As my sweet girl recently turned four, and many of my friends are having babies, it only stands to reason that I think back on my pregnancy with Rachel.
Many of my ‘real life’ friends know that I could talk about pregnancy, as well as birth stories for days on end. I’ve morphed from a ‘schedule my baby’s birthdate’ kind of woman, back when Abby was born, to a crunchy girl, telling my doctors there was no way I was getting an epidural. The tale of how that came to pass is a long, but amusing one.
There’s quite an age difference between my oldest daughter, and my youngest. Back when Abby was little, I wanted to have 3 children, and/or be done with having children by the time I was 30. We all know how that turned out!
In the very early days of dating Brett, I was babysitting for dear friends of mine. (Suzette, if you ever read this, your sweet boy sparked the baby fever in me!) While feeding Alex a bottle, and rocking him to sleep, I thought, “I really should do this again.” Holding him in the dark and smelling his sweet baby hair sent my poor ovaries for a loop.
A few months later, I woke up, looked at the ceiling, and just KNEW. Closing my eyes, I thought about how this would change my life, and the lives of those around me. I went to Walgreens, bought a pregnancy test, and went on to work. I waited a few hours, to make sure I had a ‘first morning sample’, and peed on the stick. When it showed positive, I called my gynecologist, and insisted that she send me an order over, so that I could have my blood drawn. (why, I have no idea ….. a urine test is just fine) Looked up those results an hour later, and took a deep breath. There was definitely no denying it now.
Called Brett, and insisted that we have lunch — right then. We went to one of my favorite restaurants – it was close to the hospital, and I felt like it was important enough to do it up right. While I waited for him to come by and pick me up, I was feeling a bit sick. Not pregnancy sick, but, “Oh my God, what have I done?” sick.
Off we go to the restaurant, and before the waiter could even come to our table, I decided that I had better start talking, before I chickened out.
Me:”OK, I have something to tell you, and I just want you to know that I don’t expect anything from you, but I need to be honest with you. I’m pregnant.” Then, I started to cry.
Him: “I’m going to head to the bathroom. If I’m not back in a little bit, you should probably send someone in to check on me.” Then, he leaned over to kiss me.
Need I remind everyone that I had already flunked out of Marriage 101, First Time Around version. I was in no rush to jump into getting married again, especially under stressful circumstances. I loved Brett, but I didn’t want to feel like I HAD to get married.
So, I did what every red-blooded, independent, headstrong woman would have done. I waited it out.We got officially engaged in early September, but I managed to think of every excuse known to man not to get married right away. I was in the middle of obtaining my annulment for my first marriage, so that I could be free to be married in the Catholic Church. I knew there was no way it would be finished in time before the baby was born, and I really did balk at getting married elsewhere.
Brett moved in with me in September, and we went about learning to live with each other. Brett is a lot more laid back than myself, so I’m sure this was a lot easier for him than for me. Trust me, if he can live with me during crazy pregnancy hormones, we’re home free.
I put him off until right before Rachel was born — in March.
We were married JOP (Justice of the Peace) style, in a small park here in Louisville. Poor Abby was sick, and the weather was clear, but chilly. Even though I was disappointed about not getting married in my church, I felt better, being married to him.
He is the perfect example of God’s plan for me, and a reminder that unplanned events can turn out to be wonderful dreams come true.
Related posts:
