I had pretty much given up, figured it wasn't meant for me to be a mother. I was thirty-one years old, the old biological clock hadn't stopped of course but it had to be winding down by then. I would look at other mothers, attend showers, put on the happy face and go on. I was miserable. I was forlorn. I was resigned.
Until something regular as clockwork didn't show up.
And the home test said ..yup
They said the screaming actually registered on the richter scale.
I called and made an appointment with the doctor who comfirmed it and I became a patient. On my way home, I became a litter bug and a nonsmoker. I tossed an entire pack of cigarettes out the window. They were a lot cheaper then.
I weighed 115 pounds. I say this because of what I weighed just before James made his appearance. I worked the night shift at a manufacturing plant. The job I had wasn't difficult, no heavy lifting, no pushing, no pulling or handtrucks or two hundred pound boxes-the exact opposite of now- It was a lot of standing and walking.
My family watched me like a hawk. Once when I was up at my parent's place --just a hop and a waddle up from where we were living at the time--I was expecting a package. I saw the familiar brown truck go down the road and I ran to greet it. Over-sized pregnant lady running, yup, that was a sight. I also got quite the lecture. Before I got pregnant we had gotten a goat to help keep the weeds down in our backyard. Unfortunately this goat had an identity problem and thought she was a dog and wanted to run and play and jump up on you. She was beautiful, she was crazy and she would not stay in her nice big fenced in area. So, we got rid of her, giving her to a neighbor that we knew would take care of her.
Working nights my morning sickness was technically a night sickness but then night was my morning so maybe it was morning sickness..anyway, I discovered the all powerful miracle food. Chocolate. I could eat a milk chocolate bar and that would settle my stomach. But oh the weight gain..
Taking those prenatal vitamins I felt better than I ever had. One night I opened a can of something or other and the canopener didn't let go of the top it had just cut off the can. I reached for it and managed to run my thumb over the edge. I have never bled so much in my life. That was the one time I probably should have had stitches.
On one visit to the good ole baby doctor he was getting ready to do his check up thing and he asked me if the baby had been moving much. Then James proceeded to show him by rolling back and forth and back and forth, the doctor was running that paddle thingy across my stomach following him. But he didn't ask about James's moving any more.
In November we moved. There I was, seven months pregnant and we decided to move into this house. My husband was working as much as he possibly could but he helped as much as he could. However, the majority of the move was left to me. I had no idea we even owned that much stuff and how on earth did we ever get all of that into a mobile home?
I was watching Dallas. Stretched out on the couch watching JR and his latest victim when something told me I needed to stand up. That was when my water broke. Forget Dallas, there is a baby on the way. I called my mother who was and still is right next door, she called my doctor who asked if I were scared. Not until he asked me that.. am I supposed to be? Mom then called my husband and then my brother. My brother drove us to the hospital. Pulling up to the door they bring out the wheelchair and I start toward the check in. They asked how far apart my pains where but when I told them my water had broke I was fast tracked to maternity. I was barely in the room when my husband arrived. I didn't even ask him how fast he had driven to get from Charlotte there in that short of time. It wasn't important because oh hey-- there's the pain that I hadn't been feeling..
At one point..I nearly broke my husband's arm. At one point the nurse told my husband not to wet that wash cloth and let me suck on it. One look and he ignored her and gave me the watery washcloth. Finally the doctor informed us that James was facing the wrong way and was going to need help in making his way out into the world.
When he finally made his entrance the doctor looked at me and told me "congratulations, you just had a linebacker." He came into this life at ten pounds one half ounce, twenty one inches long. Suffering from yellow jaundice he was placed under the lights wearing only a diaper and blindfolds over his eyes- which he would tear off every chance he got. A premature baby was beside him, this made the premature baby look that much smaller and James look that much bigger. He had to stay in the hospital nearly a week, then we he came home we had to make sure he got plenty of sunlight to help rid his body of the excess bloodcells.
James was here. I was finally a mother. Sadly, I had to take all of those adorable little newborn outfits back as coming in at ten pounds he was already too big for them. But that was okay, I had a son, a big healthy happy hungry son. And I had no idea what sort of adventure I was about to find myself in..
.James will celebrate his 22nd birthday this Friday- where has the time gone??
