I Got Knocked Up

Some people would be highly offended by this title.  Let's say it is my hook for readers all my writing teacher peeps.  Either way it is what it is.


I was 20 years old, a junior in college, living in a dorm, and pregnant with a guy I had known for about 5 months.  I moved in with him and really found out what a mess I was in.  We lived in a junky apartment with used furniture found on the side of the road and barely scraped by with paying bills and eating canned goods.  My parents continued to pay for my college, knowing I would never be able to take care of a child without my college degree.  I went to school full time and worked every moment I was not in class.  Early in the pregnancy we learned that I had gestational diabetes.  In the first trimester alone I had gained 20 pounds.  With the verdict of diabetes I had to change my diet and begin giving myself insulin injections in my thighs and belly.  Not fun.  I tried to watch my food intake but with my sad state of affairs I was more depressed than I had ever been in my life.  My the end of my second trimester, with my health and relationship failing, I moved back home to my parents house with loser boyfriend in tow.  I know my parents only allowed for this because I continued to struggle with my diabetes and blood pressure and my boyfriend was not even remotely concerned about the health or well being of me or the baby.  Packed on another 20 pounds the second trimester.  By now I was attending classes, completing my first year of internship in a classroom of 23 kindergarteners, and working evening shifts at the local grocery store as a cashier.  My whole world changed at the end of March when this little guy showed up.

This is Beans!  I gave him that nickname when I saw his first sonogram and he looked like a little jelly bean.  He was born after Spring Break in 2005.  Hard to believe he is going to be 9 in a few months.  On delivery day I was had gained a whopping 67 pounds during pregnancy.  The first night as I laid in the hospital bed trying to nurse my newborn all alone I begged God to give us an opportunity to escape the life we were in.

As always God delivered!  On my first Mother's Day with Beans, two weeks before my 22nd birthday, my boyfriend was moved out and we were on our way to a brighter future.  A much needed answered prayer for my family.