Moses Basket Gareth

In late August 1979 we moved to live in Aghada Co Cork.  As our house was not yet vacant we moved into a mobile home in Shangarry for a few weeks.  This was to facilitate my two older children attending school and play school.  I was at this time three months pregnant and feeling well. In October we finally moved into our house in Aghada.  Life was hectic and before I knew it my oldest child and his father were off to see Pope John Paul the second as he was coming to Limerick. One memory that stands out for me, was on that same day the sheep in the field behind our house broke through the fence and sat down in our garden.  They remained there till the farmer came for them and then they calmly walked back to the field.  I had not told any of the children that they were going to have a new baby as I felt it was too soon, but as I was washing dishes at the sink my youngest Sarah said to me “you are getting a new baby”.  The following day a friend of mine called to return the Moses basket I had loaned her for her new baby. What a coincidence!  Life moved along and I was getting tired and suddenly Christmas was here.  Mid January I went for my check up and the doctor said he felt it would be mid February before I would deliver.  On the night of January 30th I went to bed as usuaI.  I was feeling very well and looking forward to a visit to a friend the next day minus any children!  I woke at 5 am and was going to the bathroom with the usual pregnancy bladder problems.  I got back into bed and I had an unexplained feeling and within a minute I knew I was in labour.  We lived 30 minutes from the Erinville hospital in Cork and as all my pregnancies had been very quick I knew I would not make it by car.  I phoned my GP who told me in no uncertain terms that I should be calm after all this was my fourth child and I should know better!  Well as it turned out I did know better because ten minutes later I had delivered my second son Gareth he weighed in at 9lbs.  Five minutes later my GP arrived and was very upset that he had missed the event.  Gareth was the first child in 29 years to be born at home in Aghada and his own father was the one who delivered that child.  As I am rhesus neg and my other half was positive I still had to go to hospital. We travelled by ambulance and my new son travelled in his Moses basket.  I found my journey very uncomfortable but the baby had a lovely snug trip.  I don’t know how I coped with all the help I had! The Moses basket was once again the centre of attention in our house.  All my helpers took such an interest in the baby, and because it was at such a nice height nobody felt excluded.  If Moses baskets could talk!!