Drive to Work

The next morning, I woke up at exactly six. I woke Fred up as he is such a heavy sleeper. He never hears the alarm. I went to the bathroom, showered and prepared myself for work. I was feeling so lazy. As Fred was dressing up, I went to the Kitchen and started preparing breakfast. There was no eggs, no bread or juice. I went for the only option available; milk and cereals. I added the bananas that were remaining.

Fred came in after a few minutes and stood at the kitchen counter then asked. "This is what we are having?"

"Yes."

"This looks like an appetizer. I'll be hungry after a few minutes."

"Just have that, we can go have coffee later in the office restaurant." I assured him. "We need to do more shopping in the evening."

He took the bowl and started eating while standing up. After a few scooping a few spoons of the cereal, he was done.

"Really?" I asked a bit shocked on how he managed to be done in a few minutes.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." I said. "Let me finish and we go."

After I finished my breakfast, I quickly washed up the utensils then I met him in the bedroom. He was wearing his watch. I picked my handbag, looked at the mirror for a minute before we went downstairs to the car park. Fred drove us away.

There was a bit of traffic towards town. Ever since we moved these sides, the distance has been longer meaning we usually leave the house a bit earlier than before. As we sat in the traffic listening the early morning show, I lowered the window next to my side. Big Mistake! As soon as the window was down, the traffic started moving. All the fumes of cars entered into our car. I immediately felt nauseous. I wanted to puke!

"Oh God." I cried.

"What?" Fred asked getting concerned.

"I'm not feeling well. I need to throw up."

"No, no, no. Do not puke in the car!" He shouted.

I could not wait until we reached the office. So I quickly went through my bag, got a shopping bag and threw up inside! Not once, not twice but three times! When i finished, I raised my head up and found Fred looking at me with his mouth wide open.

"Man, I can't believe you just did that. Yuck!"

I looked away as I did not know how to respond to him. I opened up my bag again, found some tissue and wiped my mouth with it. I  dipped the tissue into the now "full' shopping bag and closed it tightly at the top. I placed it gently on the mat. I could feel Fred's eyes on me. But I didn't care, I felt good! I opened the window a bit more and closed my eyes. The breeze was so soothing :-)

Fears

We left the hospital in a jovial mood. Not only was I pregnant, I was ten weeks along! I was happy that I wanted to call everyone and tell them but I was held back by the advice the Doctor gave us. He asked we be patient until about twelve or thirteen weeks. By that time, the doctor would be sure of the health of the baby and would have the results of the test he took back.

At the house, I sat down on the couch while Fred ran around the house like an excited kid who was expecting something from his mother. He prepared some fresh juice, served me and cleaned the utensils after. I couldn't help myself from smiling. Why didn't he ever do this often?

“You are acting really good today?”

“Acting?” He asked.

“Yea, you don’t normally do this.”

“You need to rest. You are pregnant. I don't want anything hurting you or the baby. " 

“All will be okay baby. Don’t worry.” I assured him.

He kept silent for a while then shook his head.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“For the longest time since we got married, I have been having fears that maybe God won’t bless us with a kid. You know what we did. We were young, yes, but was that decision good?” He started. “I was scared. I am still scared the hell out. Will this pregnancy go well? Will I be a better father? Will the baby love us? I did not know what to say. I just looked at him. He was trying hard not to tear up as pain was written all over his face.

I held his shoulders trying to console him. Tears flowed down my cheeks as well.

"Fred, you shouldn't be scared. You should be strong now. I need you more." I said.

“Yea I know.”

“I was scared too. I was wondering if God punished us for the abortion as we have been trying but no luck yet. All I know is, God’s timing is the best. Let’s pray that this bundle of joy will bear fruit. I am so excited to be a mother.”

“And you will be a wonderful mother.” He said while rubbing my belly in a circular motion.

Antenatal Clinic

“I’ll have to send you to the Gynecologist. Do you currently have one?” The Doctor asked.

“No.”

He scribbled something on a printed paper and gave it to me. “Take his and go to nurse at the reception. She will direct you to his office. He will be able to advice you more on the pregnancy.”

“Thank you.” I said while I took the paper and we walked out.

We talked down the corridor hand in hand to the nurses’ station at the receptionist. I handed one of them the piece of paper. She smiled, congratulated me and offered to walk me to the office of the Gynecologist. It was located on the East Wing of the hospital five doors away.

