It was an ordinary day off for both of us.
I was going through a lot of random (and some, expired) things in my vanity
drawer. A couple of pregnancy tests included.
They were actually dated back in 2014!
So truth is, we decided to take the plunge
about a month earlier.
This was the game-changing night. I
actually did a serious research on maternity leave for junior doctors on NHS –
very honestly – because I wanted to find
a legit reason to stay on my current visa but not work.
A baby is a much welcomed bonus.
I figured out a plan, calculated the risks
and all, and decided we should just do it. So the next morning I spilled
everything to Adam, in which he thought it was actually a good plan.
Now note this, I have been on contraception, IUD (copper coil) for most of our married life. Hence why the question “Where’s
the baby?” didn’t really affect us all that much. We knew we couldn’t really
afford to have them too, what with the long-distance marriage and all. In fact,
the initial plan was to wait for another year until I finish my FY1 and be
fully registered with GMC (i.e. fully licensed doctor). That would mean conceiving
sometime around December-January. But work proves to be tough, that I couldn’t
justify putting off having something that we’ve been wanting for so long, for
some career plan that I’m not even passionate about.
Babies – yes, that I’m very much interested in, thank you.
So on to the day when I tested positive.
The night before, I toyed with the idea of
testing with the expired stick with Adam. He wasn’t too keen with the idea, I
mean, it’s expired, it wouldn’t mean much.
But girl don’t care.
Both sticks turned positive the next
morning. Ahh, this is something!
Adam was still asleep in bed when I teased
him, “Guess who’s going to be daddy?”. And guess what’s his first response?
“Did you use the expired tests?”
Such anti-climax this guy. Of course la, he
knew that’s the only tests that we had.
“Should we go to Morrisons now to get a new
test?”
Haha this guy too cute! Well to be honest
if you ask me, I had a feeling that I’ve been pregnant quite a while before
that. It’s something that I just, well, knew.
So this positive test, albeit expired, pretty much confirmed it. But Adam is a
man of logic. The only way to confirm it is by doing another test – a valid
one.
And that, too, showed positive result.
Over the moon? Yes. But more like super
duper ultimately grateful. We are so eternally grateful for this little one
growing in my tummy, Alhamdulillah.
And to me, personally, things finally make
sense. It has been a wonderful four years together – travelling, graduating,
becoming a doctor, that now, having a little one feels only right. It's still a long way to go, just like the long list of baby names we have been accumulating over the last couple of years (without even actually trying, ha!), but inshaAllah it's going to be an amazing one.
*rubs tummy* (actually full of Nando's, more than anything).