"If this isn't love" Part V
So, now I'm pregnant. NO, not NOW!!! Then! Back then, NOT now! Just to be clear, I am not currently pregnant at this present moment in time as you are reading this right now on today I am not pregnant.
And before I get too far into this post, let me say this: I didn't read the famous book, so I didn't know what to expect when I was expecting. Now realize, I'm a very bright and intelligent person...but nobody knows what it's like to be pregnant until they actually are, or until they can't be separated from it (shout out to those brave people that stick close to the prego ladies). Sure, you can read all the books and articles that Amazon can sell you. You can even listen to the many self-proclaimed "experts" that exist today (mama's and grandmama's included). But even with that huge wealth of information, nothing can prepare you for the feelings or emotions or physical evolution that your body goes through. Ok. Now...off the soap box, and back to our regularly scheduled programming...
So, we're having a baby. As I sat there contemplating whether or not I would even tell my parents, Mr. Marcus was already on the phone with his mom telling her the news. Apparently, this lady had been waiting on a grandchild for twenty years, cuz she couldn't have been more excited. (I may have even heard an "it's about time!" come through his speaker.) Hoooowwwwever, telling my parents is a whole different story. Too long of a story, actually. Let's just say there were tears...and not tears of joy.
So, what do we do? What do I do? Do we go ahead and get married? Do I go ahead and quit my job and move back? Where do we go from here?
NOWHERE!!! WEEEEE...didn't go anywhere. I was now in a brand new, yet amazingly boring city, living solo with no friends or family, boo-less...and PREGNANT! That's right. I stayed at my job. Remember me telling you about those unheard of benefits? Well, those things came in handy for a pregnant lady. You see, if I had moved back to live with my honey, I risked the chance of 1: not finding a job (worth taking, that is) and 2: not having any medical insurance. Yes, we could've jumped an gotten married right away and he include me under his company supplied insurance, BUT...it was so expensive that it would've left us with little money to live off of. Me staying was the best financial option we had. And maybe ended up being the biggest catalyst decision that determined the course of the rest of our relationship.
Long distance relationships are hard all in themselves....but a long distance relationship during a pregnancy? Really? For the sake of keeping my boyfriend, I tried to keep the whining, tears and outbursts to a minimum. I did pretty good, til one day, I spotted one of God's curses to women...
STTRRRREEEEETCH MAAAAARRRRKSSSS [insert loud clap of thunder and horror movie music here]
Don't you hate Eve for what she did to us!?!?!?!? I'm just kidding...I know men get em too. : D Anywho, I had one small stretch mark that was a little over an inch long, glowing in the lower right quadrant of my humongous belly. It was my first one, so I might've made a "small" deal about said stretch mark in a conversation with the boo. I wanted to know if he would still love me at the end of this pregnancy if I just so happened to amass a whole family of stretch marks (I'm talkin aunts, uncles, and 2nd & 3rd cousins). I wanted to know if he would still see me as the beautiful woman he'd met two years and a ball player's body before. I was only looking for more of those calm, reassuring words that he was so generously handing out about six months prior. And this is the response he gave me:
"YOU OVER DER CRYIN ABOUT SOME LIL A@# STRETCH MARKS!!! MAN, IT'S PEOPLE OUT HERE WIT NO FEET!!!"
And now, to this day, I regret ever mentioning the words stretch marks.
Oh well. At least I could praise baby and grown-up Jesus that I had an almost perfect pregnancy. There was no morning sickness, no fatigue, no swelling. I might've had a slight case of constipation and an even smaller case of heartburn, but that's it (remember, I'm not mentioning s.m. again). I worked out all the way up until I hit my 7 month mark and even ate healthy til around then too. After that seventh month hit, though, all I wanted was McDonald's chicken nuggets and cake with no icing. You know, now that I think about it, that may have been what led to my slight case of high blood pressure in the last weeks of my pregnancy...which may have led to having my labor induced. Maybe.
After 12 hours of labor, dilating up to 8 cm, and an unnecessary (in my opinion) c-section later...