She knocked the door and let us in. Apparently, we were the only patient at the moment so the doctor saw us immediately. He greeted us and asked us to sit. The nurse gave him the paper.

“Congratulations to you two.” He started.

“Thank you.” We both replied in unison.

“From the tests, I see you are about ten weeks. You need to start antenatal immediately. The purpose of antenatal care is to monitor your health, your baby’s health and be able to advice you on the way forward until full time.  I’ll have to open a file for you so that it will be easier for us to access the pregnancy.”

He reached to his desk, opened a drawer and picked a blue folder. He wrote my names on the slip on top of the folder. He opened it and inside there was a few papers which was to be filled.

“Okay, I’ll start by asking you questions just to know about you.” He said.

I nodded. Fred squeezed my hand. "How old are you?"

"28"

"Have you had any previous births, miscarriages or an abortion."

I was silent for a while before answering. That question caught me off guard.

"Yes."

"Which one in particular?"

"An abortion."

"How long ago?"

"About two years ago."

"Do you take alcohol?"

"Yes, occasionally."

"Do you smoke?" 

"No"

"Any family history I should know about?"

"Heart issues. My dad had a heart attack."

"Alright, I will have to take your blood pressure. I will also ask you take a urine test which will assist us in checking for gestational diabetes and pre-eclapsia. I will also advice you to stay off alcohol until the baby is born."

"Okay."

He checked my blood pressure and recorded the results in the new file he had opened for me. Out of curiosity, I asked if it was okay and he replied smiling that all was well. I later went to the lab where I left my urine sample. I will get the results in my second visit.

 

 

Ten Weeks

All three of the pregnancy sticks were showing positive results. No doubt I was pregnant! I didn't know whether to cry or not. Fred and I had been waiting for this news for a while now and it wouldn't have come at a better time. I lifted my head up and saw Fred staring at me. He mouth was wide open while his hands. I laughed and asked him what was wrong.

“Are you sure you are pregnant?” he asked.

“Yes.” I replied while collecting the used sticks to throw them in the hospital.

“And can you tell how many months it is?”

“No, not yet. I’ll have to go to the hospital to get that checked out.”

“Wow, that’s good.” He said while holding his head. “ I can’t believe am finally going to be a dad.”

He stepped closer and hugged me. He then planted a kiss on my lips and forehead.

“Let’s go to the hospital right now and check it out.” He asked.

“Ahhh, okay. Weren’t you going to the toilet first?” I reminded him.

After he was done, I picked up my handbag which had my insurance cards and together we drove off to one of the hospitals in our area. We were lucky as we only found two people waiting for the doctor. We filled in our details and when our turn arrived, we were shown into the doctor’s office.  The doctor, Dr. Morrison, was a tall slender built guy who looked like he was in his late forties. He ushered us in and pointed to the seats infront of him.

He read the form that I had filled in the details then asked me questions regarding my menstrual cycle. He traced back my history on when I become sexually active and if I was on any contraceptives. I answered all of his questions. He then drew blood from my arm and asked for us to wait for him on the reception as the results come out.

After a few minutes, the nurse called us back in and found Dr. Morrison waiting for us. His facial expressions could not reveal to us what he had in store for us.

As soon as we sat down, he started.

“Congratulations! You are pregnant.”

I smiled.

“Thank you doctor.  May I know how far I am?” I asked.

“Yes, you are about ten weeks along.” He responded.

Pregnant!!

I was afraid of the reality hence was not ready yet to answer that question yet. I returned to the kitchen and prepared the fish fillet that had defrosted under the running water.

I took out two eggs from the fridge, some bread crumbs and flour and placed them on the kitchen table. I cracked the eggs in a bowl and whisked them up well. I took flour and placed it on a flat plate, placed the fillets flat then pat it down evenly to coat the meat then dipped it on the egg mixture. I later placed the fillets on a plate of crumbs, covered it evenly before placing it on a pan which was hot under medium heat after adding a little vegetable oil. I cooked the fillet for about three minutes for each side before removing them. I then prepared rice and green beans which I later served with the fish. The food was delicious.

The next morning, I woke up and directly went to a pharmacy just down the street and got myself three pregnancy tests. I wanted to be sure and confirm it the weight gain was because of it. I went to the bathroom, and tested on all of the sticks. As I was leaving the bathroom, I almost knocked over Fred who was walking while on his mobile.

