THE MUM WHO GAVE BIRTH TWICE IN 2017
ABABY’S first Christmas is always special but for new parents Beth Evans and Liam Hale, this year is going to be one they will never forget. Their son and daughter, who were born just 11 months apart, are both celebrating their first festive seasons.
Haydn arrived on January 7 while his little sister Tilly was born four weeks early on December 8.
Now, Beth and Liam are looking forward to an extra special Christmas Day with their babies.
“Christmas this year feels so special as it is my first Christmas being a mother,” said 21-year-old hairdresser Beth, who lives with her family in Clydach Vale, RCT.
“It is also surreal seeing blue and pink ‘baby’s first Christmas’ baubles on our tree. For both of their first Christmases we will be taking it easy and will be spending a lot of time with our family as they are both still so young.
“We have bought Haydn presents but knowing him he will have more fun with the wrapping paper and boxes!
“We will have Christmas morning in our house where we will wake up as a family of four for the first time – it’s crazy to think that this time last year it was just me, Liam and the dog and now this year we have two beautiful children.
“First we will spend Christmas morning in our house for Haydn to open and play with his new toys. Then we will go down to my parents’ house as we have our own tradition of going to my parents’ house for Christmas and to Liam’s parents on Boxing Day – so we are very lucky because we pretty much have two Christmas Days.
“Then, like most families, we will watch a Christmas film – preferably Home Alone – and then eat until we fall asleep.”
Beth and Liam, 20, who is training to be a primary school teacher, are engaged and have been together since they were just 14 so had talked about having a family – but they never thought they would have two children so close together.
“When Haydn came along we thought that our family was complete until eight weeks down the line I found out I was pregnant again – to everyone’s surprise,” said Beth, whose older sister is West End star Sophie Evans.
“Obviously at the time we found out it was the biggest shock but it didn’t take more than a couple of hours to get excited about the fact we were having another bundle of joy and our little gang would be expanding. It was a bit sooner than we anticipated but we are both strong believers that everything happens for a reason and we really couldn’t be happier that Haydn would soon to be a big brother.”
And it seems that little Haydn is relishing the role.
“The first time Haydn came to visit his baby sister was in the labour room just a few minutes after Tilly arrived.
“He had the biggest, cheekiest smile on his face and reached out for me straight away and I just gave him the biggest squeeze because I hadn’t seen him for a couple of days except from on FaceTime.
“Then we introduced Haydn to Tilly and the first thing he did was open his mouth for a kiss – or as he says ‘tiss’ – which as you can imagine completely melted everyone in the room.”
Little over a week since Tilly’s birth and Beth and Liam are adjusting to life with two babies.
“We wake up and I will feed and change Tilly and Liam will feed, bath and change Haydn – or vice versa. We tend to take turns.
“As for nappy changing, whoever smells the stinky nappy first has to deal with it – however I sometimes pretend that I can’t smell anything so Liam is often dealt the short straw! Haydn has a midday nap every day which allows us to catch up on housework, washing, walking the dog and, unfortunately, assignments for Liam. Tilly sleeps pretty much all of the time because she is still so young.
“I am one of those very fortunate mums who get a lot of help and support from my partner. And I never really ask him to do much because being a father comes naturally to him anyway.”
And the couple also have great support from Sophie, who is currently playing her dream role of Glinda in Wicked on the London stage.
“Seeing Sophie with my children makes me so proud to call her my big sister. She doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty and getting stuck in with the stinky nappies and the feeds – in fact, I think she quite likes it.
“I feel very blessed and lucky to have the best hands-on auntie to my children. You can really see how much she loves them and how much they love her as Haydn’s face lights up every time she walks into the room. As the babies get older I cannot wait to take them to see their first musical and to watch their Auntie Sophie do her thing so that they can feel as proud of her as we all do.”
As for more children, Beth says they don’t have any plans – yet.
“At the moment there are none on the cards because we are so happy and content with our little family. However we will never say never as we are both still so young.”