When My Life Changed Forever - Part 1

It was the middle of September 2012. I had just started my first year at college and in one of my classes I started to feel really unwell. I felt very nauseous, tired, I didn't want to eat and I couldn't even look at food. I was crying one minute and happy the next and I didn't have a clue what was going on. A classmate said that I must have been coming down with something. So me being the big scaredy cat that I am didn't want to get unwell and made an appointment with my doctor.

Once there, days later, along with my younger sister Kerry, I had a good moan about how I was feeling. (To be honest, I felt quite sorry for myself. Ha! Ha!) My doctor asked me to lie down on the bed and he started pressing onto my stomach. 'What the heck is he bloody doing?' I thought. After much discomfort he asked to take a urine sample but at this point I genuinely had no idea what was going on but I did as he asked.

When I came back I looked at my sister Kerry as if to say 'Oh my goodness, this is quite worrying'. Kerry was only 7 at the time but I tried not to worry her. The doctor was quiet for a few moments, this felt like forever, but he sat back down at his busy desk and said 'So....that answers that question...' I must have looked so confused because he then said 'You are pregnant'. I replied back 'Sorry...what??' and my doctor then repeated that I was indeed pregnant. I didn't say anything, I couldn't get the words out, but I turned to Kerry to see her reaction. She tried to hide what I would describe as the biggest smile ever! She looked so happy but I couldn't take in what was said. I felt numb. My whole life was now about to change...

Months later, after telling everyone my news, I finally felt excited but scared. I may only have been 19 years old when I found out but I knew that I could only do my best and make the most of it. I started to show a 'baby bump'..

At this stage in my pregnancy I separated from my boyfriend, the baby's dad, who I will refer to as J. I felt unbelievably heartbroken by this but if we had stayed together then it wouldn't have been healthy for us or the baby that we were expecting. J is a little bit younger than me and because of this he felt more scared and nervous about the baby, which is totally understandable. Unfortunately we had little contact during the pregnancy but if anything serious were to ever happen then he was just a phone call away.

I had quite an easy pregnancy. There wasn't any major concerns. I stayed healthy, and I still attended college everyday. And as the months went by the baby bump got much bigger..

Caley 💜