Why An Unexpected Mother, You Ask?

     Well, as with most things in life, it is best to start from the beginning. 

     At the age of fourteen I began having ovarian problems, which led to an emergency room visit about once every three months.  After dealing with the never ending visits to the emergency room, and the incompetency of certain physicians there in, for two years (you can only be told so many times “You’re just having a miscarriage” before you begin to get upset- especially since I was not sexually active in the slightest) my father rushed me to Vanderbilt Hospital’s Children Hospital in Nashville, TN.  It took a resident physician one examination and one pelvic ultrasound to diagnose me with severe endometriosis, which required an operation to treat.  The operation was successful and the doctors were able to remove what endometriosis they could find at the time and I was placed on the Depo-Provera shot for 5 years in an effort to control the growth and spreading of the endometriosis. 

     After recovering from the surgery and the highly undesireable side affects of being blown up with gas to move your organs around (if you catch my drift) it was made very clear to my parents and myself that I would more than likely not be able to conceive children.  At the ripe age of 16, this was not as devastating of news to myself as it was to my parents.   After sitting in the hallway at the hospital listening to my sister scream bloody murder while giving birth to my niece (all 1 minute and 3 pushes it took to have her) when I was 15, I was not in any hurry to have children.  Quite frankly, if it involved that much screaming, I thought it best to steer clear of the situation all together.     

     My battle with endometriosis has proven to be a long and drawn out one.  I underwent surgery again at the age of 18 and then began Lupron therapy to treat my endometriosis (which effectively put me through menopause, yes menopause.  Hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and all.. at the age of 18.  I liked it.  Alot.)  Now, at the age of 25 I have underwent 3 surgeries and am currently undergoing Lupron therapy for the third time.  Like I said, my condition has proven to be a long and drawn out battle.

     Chad and myself dated for a short time in 2006 and began dating again in December of 2007.  In May of 2008 we moved in together our first apartment.  We loved our new found independence and we were absolutely in no hurry to speed anything along.  We had looked at engagement rings plenty but as I said, we were not in any hurry.  We were thoroughly satisfied with our nightly ritual of heading to the local sports bar for beer, wings and whatever game happened to be on the television.

     My dear Aunt Flo was due to make an appearance somewhere around August 1st of 2008.  On August 8th, the day of my checkup appointment with my gynecologist (I had one every 3 months due to my condition) it was still tardy.  The thought rattled through my mind on August 7th about pregnancy but I threw it out as quickly as it came to me.  After being told for 7 years you cannot have children, it was crazy of me to think that I was pregnant.

     However, on the morning of 8th my thoughts began to change at a rapid pace.  I was sitting in the sink getting ready for work (my whole family does it.. we are weird, I am aware of this) and I suddenly got very hot and then OH WAIT.. am I going to get sick?  I leaped out of the sink as fast as I could and proceeded to pay homage to the porcelain Gods.  Chad came running into the bathroom and tended to me then proceeded to stare at me for an still yet undetermined amount of time. 

     Finally he mustered out “Umm.. so where is that period of yours?” “About a week late” I said.  We both looked at each other and then shook our heads, there was NO WAY I could have been pregnant.  

     But I just couldn’t seem to get the tought out of my head.  I scoured the internet for every possible website I could find that discussed pregnancy signs and symptoms.  Up until this point in my life, I had never really given thought to or cared much about what the symptoms were- I was clueless.  After each article, I became more and more sure of a bun in the oven.  I feverently called the Computer Geek every 10 minutes with a new piece of information; a new symptom that fit the bill of weird things happening to my body in recent days. 

     After battling nausea for the most part of the day and digesting every bit of pregnancy dialoque I had read, which was quite scary, I went in for my check up.  As usual, they asked for me to tinkle in a cup for them and I graciously obliged, I reallllyy had to go to the bathroom.  A few minutes later I heard muffled voices coming from the lab room, it was a conversation between the nurse and my doctor.  My attempts at eavesdropping in on this conversation were futile and no doubt humorous to the receptionist staring at me the whole time; I was leaning so far to the side trying to listen that I almost fell out of my chair.   I’m a clumsy person, what can I say.

