I lost one son as I welcomed another

Victoria Battman, 36, suffered every mother’s worst nightmare, just as she was about to go into labour

- MISHAAL KHAN, TRACEY GAYTON

Sitting down on the sofa, my son Josh, then 11, quickly joined me and rested his hand on my tummy. ‘I want to feel him kicking,’ he grinned excitedly. It was early 2019 and I was pregnant with my fourth child, a boy. Josh, or Joshy as he was known, couldn’t wait to be a big brother. With two sisters, Demi, then 13, and Lois, seven, Joshy made it very clear how outnumbered he felt being the only boy and was desperate for his little brother to arrive. ‘I can play football with him and take him to the park,’ he said.

Joshy was such a kind and caring boy, something his teachers commented on. ‘He’s very popular,’ they’d tell me. Like most kids his age, he was obsessed with the video game, Fortnite, and was always playing it with his friends. ‘I’ve just got my highest score yet!’ he told me one afternoon, the elation on his face like he’d never been so happy, making me laugh. With his bright-blue eyes and dimpled cheeks, he was such a handsome boy and I hoped his brother would share his likeness.

When Joshy wasn’t playing Fortnite, he was spending time exploring the outdoors on family walks or playing in the garden with Demi.

The phone call