radicalducati 131. Little Italy
131. Little Italy
EMMA's POV :
- - - Two Months Later - - -
"Hey, baby," I said as I rubbed my stomach gently. "Tomorrow's the day. We're finally gonna see you soon,"
"We can't wait to meet you," Ian rolled over from his side of the bed to give my stomach a little kiss. I felt a warm flutter in my stomach and I got giddy as his lips touched my skin. I always felt that way whenever he touched the baby. It was like the baby was saying hi back to her daddy.
"You feeling okay?" he asked me.
"Mm-hmm," I nodded.
"Nervous?"
"A little bit," I paused for a moment to remember if we had everything we needed for tomorrow. "Do we have everything we need?"
"Everything's taken care of. You don't worry about a thing. Just focus on you and the baby," he replied reassuringly.
I was actually almost a week past my due date of April 14th. She was supposed to be here by now, but for some reason, she decided to stay inside some more. My baby was measuring big and my doctor, Dr. Martin, was concerned that with my petite frame, I would have a hard time delivering naturally. After discussing my options, she thought it would be best if I went into labor and attempted to deliver my baby naturally. I was fine with that. I had always thought of a cesarean as a possibility at first, and I doubted my own ability to deliver naturally. But she was the doctor and if she thought that I could do it, then maybe I could. Either way, I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I'd get an induction and I'd finally be able to see my baby. Eek!
"It feels weird calling the baby 'the baby'. Have you picked out a name for her yet?" I asked him.
"As a matter of fact, I did," he said cryptically.
"And?"
"And I'll let you know tomorrow,"
"Really?" I gaped at him. "You and this baby, huh, you two like to make me wait,"
"Good things take time. I told you, patience is a virtue,"
"It better be worth it. Better be a really good name,"
"Oh, I think you'll love it," he smiled knowingly.
Ian was so good at everything. He was patient and calm, the complete opposite of me, who was a nervous wreck. He had our bags all packed up and ready to go. He got the doctor's number on speed dial and he even called Hailey and Kristen to be ready at the hospital tomorrow for when the baby arrives. Honestly, I didn't know what I'd do without him.
Smiling back at him, I cupped his face with my hands and planted a light kiss on his nose and lips. "Knowing that you're the one who picked it, I'm sure I will,"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Ian and I went to get lunch at my favorite restaurant, Shake Shack as our 'last meal'. Yeah, Shake Shack held a soft spot in my heart now after our wedding. It became sort of our thing.
Later that night, I was admitted to the hospital at around 8:30 PM, on Wednesday, April 21st. After four, yes four, separate attempts to insert my IV, the nurse finally succeeded and hooked me up to a bag of fluids. After that, I was then hooked up to a fetal monitor and I was given my first dose of medication to begin the induction. The nurse inserted a small pill, placing it on my cervix.
"This is supposed to soften your cervix and induce contractions throughout the night," she said.
Ian was supposed to sleep on the bed next to mine, but I didn't like being so far away from him, so I asked him to cuddle with me in this twin-sized hospital bed. Ian, like the true champion that he was, complied with all my requests. He probably couldn't sleep because the bed was too tiny, but he cuddled me all night long anyway.
The next thing I remembered, I woke up at around 6:00 AM the next day. The nurse laughed at Ian and me as Ian shuffled out of the bed awkwardly. She was coming to check on my monitor and to see how far along my contractions were.
"You're having consistent contractions every four to five minutes. How are you feeling?" she asked.
"I don't feel a thing, to be honest. Is that okay?"
"Yes, that's completely fine," she said reassuringly. "We'll check back again with you in an hour,"
Ian looked extremely exhausted. He went to lie down on his bed and I decided not to bother him for the time being. I spent the next hour playing on my phone, texting back and forth with Tiff and Carrie, who really wished they could be here right now. Carrie was living back in Georgia and she had to work today, meanwhile, Tiff was finishing up her degree in Florida and she had midterms in a few hours.
At around 7:00 AM, Dr. Martin came in and checked up on me. Ian jolted from the bed when he heard the doctor was coming in. He rubbed his tired eyes with his knuckles and staggered over to my bedside.
"Everything looks great so far. But I'm just a little concerned that your contractions are not progressing and you're not softening or dilating," she said.
