Belly Borrowing

Photo Cred: Megan's Husband JP

    I heard a heart beat today. An unborn baby's heartbeat. My sweet friend Megan is eight months pregnant.  She and her husband got pregnant in January and her husband deployed in March, so she had the daunting task of handling three months of her pregnancy alone.  She is an amazingly strong woman and today she invited me to an appointment with her midwife. I would like to consider myself blissfully ignorant on the subject of pregnancy and childbirth. There is a bunch in this world I am terrified of, but none compare to my fear of having a child. When I got married I did more research on birth control than I did in all four years of college! Do not misunderstand me, I love children but I love giving them back to their parents more.  As an ex waitress I am well aware of the messes children can make, and as a teacher I am well aware of what they can turn into, but I am in uncharted territory when it comes to the unborn.  Megan began asking questions during the hour long appointment about vaccination, circumcision, birth plans, and a million other things that might as well have been in Russian.  "I am not ready for this," was the statement that was on a continuous scroll through my brain.  How in the world did she even know what to ask?! Just as I was about to swear off children all together (sorry in-laws) the midwife pulls out a CTG machine. This is a small machine about the size of a toaster with a microphone attached.  She puts this weird green jelly on it and begins to rub it on Megan's ever growing belly.  With the flick of the ON switch our entire examination room is filled with a loud, and fast heart beat.  Now, I'm not a cussing woman, but holy you know what, Megan has a living thing inside of her!  His little heart was so strong.  Just as my own heart was softening to the thought of being a mommy I opened my mouth.
"The heartbeat sounds like it's underwater," I said to the midwife.
 "Well it's going through amniotic fluid," she replied.    
Oh, "fore-head slap," everyone knows that. Everyone except me obviously.  Joking aside, it was an amazing experience and something I am so thankful to have been apart of, but behind the midwife, taped on the door was a poster advertising birth control and I am not sad I can't get pregnant for three years.

       Through all of my pre-marriage research I discovered "Nexplanon,"  a birth control that is surgically placed in the arm.  It is basically, a two inch stick that will keep me from procreating for three years.  My arm was bruised for about two weeks and my lady time was jacked up for a few months, but Lordy it is great! I don't have to take a pill
every day, which for a forgetful young woman like me, is awesome.

       Russ and I did the majority of our relationship long distance with him a the Naval Academy and me in college in Georgia. Marriage did not help because two months after we finally married he deployed for seven months! So while I love kids, I am selfishly going to hog every free second my good-lookin husband has.  Maybe we'll evaluate in three years when Nexplanon is removed, and maybe we won't.  One this is for sure, this navy wife ain't doin the kid thing anytime soon, but I will soak up and learn everything from what Megan is going through!
 *Thank you Lord for amazing friends like Megan in this crazy Navy life.  I pray for her and her baby's safety during the birth, and to help the baby grow bigger and stronger during his last month in her belly. Your miracles never cease to amaze me. Amen*