A Little More Than A City Kid

Name's Gwen. I may seem friendly and sweet but if you screw with me, I'll kinda kick your ass. I have a past and stories to tell that come along with that, but those are all in the past. For now, I'm working on becoming a surgeon.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Making  a sandwich..

And singing about making a sandwich while I eat it.. La la la..

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Text: Alex

Alex: Crap. I can't.

Alex: Night shift.

Gwen: Damnit. :( Alex! I'm all alone now.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Text: Alex

Gwen: Wanna hang and watch Rocky with me tonight? I feel like a movie night.

Gwen: I'll even make popcorn for us.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[allisonrileybradford-md]

We’re similar in size…well we were before I had another baby and you got pregnant…did you see how big I got? [laughing] 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Al, you're almost twice my height. I'm a peanut. We're similar in weight, yes, not height. [chuckles] I'm going to be a balloon.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[allisonrileybradford-md]

He’s actually still pretty tiny. And normal sized. 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Tell that to my giant belly. Anything that's growing in my tiny body is huge, no matter what.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[kittykatwalker]

Congratulations.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Thank you! 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[allisonrileybradford-md]

Little man was not shy in the least. 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Isn't he huge? He's..huge. I have a huge baby growing inside of me.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

It's a boy! I'm having a baby boy, I'm going to have a son. This is all starting to become real now.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

I kinda forgot I have to name this kid.

[allisonrileybradford-md]

Well, probably not “this kid.” 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Thanks, Allie. So very helpful.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

I kinda forgot I have to name this kid.

What the hell do I name this kid?

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Text: Allie

Allie: When I was pregnant she would sit there hugging my belly, but she just loves babies. She says Lilia is getting too big too fast.

Allie: I agree with her, to be honest. My baby.

Gwen: She's such a little cutie. Both of them are.

Gwen: Lilia is getting too big too fast! How is she 6 months old already?! I swear she was just born.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Almost halfway there, this is absolute craziness. 

[evanbradford]

Congrats, Jasper.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Thanks, Bradford. [smiles]

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Text: Allie

Allie: I just had Lilia six months ago, the little crazy. Evan will not be up for that hahaha. And neither am I, yet.

Gwen: I tried to tell her that! I think she just wants you to get fat, she likes the bump. Your child is a weirdo.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Almost halfway there, this is absolute craziness. 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Text: Allie

Gwen: I would just like to let you know that your oldest child already wants another sibling. Last night, she patted my stomach repeatedly and kept asking, "Aunt Gwen, can you tell Mommy to be pregnant, too? I miss her big belly like yours."

[allisonrileybradford-md]

Family dinner date tonight to celebrate valentines day with our girls!

[allisonrileybradford-md]

[nods] They really are…[getting an idea]. Especially mine! What would you say about babysitting them for a few hours tomorrow night? 

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[laughing] Your girls are precious. Oh, babysitting? You and Ev want to have a Valentine's Day date alone, huh? I would love to. You know how much I adore spending time with the two of them.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

[kittykatwalker]

Kitty hated the reaction it created when she let the truth out, and that was partly why she avoided the subject. It got people feeling weird, set an awkward ground in the conversations and it was just bothering all in all, and Kitty was having a hard time with all of her other life aspects already, if she could chat with people without things being as tough and awkward, she’d hold onto that. Shrugging it off, Kitty shook her head. Kitty’s stare moved up to Gwen and she stared at the woman as she shared the fact that it scared her to carry a child. “It is a scary thing,” she answered, keeping quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Pregnancy is a scary thing.” She paused again, a small smile hiding a profound pain slowly drawing upon her face as she completed, “But it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.” Kitty ignored Gwen’s words as she mentioned how she somehow got where she came from. She couldn’t understand. Nobody could. But she didn’t want to get in to that. HIV was very serious as well, and Kitty was aware that a mother suffering from HIV could very well pass it onto her child, and that was serious. But she knew working in the hospital that Gwen’s pregnancy would be well monitored and that therefore, she had all chances on her side. “I’m sure your baby’s going to be okay,” she said, showing the other doctor a small smile again.

[gwendolyn-jasper]

Gwen nodded slowly, agreeing with Kitty. She felt bad for the other woman, although she felt a shared pity between the two of them. They were going through a similar situation, although Kitty's had gone the worst possible way while Gwen's was still on the fence. They were similar, but different. Gwen was just lucky she had someone to talk to. "Very scary," she whispered, rubbing the bottom of her protruding belly gently. "I really didn't know what to do at first. I still don't know what to do. I'm having a kid, it's just so much to think about." She sighed, looking over at her co-worker sadly. "Oh, this has been anything but beautiful so far. Maybe, if you want to call throwing up 24/7 and falling asleep standing up beautiful." As they continued to talk, Gwen felt a mixed sense of relief from having someone to talk to, and dread that she'd begun this conversation in the first place. All she'd been trying to do was not think about how her baby could get sick, and now she had forced herself to do just that. "Yeah. But you never know.. There's still a chance."