The Unstoppable Zuri

Perfect

I pulled the covers over my head, but my dad was sneaky. He turned the lights on and then ran out. I groaned and sat up. This was it. Today was the day I'd finally be getting this massive watermelon off of me. Hopefully the day I'll get my normal feet back, too. They were blown up like balloons at this point.

    I got into some comfy clothes and opened my blinds. It was still dark out, and today was going to be a cloudy, freezing January day. I went to the calendar hanging up over my desk and crossed off Thursday, the twelfth. I asked Dr. Andrews for literally any other day to be induced, but sadly, this was it.

    She told me that she was already doing two other inductions and a c-section today, so I was lumped in one big Friday the thirteenth birth group with all these other women. I wasn't superstitious, but something about a Friday the thirteenth baby felt weird. I didn't want my labor to take really long, but if I made it to midnight, that would be great.

    I went down the hall and sat at the table. My dad made me a full breakfast, since I'd basically only be allowed to have ice chips at the hospital. I texted my friends, ate as much as I could, then freshened up.

    My dad put my bags in the car and I made sure I had extra things, like my postpartum kit, my earbuds, and my phone charger. I took one last look at the nursery. Everything was ready to go. This was as good as it was going to get.

    "Alons-y, Zuri! We'll be late!" my dad called from down the hall.

    I huffed and walked down the hall, then got my massive coat on. It was ten degrees out today. We walked out into the car and drove to the hospital. There was no traffic since it was five in the morning, so we got there pretty quickly.

    My dad pulled up to the front and dropped me off by the entrance. When I went inside, Hannah was waiting there for me.

    "Hey sweetheart! How are you?" she said, giving me a hug.

    "Tired. But ready," I said. "Pretty nervous, but ready to not be pregnant anymore."

    She laughed. "I felt the same way when I had my son, Jaxson."

    My dad parked the car and walked in with all of our things, including the pink and gray baby carrier. It was crazy to think he was carrying that thing in empty, and we'd be leaving with my little girl in it.

    We got checked in and were walked up to the maternity ward. I took one last chance to go to the bathroom freely, since I wouldn't be able to get out of bed from here on out. My dad and Hannah stepped out for a bit while I got dressed in the hospital gown. The nurse got me hooked up to all different machines, which included a big monitor wrapped around my belly that wasn't comfortable at all. 

    "Everything looks good. Doctor Andrews will be in for you shortly," the nurse said before leaving the room.

    My dad and Hannah walked back in. I could see that my dad felt awful seeing me hooked up to all these wires.

    "I'm okay, Papa," I said. He nodded.

    Doctor Andrews came in a little while later with another nurse.

    "Hey there! Are we ready to have a baby today?" she asked.

    "Yeah. Let's do it," I said.

    I said goodbye to my dad, and Hannah helped position my legs while Dr. Andrews broke my water. It wasn't necessarily painful, just weird. I hoped it would speed the process up.

    I started feeling contractions about twenty minutes later. I was glad to have Hannah there to help with breathing and positioning myself in the bed. After about an hour, the pain in my back was getting pretty bad. I wanted to stick it out for as long as I could, and with Hannah's help, I made it about three hours in before I got the epidural.

    Once the epidural kicked in, I was still in some pain, but feeling a lot better. I really just wanted something more than ice chips. I felt awful, but by the afternoon, I was starving. It didn't help when Emmi and Lucy arrived after school and they were eating hot fries from the vending machine.

    It was almost eight o'clock at night when Dr. Andrews told me it was finally time to go. I'd been in labor for fourteen hours. I was starving, in pain, and ready to be done.

    "You're the last one from my group to have a baby today!" said Dr. Andrews as she put on her gloves.

    Hannah and a nurse held one of my legs. Emmi and Lucy were on each side of me, giving me ice chips. I held onto the sides of the bed, doing what they were directing me to do. It felt like the epidural wasn't working at all anymore. If this was the pain I was in with an epidural, I couldn't imagine the pain without it.

    "Okay, here she is!" Doctor Andrews said, holding a screaming baby up.

    When she placed her on my chest, it felt completely surreal. Both Emmi and Lucy were crying. She had brown hair and blue eyes, just like me. The nurses took her away after a minute to get her all cleaned up. They put her in a striped hospital hat with a bow and a matching blanket.

    I was able to hold her while delivering the placenta, which seemed pretty gross and I was glad I didn't have to see it. I also had to get stitches since I had a second degree tear. Hannah told me not to worry. I really hoped I couldn't tear at all, but I'd live. The postpartum process was going to be hard no matter what.

    All I could do was stare down at my little girl. She was so tiny, but so perfect at the same time. Even if she had some of his features, which were pretty noticeable, she would always be perfect to me.