There's a First Time for Everything Part 2

It had been nine weeks since Johnpaul and I had got into a relationship; we didn't get together on the first weekend. He came to my friend's, but it was the second weekend we made it official. Asking him to meet me was the best thing I've ever done. We've been inseparable since the first day. He didn't meet my family straight away though because even though we had spoken for nearly a year, we needed to get to know each other on a deeper level that we couldn't do on the Internet.

He met my parents a month after my eighteenth birthday. We had been together two weeks short of five months at this point. They got along straight away. The feeling was amazing. Everybody I loved was in the same room getting along. Life couldn't be better. Johnpaul and I were trekking to his mum's house. I did this walk often enough since getting with Johnpaul. It was a long walk, a good two and a half hours, but I loved it; it gave us some of our own time. I wasn't enjoying it so much today though. I wasn't even halfway, and I was struggling. Maybe I hadn't had enough to eat today and was just lacking energy, I thought to myself. It was the only reasonable explanation. As we got to the pub that we always walk past, I needed to sit down for a little breather. What's up with me? I can usually do this full walk with no breaks. After five minutes, we continued our trek. Not even five minutes from Johnpaul's mum's, my temperature spiked, I felt really drowsy, and my energy levels dropped. Next thing you know, I passed out. After maybe ten minutes, I came around.

"Are you okay, baby?"

Johnpaul was looking worried. I never saw that expression on his face before.

"Yeah, sure it's either I haven't eaten enough, or it may be I'm getting poorly. I'm good now. I'm able to walk. Beside, it's only five minutes away."

Johnpaul didn't look pleased with me wanting to walk, but he didn't say anything. Once we got to his mum's, I ran straight to the loo. The pressure on my bladder was something very new to me. Maybe I have a urine infection. As I looked down and went to wipe myself, there was blood there. It wasn't the usual period colour; it was really light and pinker than red. "That's odd. I'm not due for a few days. Oh well, it might be a show I'm due. I get that sometimes." A few days had passed, and I was getting anxious. My period was a no show. Maybe I was a day out. "It should definitely be there tomorrow." The next day came and still no sign. "I need to get a pregnancy test."

The next day, I woke earlier than usual because I had to go do some shopping. I made a mental note of the pregnancy test. Shopping didn't take long; I just wanted to be straight in and out as I didn't feel so good. As I got closer to Johnpaul's mum's, I started to feel really nervous. Once in the house, I ran upstairs, locked the door and began to read the instructions. "Here it goes" Five minutes had gone, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I was pregnant. "No!! This can't be happening; I never missed my pill. How am I pregnant? I don't want children and Johnpaul and I hadn't been with each other long enough. What have I done?"

I had to break the news to Johnpaul. I was terrified that he wasn't going to take it well but then again, what if he takes it better than I have? My mind was a blur; I was too shocked to function right. What am I going to tell my parents? I knew I was going to keep the baby. I may not have wanted children, but I was pregnant now, and I strongly disagree with terminations. After a few more minutes, I managed to gain some composure. I put the empty packet into the box and threw it in the bin, went over to the sink, and splashed some cold water on my face to get some colour back into my cheeks. I made my way out of the bathroom; pregnancy test in hand, and went to Johnpaul's bedroom. He was playing on his games console at this point. I was so relieved. He was already awake and alert. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Nervous was an understatement. "Please, don't be mad," I thought to myself. I was too overwhelmed for him to be angry with me. I entered the doorway, and he looked towards me with a smile on his face. "Well, he's woken up in a good mood; that's an excellent start." I sashayed towards him, trying to put on a fake smile, not knowing what was going to happen or be said in the next coming minutes. I didn't know how to tell him. My mind was blank, and I was speechless, so I just dropped the test into his lap. He looked down at it, confused. I was bracing myself for the worst. He took the test into his hand and surveyed it, then looked up at me; I couldn't figure out his expression. The suspense was torturing. Suddenly, he jumped up from where he sat and wrapped his arms around me. He couldn't hold me tight or close enough. He pushed me from his embrace at arm's length, tears in his eyes and the widest smile ever.

"You're pregnant?"

He was almost inaudible.

"Yes, I am. It's a shock to me. I didn't expect to be with child. I wasn't planning on being pregnant, to be honest," I told him matter-of-factly.

"I can't believe you're carrying my child. I can't believe I'm going to be a dad. I'm over the moon, but you don't seem to be as excited."

I could hear the hurt in his voice when I said the last bit. I felt a surge of guilt. I didn't want to hurt him. That never crossed my mind.

"I'm just overwhelmed is all, baby, and if I'm honest I never saw myself having children. The thought terrified me, but that was until I met you."

Johnpauls shoulders sagged with relief at my last statement. He really wants this. If he's happy, then so am I.

"I'm glad you think like that beautiful. If you were adamant, you didn't want children I could work with that, I would understand. I don't ever want to lose you but for the fact, you're willing to have a baby with me has made me the happiest man alive."

I couldn't believe how happy he was about finding out he was going to be a father, and I realised how much he did love me. Maybe he is the one that's right for me. I was so overwhelmed by all these emotions, I burst into tears.

I woke the next morning. The sensation of needing the loo had woken me. Half-asleep, I stumbled across the landing to the bathroom. It was burning me when I peed, and I was all crampy. UGH... today wasn't a good start for me. Then reality struck and as if it is a natural reaction, I started stroking my stomach. I was going to be a mummy. I was still in shock, of course, but I was beginning to like the idea. I wonder how far I am or whether I'm carrying a girl or boy; my excitement was beginning to grow. After breakfast, I rang the doctor's. It had been a brief conversation. I was glad because I hated speaking on the phone.

"Good morning, how can I help you?"

The lady on the other end of the phone had a soft but somewhat patronising voice.

"Hello, yeah, um I just found out yesterday I'm pregnant. What do I need to do?"

My nerves were running wild. I needed to stay calm. Otherwise I would cause myself a panic attack.

"Are you happy about the pregnancy?"

What kind of question was that? Then I realised it was the procedure to ask them questions just in case someone wanted a termination.

"Yes, I'm happy about the pregnancy. Where do I go from here?"

"You need to wait for a call back from a local midwife to arrange an appointment. Your first appointment will be mainly a meet-and-greet and filling in forms. Is this the best number to reach you on?"

"Thank you, that's awesome and yes. This is the best contact number for me. Thank you again, have a lovely day bye"

"Your welcome and you too"

Well, it was just a waiting game now. How long did they take to ring you? I and Johnpaul began a list of males and female's names. Female names were the biggest struggle. They were none we agreed on which was frustrating. I hope the struggle of agreeing on something wasn't going to be an occurring problem we were both as stubborn as each other. As each day went by, I grew more excited. I still haven't told my parents yet; guess I'm waiting for my first scan to tell them then I can tell them how far I am too. I still wonder how they'll take it. I am eighteen, after all. I'm not as young as some girls who became mothers and I was very mature.

It was a Friday when a midwife eventually rang me a full week since I rang doctors. I was expecting to get the call at beginning of the week considering I ran the doctors the Friday before. I knew I wouldn't hear anything over the weekend. My appointment was the following Wednesday. It has been thirteen days since I found out I was carrying the baby. How time was flying by. I hope the full pregnancy goes this quick. Wednesday came. I was so nervous but so happy at the same time.

"Right, today we are just filling in some forms, going to try to estimate how far you are, and I'm going to give you leaflets on dos and don'ts during pregnancy. Is that okay?"

The midwife was tall and blonde. She wore a black pencil skirt and a floral blouse. She really looked the part. I liked her; she made me feel comfortable.

"Yes, that's perfectly fine. Whatever you need to do."

I smiled a genuine smile at her.

"Thank you. I will also go through the leaflets with you so you know exactly what you need to do. I'll explain why these standards need to be met."

"Okay, thank you for your thorough help," I replied, and she smiled back.

The appointment was forty-five minutes long. The forms were just about my family and its medical background, my health and my partners; I also got my pregnancy folder that held all the information I needed, such as the maternity ward number, my midwives numbers, hospital numbers, and she said I had to take it to all my hospital and midwife appointments because they need it. She explained that I couldn't have too much caffeine intake: this includes coffee, energy drinks, and fizzy pops, because it can cause miscarriages and cause the baby to have a low birth weight; Liver because it produces too many vitamin A, which can harm the baby; soft cheeses, uncooked eggs, fish, and more because they can cause food poisoning the list goes on. There was so much to take in. My next appointment wasn't for another four weeks, but I was booked in for a scan in two weeks to get a due date. We couldn't really estimate my due date today as I wasn't sure when my last period was. They weren't always regular.

The two weeks to my scan were dragging. I was really eager to see my little midget gem on the screen. Johnpaul couldn't wait either; he nicknamed the little bean "midget gem"; I found it seriously adorable. He wouldn't stop talking about it. I was over the moon that he was happy I was pregnant. It lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders. Since the day he found out, he was constantly holding my tummy and stroking it. Not so long ago I wouldn't even entertain the thought of having a kid, but here I was more than eager to meet the baby I was carrying. How fast things change. Finally, scan date arrived. I was a mass of emotions; I had no idea what to expect. I and Johnpaul got to the appointment fifteen minutes ahead of time. We only had to wait five minutes as the sonographer called us in before the scheduled time. I lied on the bed as instructed. I was so excited. He squeezed the gel onto my stomach; it was cold. After just seconds, he found midget gem the baby looked bigger than expected. He pressed a few buttons here and there on the computer keyboard and moved doppler around my stomach and lower abdomen. Suddenly, I could hear something that sounded like a train; it was baby's heartbeat. He mentioned how strong it was. At this moment, I was crying. It had never really sunk in, until now. I looked at Johnpaul, who had tears in his eyes. He lent over and placed a kiss on my head.

"That's our baby."

The love in his voice was music to my ears. The sonographer printed off a few scans for us and said I was already eleven weeks and four days. I didn't have to go to the hospital now for another eight weeks, and that was when I would have my gender scan. Now that I had my scan and knew how far I was I could tell the family the news and begin some baby shopping, we had so much to buy. That week we visited mine and Johnpaul's family. His family took it well, but I was more anxious about telling my parents. We went to my parents the day before. I got my mum and dad to sit with each other. They looked worried. It wasn't often I got them to sit together. I handed them both the scan. My dad stood up and gave me the biggest hug ever. My mum started crying. She was so happy for me. They both told me how much help they would give us which I was grateful for. Within the month, we had almost everything we needed. We just had to buy baby clothes in the gender colour. We have bought neutral colours but saved room for blue or pink. I already started to bump out, and feel baby kicks, and I was just going seventeen weeks. Only three left to find out if we were team blue or pink. Johnpaul and I had eventually agreed on a name for each gender it made it more exciting. I never craved anything which I thought was weird, but I read online not all women crave.

Three weeks passed, and it was finally gender reveal day. I was so excited. After just a five-minute scan we were told everything was perfect, baby had a strong heartbeat and was growing perfectly, and he told us we were having a baby boy. I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait to meet him. Although we had a name, we weren't revealing it until he was born. I told all the families the news and asked my mum to be my birthing partner as well as Johnpaul. She was happiest women alive in that moment.

Months went by, and my neat bump got bigger and the kicks got stronger. The closer I got, the more I wanted cuddles from my son. Finally, my due date came, and there was no sign he was ready to enter the world. I went over four days. I did most of my labour at home; I didn't want to go to the hospital too early so I waited until I knew he was close. I got to the hospital at six thirty in the morning and seven hours and ten minutes later, my perfect little boy was here. I had never felt love like it. He was definitely worth the wait. My mum and Johnpaul were perfect birthing partners. I couldn't ask for better people to support me. Three hours later after little man was fed, dressed, and I got feeling back in my legs due to the epidural I got took to my ward where I would spend the night. Everyone came to greet a little man at there visiting hours.

"What you named him then?" my dad asked.

"We've named his Macauley-Joe and the name really suited him."

When Macauley-Joe was five days old, he got his heel prick. He wasn't happy with me then. He screamed the hospital down. He had a great set of lungs on him. Weeks went by, and my little bundle was thriving. He fed really well, woke for his bottles on time. Being a new mummy was exhausting though. I was extremely sleep deprived; Johnpaul helped of course, but I couldn't help but watch him sleep to make sure he was okay but Macauley-Joe got colic at five weeks old. I wish I could take the pain away; he would scream in agony, and I didn't know what to do. I got frustrated with myself, then the fear came from not being a good enough parent. I got upset. I just wanted to help, but I couldn't. He was like that for eight agonising days. At three months old, he began trying to roll over. We did always give him plenty of tummy time, and he loved it. The more he tried, the closer he got to turning over then one day he did it, and he was off. Not long after, he was learning to crawl. I was so proud of my baby. We both were he was a bright child who loved to explore his surroundings. It was his daddy's game console pad that got him crawling. He still needed a little help with sitting; he hadn't mastered doing that unaided yet, but it wouldn't be long. Becoming a mother was the best thing to happen to me. I couldn't imagine my life any other way. Sure it was demanding; the late night feeds, early mornings when they're hurting, and you cannot help and just how rushed off your feet you can be because this little person needs your undivided attention. Nevertheless, it is worth it.

That night I went to bed so content and happy with my life. This little family was perfect. Next morning, I woke up with a start. I felt really sick suddenly I was running to the loo and vomiting. What's wrong with me? I never vomit. I was like it the whole day. Hopefully, it's just a twenty-four-hour bug but days passed and the same time every morning I was throwing up. Being a mum at this moment was a struggle. I felt seriously ill. I just wanted to sleep, but with a four and a half month old, that wasn't happening. Six days had passed and I was still being sick. Johnpaul had gone shopping, and little man was snoozing so I joined him. When Johnpaul came home, he threw a pregnancy test at me. I just laughed at him, but he was serious. I went to the loo as he instructed and peed on the stick, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was pregnant again. I ran downstairs to Johnpaul, who was still unpacking the freezer food.

"Macauley-Joe is going to be a big brother."