that we were both having boys was just incredible. But two pregnant women living under one roof were explosive at times, especially towards the end when we were both huge, hormonal and feeling fed up.’ 

‘We started bickering about trivial things, arguing over who had done the housework and then not talking to one another for days. It was the best thing for both of us when Olivia moved out to live with Richie the week before I gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡. The tension immediately eased and we became our happy selves once more.

My son, Luca, was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 at Nottingham City Hospital in January 2013, with my husband by my side. Then nine weeks later, I was back in the same delivery suite with Olivia and Richie as my grandson, Morgan, was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧. I’d been determined to be there for Olivia at the 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡, but that meant leaving my own 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 in the middle of the night. While I stayed with her through the labor, I had to race back straight after Morgan was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧.

Source: asnow