Arrival of younger siblings - were you aware in advance?

jenni123 that's beautiful ? ?

I'm the eldest and my sister was born when I was just over a year old so don't remember that at all.
3 years later our brother was born, my dad took us into their bedroom and there was mum sitting up in bed with the new baby. I remember that clearly but had no idea he was coming.

My mother had a stillbirth at 7 months, about which I knew nothing. A few years later, when out with my father, an acquaintance stopped to speak. She asked if I was his only child, and he told her that they had ' lost a boy '. I wondered how on earth they could have lost a boy, and who was the boy? When I questioned my mother later, she gave me a brief explanation. Had all gone well, I, like others, would have been presented with a baby brother, out of the blue.

As the youngest of three I obviously have no recollection but my sister had her second child at our house (husband in RAF) and I remember being shuffled off for the day with father uncle and a cousin while Mum and Auntie assisted midwife. I was 11.
Fast forward to when my DD3 was on the way. We had laid our plans :- if it happened during the night our next door neighbour and good friend was going to come round and sleep in our spare room. It was 1 am when I started. Rang hospital (Northallerton Maternity lovely place 40 years ago!) they said come in right away but be careful roads are bad. Mid Dec.Rang neighbour. No answer -although we could hear their phone ringing! By now getting bit urgent so wrapped DD's 1 and2 in their duvets and headed for Northallerton. Met by welcoming staff ' Bring them in' They enjoyed a nap and milk and toast with the nurses whilst I brought forth their baby sister at 5.20am. So after their father and staff they were the first to see their sister (they were 8 and 5 at the time) and they spoiled her rotten - and still do!

I have two younger brothers, one is 7 years younger than me and the other one 14 years younger than me. I think that my older brother and I knew a few weeks before when the first one was born as the midwife used to visit. He was born at home and my older brother and I went next door to our gran while it was all happening. I was 14 when I read a letter that my mum's sister had written to her. It mentioned that my mum was pregnant again at 40. I was disgusted and must have confronted her and vowed not to have anything to do with the baby. How could I tell my school friends such embarrassing news! He was born in hospital so being 14 I had to do everything for my dad and brothers at home. Of course I did eventually help with the baby and when I took him out in his pram some people thought he was mine!

I never had any ,older,or younger,unfortunately as an older brother was still born.I only found this out from my Grandma!

I suppose the reason most of us weren't told way back, was because of the awkward questions we might ask! I don't recall ever wondering (at least with siblings) where the babies had come from, and we weren't given any stories about storks or gooseberry bushes.

I must have been about 9, and evidently aware where they came from, when I wondered how on earth a neighbour's son could be the absolute spit of his father, if he'd grown in his mother's tummy. I asked my mother but she fobbed me off and said she'd tell me when I was older.

She never did - IIRC it was a girl at school when I was maybe 11 who revealed the truth over a school dinner. By then it was a great relief to have this great mystery solved at last!

Just after the war, people never talked about (rude word) pregnancy - it was always a euphemism, even then whispered, 'She's expecting'. Les Dawson got it exactly right! .

My sister was born when I was 7 years old and my first memory of her was as a baby in a carry cot on the table. I had to be quiet all the time so I did not wake her.

She was a paid from Day One and just got worse.

I don't remember any preparations for the arrival of my younger brother, I just remember that he brought me a golliwog (are we allowed to mention those?) when he and mummy arrived home from the hospital.

I am told that I kicked the doctor when my sister was born as he'd promised me a brother before he went upstairs.
GP at a home birth....those were the days!

Only 14 months between me and my sister. I was five and a half when my brother was born I remember my mother in a pale green seersucker maternity smock and skirt. Don't remember my brother as a baby at all!

I have 4 younger siblings and 4 of them were born at home. I can't remember meeting any of them for the first time though, and have no memory of them being born at all. I can't remember my Mum being pregnant So I don't know whether I knew they were on the way or not. Actually I find it odd that I don't remember anything about it. I was 3, 5, 7 and 8 when they were born. All I can remember is the time my mother went into hospital to have my youngest brother.

I was 5 and knew beforehand that mummy was going into hospital. I still have letters we wrote to her telling us what we'd had for tea.

The baby, a brother, was underwhelming to us girls although mother was rediculously pleased with her large boy.

I suppose when more babies died, it was not a good idea to
include the children in your grief. When my neighbour's baby died at 2 months, my DD, who would have been about 4 was very aware and upset. She had held her.

Yes, I knew.

I was 3 when I was told I was going to have a baby sister or brother. I said I didnt want a sister only a brother and I wanted him to be called Graham. This was the surname of frends of my parents so I assume that's where I got the name from. A couple of weeks before my mother was due to have the baby I went to stay with my aunt, uncle and cousin and we went to Ramsgate for two weeks by the sea. Ten days or so later they told me Mummy and Daddy were arriving soon with my baby brother. I remember standing at the front door waiting for the hire car to come round the corner. When it did it had a trailer on the back with the big bassinet on it. My Mum got out of the car and ran up to me so pleased to see me and I turned into my aunt's skirt and said 'me no like that lady'. My poor mum was so upset. But by the time she gave me my bath that night I was fine with her. And yes he was called Graham.

Pressed too soon. She brought a pot of bubbles with her. Something I did not usually get.

I was almost 4 1/2 when my little sister was born. Before that I had older sisters who doted on me, my Mum, Dad and an Auntie who lived a few doors away. I remember being told my Mum was going into hospital but my Auntie would be coming to look after me and being so happy because she always spoilt me and played with me whereas my Mum was always so very busy working in the house and did not have much time for playing. I remained very close to my Auntie all of her life who was like a second Mum to me and my sisters and never had children of her own. It made it all the harder when she and my Mum died within a dew weeks of each other.

I was nearly 3 when my brother arrived. I was sent away with an aunt and came home after two weeks or so to find my baby brother in a blue cot and a small blue cot and doll for me.

I was just three and knew nothing until the night my Dad woke me up and started to dress me and I complained that he had put my liberty bodice on back to front. He took me into the front bedroom and the midwife was bathing my new sister.

I don’t have any siblings but spent a lot of time with my cousins. A new cousin was born when I was 8. I remember asking why my aunt was wearing baggy dresses and was told it was a new fashion! The whole thing was kept very hush hush in case ( I suppose!) I asked where this baby had come from.
I remember going out with one of my grandmothers when I was about 12. We saw a heavily pregnant woman in the post office. My grandmother told me that she didn’t go out in late pregnancy because people would know what she had been up to! This was from a respectable married woman. Times have changed!

I was 6 when my post-war sister arrived in 1946. She arrived during the night, being delivered in our downstairs ‘parlour’. I don’t have any memories of the baby being talked about in advance, or of my Mum looking any bigger. All I can recall is something waking me during the night. I started to go downstairs, but was sent back to bed by a strange woman, who must have been the midwife. I don’t appear to have found this strange, and did as I was told.
That is the sum total of my remembrance. I have no recollection of meeting the new baby, or of her babyhood. My mind is a complete blank until she was about four, and starting school. We are totally unalike, in looks and temperament. Perhaps I was jealous, as she must have been given things that just weren’t available for me, during the war. Anyway, her arrival seemed to make no sort of impression on my life for quite a few years.
We are still totally ‘chalk and cheese’. If my DM hadn’t been so quiet and respectable I would almost suspect that we had different fathers!

My sister was born when I was only 18months old. I have no recollection of her as a baby or until she was 3 ish and interfered in my games ?

I was 2 when my brother was born. I remember being sent for breakfast with a neighbour and thinking it was odd as you visit neighbours for tea, not breakfast. When I got back home, I was introduced to the baby.

I was last of 6 kids...so no younger siblings to be told about or not. Much better way of doing things these days. Just thinking of my 12 year old grandson...he seems to be able to hold any conversation with me...on conception....birth control...homosexuality....he will readily talk about all of them with me or his parents. How much better than the upbringing we had ...storks bringing babies or delivered in the doctors bag. Or talking about gays in derogative terms. Long may the enlightenment remain.

One of my first memories is just before my fourth birthday....mother walking in with a baby in her arms. I was sitting in a chair with a cat on my lap. I can still see the scene in my head. Nothing was said to me about the upcoming event. I made sure that my two eldest knew right from the start about siblings arriving. They loved being involved.