     The next 15 minutes were, at the time, the longest wait of my life.. (only to be surpassed by the wait for our son to make his arrival and then later surpassed by the 23 1/2 hours of labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing it took to get him here)  When I was finally taken back to the room, I waited patiently for my doctor to enter.  As he did, I noticed he had an undeniable smirk on his face.  Either he had just grabbed one of the nurses hineys in the hallway or he was about to tell me something that he was truly impressed about. 

     “So, you’ve been having some crazy symptoms lately?” I had notified the receptionist when I checked in about my inexplicably odd symptoms from the past few days, not to mention my prayer sessions with the toilet throughout the day.  “Well yes, yes I have” I replied.  “Has your back been sore?” “Yes, it has” “What about nausea, or mood swings, or exhaustion?” “Yes, yes and yes” I said.  “What is wrong with me, doc?  Get me off this new birth control, it’s driving me crazy.”  Well the smirk got even bigger and he replied, “Oh, I’ll get you off the birth control alright.  You are pregnant Billie.”

     Enter classic Kodak moment.  If you could have seen my face, I literally thought my jaw was going to smack down on the chair that was I was sitting in.  “Do what?” I said.  “You’re pregnant Billie.  Very pregnant.  That second line popped up very fast”  I wondered to myself later how you could be ‘very pregnant’.  Either the little swimmers were successful on their long journey or they were not, there is no grey area on that matter. 

     He then asked if I wanted to see the test for proof.  Dumb question I thought, of course I want to see that!  I was still waiting for someone to pop around the corner and yell “Gotcha!”  It would have been a horrible joke but I was prepared for it.  However, a few minutes later in walked the nurse with what proved to be the most amazingly beautiful two lines I had ever seen in my entire life.   

     After taking a few minutes to gather myself, I explained to the doctor and nurses that it was okay that I was pregnant and this child was not the product of a margarita fueled one night stand.. well, I’ll be hoenst, there were probably maragaritas involved but it definitely was not a one night stand  

     On a side note, I like margaritas, just a little bit.  

     My next step was to call the hubs, the boyfriend at the time but he is my husband now and he will be referred to as such.  To say that he was shocked would be the largest understatement EVER.  Did he almost have a wreck?  Check.  Did I hear the tires squal? Check.   Did he pretty much go into cardiac arrest while on the phone with me?  Double check.  I think I remember hearing, “Are you sure?” at one point.. but my memory of the exact dialoque of the conversation is vaque.  I was too wrapped up in the topic to remember the exact details.  The phone basically consisted of 15 minutes of giggling like school children and mumbling “we’re pregnant” repetitively.  It was amazing.  Something I’ll never ever forget.  Well, I say that but clearly I’ve already forgotten what was exactly said.. so I have forgotten.. but HEY I’m a mother, full time employee, part time student and wife.  What more do you want from me? 

     Reeling it back in now.  Promise. 

     As I pulled into the driveway at our apartment, I noticed the hubs was waiting for me on the front porch with what can only be described as a ‘sh#*-eating’ grin on his face.  The Computer Geek describes that momment best when he says that it was like seeing each other for the first time all over again.  All the tingles, giggles, smiles and butterflies and prenatal vitamins.  Five months worth of pre-natal vitamin samples.  My doctor wanted to make sure I was loaded up incase there was a slim chance that every pharmacy in town ran out of prenatal vitamins.  Nah.. he was probably just being nice and giving the pregnant girl some free stuff.. but I am always looking for a reason to be sarcastic.   Work with me here. 

    As we sat on the front porch smiling and reading my packages of prenatal vitamins, we both knew nothing would ever be the same; and we were excited about it.  We were about to begin a whole new journey together.  We had no idea what was in store for us but we knew one thing for sure; Lord help us, we were going to be parents.

The End. 

Well not really.. it was actually only the beginning but I’ll get back to you on that.