It was a scary thought I had been pregnant for so long (at 16) and not knowing….

I was unaware that I was pregnant, had no clue at all. I have never been a skinny girl so you couldn’t tell. I went to the doctors because I thought I had pulled something in my stomach (it was my son asleep on my bladder)I had always been safe and was on the pill. The doctor felt my stomach and said she thought I was pregnant. She asked me to pee in the jar. In my head head I was thinking “I’ll give you pee in the jar.” When it came back positive I was in shock, then I was sent to get an ultrasound which not only confirmed I was pregnant, it showed I was 27 and half weeks along (6 and a half months).

I was so scared to tell my parents. In my 16 year old brain I thought I’d be grounded for life. I first told my sister who freaked out and then we told my mum, I know she was disappointed, I could see it in her face. The one thing I remember her saying was “we can’t keep this from your father. .”

It was a scary thought thinking I had been pregnant for so long and not knowing. I had always read stories and thought how could they not know. The day before I had found out I was playing with the kids around the corner all afternoon on those slippery slides where you put dishwashing liquid on a long slide and dive and slide down it.

I had my period the whole way through and hadn’t gained much weight (I had always been a big girl) I had no prenatal care or took any classes for the birth.The main worry was my baby’s health. Not knowing and being 16, I was a normal teenager. I rode horses, ate a lot of junk food, didn’t get enough sleep and drank on the weekends. I had to speak to a counsellor about what might have affected my baby but I was extremely lucky as he turned out fine, perfect health and weight My labor went for 11 hours and was the hardest thing I had ever done. I had pethedine which helped for a bit. I couldn’t have done it without my mum and sister by my side. I had no idea what I was doing. When they told me it was a boy there words were “he has a big one” in my head I was thinking he has, he has a big one oh my god it’s a boy. It was 7.43am on the 10th of Febuary 1993 when Ashley Corey arrived. When they put him in my arms I had so many emotions going through my head…

How am I going to do this ?

How will I be able to provide for him?

Will I be the mum he deserves?

We didn’t  come from a rich family and times were tough. We definitely had our ups and downs, but I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. I paid all the bills and we always had a roof over our heads , gas and electricity was paid, we ate and most of all we had a bond like no other. One thing we learnt, together is we can get through anything, good bad and ugly times.

Now I am 39 and Ashley is 22 years old. I am lucky as he is great kid, well young man. We are not only family but best friends. He still lives at home and we talk every day even if we don’t see other. I can’t even imagine the day he leaves and moves out. I know I have raised a great young man who works hard and still plays basketball for 3 different teams, I go to as many games as I can and couldn’t be prouder. I am grateful for my family and everyone who has helped me over the years.