Shannon ordered an Indian, but ended up with a takeaway baby instead…
Bundled up in my duvet, I settled down to watch a movie with my boyfriend Connan.
My acid reflux had been playing up recently, so I was having a much-needed night of chill and TLC.
Halfway through, I started to feel a little better, and I realised I hadn’t eaten for hours.
‘I’m so hungry,’ I moaned to Connan.
‘Let’s order some food, then,’ he suggested. ‘How about Indian?’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ I said, hesitantly.
I’d been trying to watch my weight recently, and had even started wearing a corset in an attempt to get my waist back.
But in the end, the thought of an Indian takeaway was too good to resist.
‘I suppose there’s nothing wrong with a cheat day,’ I smiled, licking my lips.
One spicy pakora, one chicken pakora and two naan breads later, I felt a strange dampness down below.
My cheeks went crimson and I bolted to the loo, where I discovered I’d wet myself.
What the hell, I thought to myself.
It had never happened before.
When I came back, Connan eyed me suspiciously.
‘Everything OK?’ he asked.
‘Yeah,’ I said, faking a yawn.
I was too embarrassed to tell him the truth.
‘I’m just a bit tired,’ I said. ‘I think I’ll get an early night’.
‘OK, as long as you’re sure,’ he said, kissing me goodbye and leaving.
I was so relieved he hadn’t twigged.
Up in the bedroom, I reasoned to myself that the corset had been pushing on my bladder, after my stomach had bloated from the Indian.
'I'm just constipate, that's all'
I popped it open and breathed a sigh of relief, before settling down for a good night’s sleep.
Only, 15 minutes later, I was woken up by a strange pain in my tummy. I peered under the covers and noticed my stomach was huge.
I tried to go to the toilet, but nothing was happening when a sudden flash of pain doubled me over.
Knowing something wasn’t right, I gave in and yelled to my parents, who I lived with.
They came rushing in to find me dripping in sweat and unable to walk.
‘Oh, love, let’s get you a hot water bottle,’ Mum soothed.
She gave me painkillers too, but nothing was easing the pain.
‘I think we should go to A&E,’ Dad said, looking frazzled.
When we arrived at hospital, I messaged Connan to let him know where I was.
He quickly replied.
OMG, are you OK? Do you need me to come down? he wrote.
I was already embarrassed enough, the last thing I needed was for Connan to see me in this state, so I played it down and assured him that everything was fine.
Looking me over, the nurse immediately asked: ‘Is there any possibility you could be pregnant?’
Mum’s eyes darted towards me — if looks could kill!
I knew admitting the truth would land me in big trouble.
‘Of course not!’ I grinned, rolling my eyes at the suggestion.
The nurse shot me a sceptical look.
‘OK. Well, we still have to take a few tests to figure out what’s wrong with you,’ she said, handing me a urine sample pot.
The nurse went off to run my tests and I paced around the room, ranting to my mum.
‘I’m just constipated from the Indian takeaway,’ I said. ‘I need some laxatives!’
The nurse returned and asked me to sit down.
‘I can’t! It hurts to sit down,’ I moaned.
The nurse persisted.
‘Shannon, you’re going to need to sit down to hear this,’ she said. ‘Trust me.’
I didn’t listen and carried on pacing, so the nurse went ahead.
‘I’m going to ask you this again,’ she said. ‘Is there any chance you could be pregnant?’
‘No!’ I replied.
'I can't believe I'm a mum'
She sighed.
‘Well, I’m afraid you are,’ she said.
My jaw dropped to the floor.
‘But I’m not ready to be a mum!’ I exclaimed.
My mum’s face turned grey, as she ran to the toilet to be sick.
‘Have you been having periods?’ the nurse asked me.
I blushed.
‘Not exactly,’ I admitted, sheepishly. ‘But they’ve always been irregular.’
I felt foolish.
When I looked back, I realised the warning signs had been there — I’d just ignored them.
I was taken for my first ever scan and it turned out that I hadn’t wet myself earlier, my waters had broken!
I was already 8cm dilated and the baby was coming any minute.
Before I knew it, I was in the labour room and it began to dawn on me what was about to happen.
‘This is going to hurt, isn’t it?’
I asked the midwife.
‘I’m afraid it’s too late for an epidural, but we can give you plenty of gas and air,’ she reassured me.
As I sucked in the air, it began.
‘Shannon, we need you to start pushing,’ the midwife urged.
The pain was excruciating — it was the worst I’d ever experienced.
I looked over to my midwife.
‘Can I scream?’ I asked, through gasps.
She looked at me as if I had two heads.
‘You’re in labour! Of course you can scream!’ she said.
I put my head back, let my body relax and let it all out.
Then all of a sudden it stopped.
As soon as I set eyes on my baby, every second of pain was worth it.
‘It’s a girl,’ the midwife smiled, laying her on my chest.
My mum and dad looked at each other with tears in their eyes.
‘I can’t believe we’re grandparents!’ Mum wept.
‘I can’t believe I’m a mum,’ I laughed.
It was then that I realised Connan didn’t even know I was pregnant, and I was nervous about how he would react.
Taking a deep breath, I got him on FaceTime.
‘Are you ready for this?’ I asked.
Before he could reply, I flipped the camera and pointed it at the baby.
‘Connan, meet your daughter,’ I whispered.
There was silence at first and when I turned the camera back round, his eyes were wide and his face was pale.
But then I noticed tears roll down his cheeks.
‘She’s beautiful,’ he said.
I had always told myself, if I had a little girl, I would name her Maisie, but as I cuddled her, I looked at her tiny face and frowned.
‘She’s not a Maisie,’ I announced.
Her face was all scrunched up and red, so I thought about Rosie, but that wasn’t right either.
She had been born with a cleft palate, which gave her a distinctive sounding cry — it sounded like a motorbike.
‘Harley,’ I decided.
It turned out Harley had a few complications at birth, and she had to be kept in the hospital for two months.
The only silver lining was that it gave my parents some time to go home and prepare for her arrival, as we had nothing for a baby.
I was constantly terrified she wouldn’t make it and I was racked with guilt for a long time, thinking if I’d known I was pregnant she might not have been born with so many complications.
I thought of little Harley squashed up in my tummy, as I wore my corset and felt awful. But my mum urged me not to be so hard on myself.
‘These things happen,’ she soothed.
Luckily, Harley made a full recovery and is completely healthy now.
I lost a lot of friends after having Harley, as I couldn’t go out and be a normal teenager, but I believe everything happens for a reason.
Harley is my absolute world and I wouldn’t change her for anything.
Connan and I aren’t together any more, but he’s always there for Harley and is still a big part of both our lives.
When she’s old enough to understand, I will tell her about how she came into my life exactly when I needed her.
She was a big surprise, but she wasn’t a mistake — she was a blessing.
Shannon Rafferty, 18, Livingston, West Lothian