“What the hell?” He said.

“I’m sorry.” I replied. “I didn't see you over there.”

“Okay.” He said and tried to open the bathroom door.

“No, no. You can’t go in there now.” I said while held the door tight.

“Why?” he sounded angry.

“I’m still using it.” I said remembering the pregnancy sticks were still on top of the sink. I was waiting for five minutes to be up before I go check up on them.

“Kate, you are really acting up today. How are you using it and you are outside?”

“Just five minutes, please.” I begged.

“No, my bladder can’t wait.” He pushed me aside and went in.

A second later, he came out slowly and looked at me puzzled.

“What are these?” he said pointing to the sticks.

“They are pregnancy sticks. I’m waiting for the results.”

“Are we pregnant?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“How can we tell? All I’m seeing are two blue lines.”

“What?” I rushed and took all of them. I looked and saw it was indicating two lines on all of them!

“Kate, what does it say?”

“I think am pregnant.”

Am I....?

“Baby, do you think am fat?” I posed this question to Fred when I returned home that day. His parents had already left the house to their place.

He looked at me and continued watching football on the television.

“Fred, I am talking to you.” I said.

“Catherine, I am not answering that question.”

“Why?”

“You women don’t always want to know the real answer.”

“What? And what do you mean with ‘you women’?” I asked getting a little bit mad.

“The question is always a trick question. I am not answering that.”

“Fred, please. Just tell me.” I told him touching his shoulder.

“Okay.” Fred said. “It’s true. You have gained weight a bit.”

My stomach sunk in. It was not what I was waiting to hear.

“Where in particular?”

“You have started getting some love handles. Your ass on the other hand…”

“Okay, okay. You have made your point.” I said trying to shut him off.

“You look good dear, don’t let it worry you so much.” He assured me.

“Thank you.” I said. “Let me organize something for dinner.”

I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was some fish fillet in the freezer. I took them up and placed them in the sink under running water. I then walked to the bedroom. The ceiling to floor mirror caught my attention. I moved closer to it and removed all my clothes. Standing there naked was a bit scary. I was looking at myself in a whole new way. I looked at my mid section and noticed what Ann and Fred had initially seen. I was bigger. No wonder my outfits to work were always a bit tight.

I turned around and looked at my behind and let out a loud laugh. It’s big. How comes I have never noticed this before? I look like I have undergone some kind of butt injections. But there was something else going on. I was glowing. I stood on my side so that I could see the side view of myself. My tummy was big, yes, but it was kind protruding in front. Could I be…..?

I'm Fat

After the lunch with my in-laws and husband, I called Ann and confirmed to her that I would be joining her we go swimming. She had already started her journey towards the swimming pool venue. I packed my stuff quickly then met her at the swimming pool.

The pool was big, much to my expectations. It was big; the same size as an Olympic size pool. The blue color of the water was so inviting. There were few people swimming already under the clear sunny skies. We went to the changing rooms and quickly changed to our costumes.

I did two laps before my upper arms started to ache. I think it was because it was a while since I did any kind of exercises. I lifted myself out of the water and went to lie down on the sun bed that had been arranged on both sides of the pool. I was shivering a bit. The sun was hot and soon after I started feeling the heat all over my body.

Ann was still swimming. Back in high school, she participated in swimming and had several times won medals for representing her school in regional competitions. Although she had taken some time out from competitions, she still loved swimming once in a while. Right now, she was doing the butterfly strokes in the water. She looked so happy.  

My skin was getting a bit dry so I got my sun screen from my bag and started applying myself. Soon after, Ann came and sat next to me on the adjoining sun bed. She was dripping wet.

“That was nice!” she exclaimed.

“Yes it was…and the weather is beautiful.” I added.

“By the way I can see you are really starting to add weight.” Ann said.

“Huh?” I asked surprised.

“Yes you are. Haven’t you noticed? Your tummy is getting a bit bigger.”

I looked down on my stomach and noticed the two folds of meat on the sides. I didn't like it. I had actually never noticed them. I looked at the rest of my body but the stomach stood out from the rest.

“Oh my God. I’m fat.” I screamed.

“No you are not!” Ann assured me.

“I can’t believe this. When did it happen? I have never noticed the bulging stomach.”

“Don’t worry, it will go away soon. You really loved going for walks. You should start doing it. Walking will do the trick.” Ann said smiling.