"Is that bad?" I asked nervously.
"Not necessarily. It could just be that your body's taking its time with the medication. Hopefully, things would pick up soon,"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two and a half hours later Dr. Martin came back in with the nurse. By now it was around 9:30 a.m. and I was sitting there laughing and joking around with Kristen, Hailey, and Ian. Kristen and Hailey had just arrived from New Jersey. They were so happy and excited to see us, especially Kristen, she couldn't stop hugging me and showering my head with kisses.
"You're still only dilated to 1 centimeter and you're not progressing at all," Dr. Martin sighed after she checked me.
"That's not good, huh?" I asked her.
"Don't worry, this is what we'll do, I will go ahead and break your water and see if that would help move things along," she replied.
Dr. Martin nodded to the nurse, who then inserted a long white hook and popped the amniotic sac, causing my water to break. It felt like a volcano was nestled in between my legs. Once the looooong gush of fluid slowed down, Dr. Martin patted my leg and said, "If you're still smiling in an hour I am going to start you on some Pitocin,"
Needless to say, I wasn't smiling ten minutes later. I started having hard contractions right after my water broke. She checked me and I was dilated to 3 centimeters, which wasn't far enough along to receive an epidural yet. Soon after, my contractions moved right into my lower back. Back labor. I had heard so much about it and I had hoped I wouldn't experience it, but lucky me, I had it and I had it BAD.
By 11:00 AM, I was still only dilated 3 to 4 centimeters and I was in serious pain. Dr. Martin decided to give me a shot of Fentanyl to take the edge off the contractions. It was a miracle medicine, for about ten minutes at least. Then the contractions were back and harder than ever. I was in so much pain that Ian, who was cool and calm throughout the day, started to panic. He was shouting at all the nurses outside to come and help me.
One of the nurses came in and suggested I go sit in the Jacuzzi tub to help relax. I was open to trying anything at that point. With the help of Ian and the nurses, I made my way down the hall to the Jacuzzi room. I slid into the tub and was almost instantly relieved. My belly felt weightless and the hot water relieved the tense muscles in my back. I was very relaxed and was feeling well enough to joke around with the nurses a little bit. Then suddenly, about twenty minutes later, nothing, and I meant NOTHING was funny anymore.
My contractions became more intense than ever and not even the hot bubbly water could relieve the pain. Ian and the nurses helped me out of the tub and we went back down to my room. We had to stop twice in the hallway because the pain was so intense, it took everything in me not to crumple to the floor. The contractions had begun to hit four in a row, with no warning at all. I couldn't feel them coming on at all, they were suddenly just there, at their peak. I would get about 15-30 seconds rest in between each one and they would start all over again. Ian ended up carrying me all the way back to the room. I couldn't stand on my own two feet at this point.
Back in the room, Dr. Martin came back in and checked on me. She announced that I was dilated to 6 centimeters, which was far enough along for an epidural. I sat up straight and leaned against Ian's body, the pain was so intense that no matter how hard I tried, I absolutely could not sit still. They had to give me a second shot of Fentanyl just to relieve the pain enough to get the epidural in. Dr. Martin had to try twice to get the epidural in place. She almost had it in and I felt something heavy and that unmistakable urge to push.
"Now wouldn't be a good time to tell you that I think I have to push, would it?" I asked her.
"Hold on honey, I have to get this in," she replied.
She finally got my epidural in place and checked me. Sure enough, I was dilated to 10 centimeters. I had gone from 6 to 10 centimeters in a matter of minutes. Thankfully my epidural kicked in fast and I was feeling great all of a sudden.
"Is it time to push now?" I asked again.
"You are fully dilated, but the baby is still very high up. You have at least one or two hours of pushing ahead of you," Dr. Martin replied.
"So, what now?" Ian asked. He looked more worried and anxious than I was.
Dr. Martin smiled reassuringly and said, "We should give it a bit more time. I'll come back in about half an hour to see how we're doing. In the meantime, Nurse Jackie, will you stay with them?"
"Sure," said the nurse.
