‘I know. I know.’ He took her hand and kissed her palm. ‘I know.’

The nurse had told her to get up and move around as soon as she could. Easy for her to say: she hadn’t just been cut across the middle and had a small human being removed. Jenny had managed to prop herself up in bed and had tried to breastfeed Henry, but nothing seemed to be happening. The nurse wasn’t concerned. ‘It’s fine, don’t rush it. Sometimes that happens after a C-section – it takes a while for the milk to come in.’

Dan left her to go to the toilet and she lay and looked at her new son. Her son. He was very pink and wrinkled. She marvelled at the length of his fingers, his tiny fingernails, the soft curve of his top lip. Who knew this perfection had been inside her all this time? She breathed in his warm scent. Then, for a reason she couldn’t explain, she licked him. A tiny lick on his cheek.

Dan reappeared beside her. ‘I never knew he’d be this beautiful.’

She started to cry again.

Jenny and Dan’s parents came to see their new grandchild and were all suitably gaga about how tiny and beautiful he was. Dan just kept staring at him, holding his fingers and then kissing Jenny again.

Jenny could now tentatively walk around the ward, even whilst holding Henry, if someone else lifted him from his cot first. Everything was going well. Just don’t think about the birth. It’s all fine now.

Then her sister arrived for a visit.

It started off all right. Claire cradled Henry in her arms and Jenny felt something surge in her chest. That was her baby. She’d made that.

‘He’s gorgeous,’ Claire said. ‘It seems so long ago that mine were this small. You blink your eyes and they’re teenagers. You’ve done well. How are you feeling?’

‘A bit shaky.’

It didn’t feel like she’d ‘done well’. She was supposed to have given birth effortlessly in the morning and been back home that same afternoon. Maybe she should call Antenatal Sally and ask for her money back.

‘Hmmm. As you’ve found out, babies don’t often follow the plan. Are you also beginning to see how unlikely it is that you’ll manage to write this blog you’re so intent on?’

Jenny shot Dan a death stare. What was he thinking, telling her sister about that? He made a ‘Cup of tea?’ sign and disappeared in the direction of the ward kitchen. Coward.

Claire was still looking at Jenny, expecting an answer.

‘What do you mean?’ Oh God, she was already sounding like a stroppy teenager.

‘Ah.’ Her sister smiled that smile.