A Blessing In Disguise

by Kristin Mannex
(Sammamish, WA)

I had my beautiful daughter Kayla when I was 24. Kayla was unplanned, and I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know what to expect. My boyfriend and I had only been together for 2 weeks when I found out I was pregnant. I was worried he would leave me alone with a newborn baby to take care of. But I was totally wrong. He was extremely supportive and understanding. For me, I wasn't so sure about this whole thing.

When I saw that first ultrasound, my heart melted. It was the first time I had realized, how special and blessed I was. And how so many couples try for YEARS and YEARS to conceive. If I didn't have any other purpose in life, being a mother was it.

My pregnancy wasn't so pleasant. I had morning sickness EVERYDAY during those 9 months. The hormones where hard to manage. I was tired of being tired. Looking at myself in the mirror was hard to do. And on top of that, my boyfriend was living in Oregon working, while I was up in Washington State, living under my parents roof. I had no comfort at night. No one to message my feet, or get me a glass of water. Not having the father of your baby next to you at night, to cuddle you, rub your belly, feel the baby kick, and tell you everything was going to be O.K. made me sad. I held back tears as long as I could every night.

On Christmas morning, I awoke extremely bloated. My feet where so swollen, I couldn't even see my ankles. It hurt to the touch. My whole body hurt. My Mom took me to the ER. My blood pressure was dangerously high. About an hour of nurses probing me and checking my blood pressure, the nurse came in and said, "Your body can't hold this baby anymore. So we're gonna induce you.". Fear set in. I hadn't took any birthing classes. I only read one book. I really had no idea what to expect.

After 3 hours, my boyfriend made it to the hospital all the way from Oregon. My sister made it all the way from the Oregon Coast. My boyfriend was on one side, and my sister on the other, helping me push. My baby didn't cry when she came out, so I started crying thinking something was wrong. She was completely healthy. As I lay there with my baby in my arms, my boyfriend and I held each other, and we cried for a good 10 minutes. We named her Kayla Rose. My daughter. A part of me. And she's all mine.

My boyfriend and I are still together. Our one year anniversary is coming up soon. We plan on getting married. It's brought us closer together. We've fallen more in love with each other then ever before. Unplanned situations happen for a reason. In the end, it always comes out as a beautiful.