And before I get too far into this post, let me say this: I didn't read the famous book, so I didn't know what to expect when I was expecting. Now realize, I'm a very bright and intelligent person...but nobody knows what it's like to be pregnant until they actually are, or until they can't be separated from it (shout out to those brave people that stick close to the prego ladies). Sure, you can read all the books and articles that Amazon can sell you. You can even listen to the many self-proclaimed "experts" that exist today (mama's and grandmama's included). But even with that huge wealth of information, nothing can prepare you for the feelings or emotions or physical evolution that your body goes through. Ok. Now...off the soap box, and back to our regularly scheduled programming...
So, we're having a baby. As I sat there contemplating whether or not I would even tell my parents, Mr. Marcus was already on the phone with his mom telling her the news. Apparently, this lady had been waiting on a grandchild for twenty years, cuz she couldn't have been more excited. (I may have even heard an "it's about time!" come through his speaker.) Hoooowwwwever, telling my parents is a whole different story. Too long of a story, actually. Let's just say there were tears...and not tears of joy.
So, what do we do? What do I do? Do we go ahead and get married? Do I go ahead and quit my job and move back? Where do we go from here?
NOWHERE!!! WEEEEE...didn't go anywhere. I was now in a brand new, yet amazingly boring city, living solo with no friends or family, boo-less...and PREGNANT! That's right. I stayed at my job. Remember me telling you about those unheard of benefits? Well, those things came in handy for a pregnant lady. You see, if I had moved back to live with my honey, I risked the chance of 1: not finding a job (worth taking, that is) and 2: not having any medical insurance. Yes, we could've jumped an gotten married right away and he include me under his company supplied insurance, BUT...it was so expensive that it would've left us with little money to live off of. Me staying was the best financial option we had. And maybe ended up being the biggest catalyst decision that determined the course of the rest of our relationship.
Long distance relationships are hard all in themselves....but a long distance relationship during a pregnancy? Really? For the sake of keeping my boyfriend, I tried to keep the whining, tears and outbursts to a minimum. I did pretty good, til one day, I spotted one of God's curses to women...
STTRRRREEEEETCH MAAAAARRRRKSSSS [insert loud clap of thunder and horror movie music here]
Don't you hate Eve for what she did to us!?!?!?!? I'm just kidding...I know men get em too. : D Anywho, I had one small stretch mark that was a little over an inch long, glowing in the lower right quadrant of my humongous belly. It was my first one, so I might've made a "small" deal about said stretch mark in a conversation with the boo. I wanted to know if he would still love me at the end of this pregnancy if I just so happened to amass a whole family of stretch marks (I'm talkin aunts, uncles, and 2nd & 3rd cousins). I wanted to know if he would still see me as the beautiful woman he'd met two years and a ball player's body before. I was only looking for more of those calm, reassuring words that he was so generously handing out about six months prior. And this is the response he gave me:
"YOU OVER DER CRYIN ABOUT SOME LIL A@# STRETCH MARKS!!! MAN, IT'S PEOPLE OUT HERE WIT NO FEET!!!"
And now, to this day, I regret ever mentioning the words stretch marks.
Oh well. At least I could praise baby and grown-up Jesus that I had an almost perfect pregnancy. There was no morning sickness, no fatigue, no swelling. I might've had a slight case of constipation and an even smaller case of heartburn, but that's it (remember, I'm not mentioning s.m. again). I worked out all the way up until I hit my 7 month mark and even ate healthy til around then too. After that seventh month hit, though, all I wanted was McDonald's chicken nuggets and cake with no icing. You know, now that I think about it, that may have been what led to my slight case of high blood pressure in the last weeks of my pregnancy...which may have led to having my labor induced. Maybe.
After 12 hours of labor, dilating up to 8 cm, and an unnecessary (in my opinion) c-section later...
...Baby Davin was was joyously welcomed into this world. He signified the end of one chapter of our lives and the beginning of another.
We're almost done with "If this isn't love..." Be sure to come back tomorrow for part VI. Things are about to get real live in here.