Portraits of Love: Unexpected delivery

RAF MILDENHALL, UNITED KINGDOM

02.10.2016

Courtesy Story

48th Fighter Wing

RAF MILDENHALL, United Kingdom - Two pink lines, plus signs, digital read-outs: sixteen pregnancy tests and every single one of them was positive.

"I was nervous," admitted Senior Airman Maryiah Blake, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron equipment liaison journeyman.

Blake woke up sick and was running late for physical training, but everything came to a halt when the test results were positive.

"I was pretty much a single mom from day one," Blake explained. "I knew it was going to be tough, but I knew I had an advantage over a civilian single mother."

After Googling how much it costs to have a baby in the United States, Blake was thankful for the military resources at her disposal.

"I knew I was taken care of financially, but I wasn't ready until I had her," Blake said. "My epidural didn't take, and I was crying. I wasn't ready until I held her for the first time. It clicks, that motherly instinct. Your whole pregnancy you're worried. What if I don't hear her crying in the middle of the night? What if I don't feed her enough? What if I don't produce enough breast milk? Then, you have her, and you're just like, 'I know what to do.' It's just natural."

The transition to motherhood came with a lot of drastic changes for Blake. As an airman 1st class living in the dorms, her day-to-day lifestyle changed as well as her maturity level and how she communicated.

"I can see the changes in myself," Blake explained. "My appearance and the way I talk to people, I still curse a lot, but I'm working on that. I matured. I think before I do things now, it's not always about me anymore. I put her first."

Initially, Blake was advised Gabby would be born with Down syndrome. While home on emergency leave, because her mother was sick, Blake received the information.

"They asked me if I wanted to go through with it," Blake said. "They called me while I was on emergency leave, before my mom passed away. So, I was dealing with that and my mom being in the hospital, and they asked, 'Do you want to keep the baby?' I was like, 'Absolutely.'"

Blake immediately began preparing by reading books about infants with Down syndrome. When Gabby was born, Blake was thankful to find she had a perfectly healthy little girl, but she said she would have been happy regardless.

"She's everything," Blake said plainly. "You have this person that depends on you for everything, and then you see them, their first steps, their first tooth, and it's the most exciting thing in the world to you."

Despite the ups and downs, Blake maintains a positive outlook on being a single mom.

"She peed on the carpet, you know, because you let them air-dry every once in a while," Blake laughed. "She was running around the kitchen in circles and there's a line of pee. Then, she goes into the living room and it's on the carpet, but she's so cute when she does it! She was smiling the whole time she was peeing so I couldn't get mad."

According to Blake, her own experiences with her parents taught her a valuable lesson as well.

"It'll never get easy, even when she graduates college," Blake said, admitting she still shocks her dad. "I got a tattoo, and my dad almost passed out. It'll never go away."

In the end, Blake is confident that, as a single parent, she is enough for Gabby.

"I know I have enough love to give her, whether her dad is in her life or not," Blake said. "With her, the love never stops. It's consistent no matter what. It will never go away no matter what she does. Her being there, just seeing her smile when she plays with her toys, when she poops and she's standing in the middle of the floor, her talking to herself, when she sings: That's what makes it worth it."

• Date Taken: 02.10.2016
• Date Posted: 02.12.2016 11:37
• Story ID: 188736
• Location: RAF MILDENHALL, GB