Dr. Martin left the room seconds later, and I was left with Ian, Kristen, Hailey, and Nurse Jackie. Hailey was doing her best, telling me jokes to get my mind off things. Kristen was trying her hardest too, stroking my hair and massaging my shoulder. Ian had completely lost his shit at this point. He tried to feed me ice chips, and when I refused, he just paced around the room like he was going mad.
"He looks worse than you, and he's not the one giving birth," Hailey joked.
"Maybe you can try pushing and hold it there, count from 1 to 10," Nurse Jackie said to me.
"Okay," I nodded and did what she told me to do. I pushed and held it in, starting to count from 1.
I only managed to get to 6 when I heard Nurse Jackie muttered, "Uh-oh,"
"Uh-oh?" I asked her.
"Hold on a second," she raced towards the door and yelled from the top of her lungs, "Dr. Martin! I think you should come back in here! Now!"
"Is the baby coming?" I asked the people who were in the room.
Ian was completely frozen in shock. He looked pale, like he had seen a ghost. And for the first time ever, Hailey's jaw fell to the ground and she couldn't say a word.
"Yes. The baby's coming," Kristen was the one who answered me.
"Excuse me, make some room, please," Dr. Martin came rushing back into the room, followed by several other nurses behind her.
Realizing that the room was getting too overcrowded, Kristen pulled Hailey aside and said, "We'll wait outside,"
I didn't have time to process anything. Ian stood right beside me and I clenched his arm tightly, so much so that I might have scratched and bruised him. He didn't seem to mind. He didn't flinch at all. His eyes were fixed on my lower stomach and what was happening there. I wasn't sure what was happening. All I knew was that felt something in between my legs and it was aching to get out.
Everything was happening so fast. Dr. Martin barely had time to get her gloves on before I felt my baby leaving my body. Yes, my baby was born! She was born on April 22nd at 12:44 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and was 20 inches long.
Ian cut the umbilical cord and Dr. Martin passed her to the nurses who began to clean her up. They were suctioning out her mouth and nose, but she wasn't crying. It took her a few seconds to take her first breath, and when she finally let out her first little cry, my heart melted into a puddle.
They wrapped her up and laid her across my chest. I looked down at her and kissed her tiny forehead. She looked exactly how I had imagined she would. She had little wispy tufts of hair all over her head and the softest skin. She was so precious and so beautiful. When she opened her eyes and looked up at me, I felt the warmest feeling in my chest. It was that moment that made me realize everything I had gone through was totally worth it and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
"Ian... She's here... I can't believe this..." I couldn't stop the tears from falling from my eyes.
Ian leaned his forehead against mine and I could feel him shaking. He touched the baby's face with his hand and his voice cracked when he said, "She's so beautiful,"
"Yeah, she is," I nodded. "I think she has your eyes,"
"Really?"
"Yeah,"
Looking into the baby's eyes, Ian began to cry. It wasn't just glistening eyes or a single trickle of tear, he was full on crying. He didn't even bother wiping the tears away, he just kept staring at our baby girl. Putting my hand up to his face, I wiped the tears that fell and kissed his cheek.
"It's our baby, Ian," I said to him. "She's here and she's ours,"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later that evening, things were calm and peaceful as our baby slept in my arms. It was a stark contrast to what was happening just hours ago.
"She really does have Ian's eyes," Kristen noted. She was standing behind Ian who was sitting on the bed next to me, hovering over the baby.
"And she's got Emma's smile," Ian replied triumphantly, not breaking his gaze away from the baby.
"She's so gorgeous," Hailey added. "What's her name?"
I turned to Ian and said, "I don't know. Ian's in charge of picking the name actually,"
"You let my brother pick the name?" Hailey gasped.
"Yeah... he kinda won me over,"
"So, what is it? What's her name?" she asked again.
We were all staring at Ian, waiting patiently for his response. He finally broke his gaze away from the baby and let out a soft chuckle. He proceeded to unbuttoning his shirt and revealing a bandage over his chest.
"What? You got a tattoo?" I asked him.
"Yeah, a few days ago," he shrugged simply.
Peeling the bandage off, he smiled from ear to ear as he said, "This is her name. It's inspired by the place that made her happen,"
Right below the tattoo of my name, Ian had inked another name on his chest. The name of our baby girl.
Florence.
*
*
*
- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -