baby

welcome

march 5th,
north philly

"manny please" baby whined as she tossed and turned. for some reason, she was so hot. but with her big belly in the way, it was hard to alleviate her warmth at 9 months pregnant— she was always uncomfortable.

"i'm up baby, i'm up" manny grudgingly woke up out of his sleep to open the window for his fiancée. he recognized she was probably uncomfortable and cranky. she had gotten franker the further along she got, so at this point he was used to it. he laid back down in the bed before he felt his skin touch wet sheets. "you peed the bed?" he joked as manny felt around

"no, i think my water just broke" baby said calmly as she tried to get up

"what?!" manny shot up. he immediately helped baby to the bathroom. as they entered the light, clear fluid was present all down baby's legs. "shit, this is happening" manny thought aloud. feelings mixed with excitement and nervousness. he took a shower with baby, who insisted they be clean before they went to the hospital. she was moving slow for someone who was in labor, it was like that had no effect on her. the couple finished their shower routine before manny put his own clothes on, and helped baby get dressed into pajamas they specifically bought for the hospital.

he made sure to grab the baby bag, and all other prep that his wife had prepared for her delivery. once he was sure baby was comfortable in the car, he loaded everything up and hopped in the drivers seat. not wasting anytime to get to the hospital , manny sped through philly as he raced against his own baby. he could hear baby's breath getting heavier. "we gon be there soon, aight?" hr reassured her. she sent a small smile, before leaning her head back onto the seats.

once in the emergency doors driveway, manny ran inside. "i need someone, my wife is have our baby right now" he explained as nurses followed him out to the car where baby could feel the head . the nurses rolled her away in a wheelchair, and instructed manny on where to park. it felt like hours, he was searching the parking lot for a space. he finally found one, and managed to grab the bags and make his way into the hospital. with a fast pace, he walked up to the reception desk, a nervous wreck, and a cut off a conversation between two nurses. "excuse me, my wife is having a baby right now what room is she in?" he spit out quickly, looking for a quick response. the nurses looked up at him for a second , but they could read the urgency in his face.

"willow? is the first name" the nurse in the purple scrubs asked as she typed away

"yuh" is all he responded, wishing she would hurry up

"room 202" she replied tersely. he sent her a head nod before making his way to the nearest staircase. he didn't even care to take the elevator. once in the second floor, he could see baby laying in a hospital gown, through glass doors. he rushed inside, placing all the stuff he was carrying on the first chair he saw in the room. baby was chewing on a cup of ice, as doctors and nurses were assessing her vitals.

"ahhh, you must be dad" and older black lady said as she looked over at a startled manny. she had a white coat on that read "dr monroe".

"i am" he reached his hand out for a shake, "nice to meet you" he insisted.

"she's almost dilated enough for us to preform the birthing procedure, but in the mean time, we gave her some ice to munch on" she explained

"thank you" manny let the information sink in. it was real. they were having this baby right now.

"here are some scrubs to change into for when it comes time to birth" the doctor handed up blue scrubs. he nodded his head before headed to the connecting bathroom to put them on over his clothes. when he came out the bathroom. baby looked like she hated her life. manny didn't wanna ask what wrong; but it just bummed him she wasn't happy in this moment. he looked over at his wife, as she busted into a fit of tears.

"i just wanna be comfortable" she cried , "i hate being uncomfortable" just as she said that's, her mother rushed to the door and came to her bedside.

"it's okay baby, it'll be over before you know" she immediately assuaged. baby felt a tear and immediately signaled for one for of the two people in the room to grab a nurse. manny assumed his position, running out into the hall to grab somebody for her. a nurse came in and lifted the blanket, she observed for a few seconds before she concluded.

"yep, it's time to have the baby" willow felt her stomach as she realized what she was about to go through. suddenly she regretted having sex in the first place. her medical team soon filled her room, and prepped her to start pushing.

"you're gonna feel a lot of pressure, but the more you push, the faster it'll me over" her doctor assured her. she had manny holding her left hand , and her mother holding her right. "alright, give me one big push" baby grunted as she pushed as hard as she could. it was more uncomfortable than painful, but nonetheless an unpleasant feeling. she hated the way she felt. "okay mom, i can see the head, give me another big push" and baby followed suit, thinking about the seafood boil she knew she was gonna receive after pushing this baby out. she breathed heavily before she felt manny squeeze her hand. she looked over to see a look of worry painted on his face.

"does it hurt?" he mouthed to her

"i'm okay" she mouthed back, calming his nerves a little

"okay willow, i need one last big push from you and you'll be all done" baby sucked in her breathes, preparing to push with all her might. she pushed, she pushed until she felt like she couldn't push anymore. finally, she heard a cry come from below her, signaling she was finished. she laid her head back into the pillow before she head commotion.

"dad, do you want to cut the umbilical cord?" as they held out the scissors. manny was in awe— too mesmerized to even move in this moment. he snapped out of his trance, and grabbed the scissors to cut the cord. the nurse quickly took the baby and wrapped him in blankets. baby looked up, as her baby was placed into her arms, and he suddenly stopped crying. and everything in the world finally made sense for baby. she fell off the face of the earth and became someone's bm. a random boy she met in texas, but she didn't regret a single thing.

manny also took his turn holding tru, making sure to be gentle with him. but happy that he was a boy. the pair purposefully waited to see what gender their baby was.

"now, the baby has to go away for testing and such" the doctor started, "but this is the part where we do the birth certificate" she pulled out a sheet of paper

baby posted down the first name, 'Tru' and manny listed his own last name along with signing the birth certificate. it was official by then. they were a happy family.