Keepsake of My Love

46 Violet eyes

Media: The reality of early parenthood (no sleep for Lydia and Jake for the first year!)

Lydia

Jake and I were both nearly twenty-five when Violet Eve Somersby was born. Our little girl came into the world in my fortieth week of pregnancy.

The labor took about twelve hours, and she was born at six thirty on a Sunday evening. She was 19.7 inches long and weighed more than seven pounds. Violet was perfect.

---

Jake and I made love the night before. Yes, our sex life was back on track in the later stages of my pregnancy, as I was no longer plagued by morning sickness. In fact, in my last trimester I was particularly in want, or need, for Jake.

At 6:15 a.m., I woke up with light contractions. They came every five to six minutes and grew stronger as the morning progressed. Jake was still sleeping after I came out of the shower and got dressed.

"Jake, wake up."

Nothing.

"Honey, wake up. It's time."

Groan.

I tapped him on his shoulder.

"Honey, I'm having contractions."

"Nooo, go back to sleep. It's not time yet." He swatted my hand away.

"Jake! It's every five minutes! Wake up!" I shook his shoulder gently.

"HUH? Whaaat?"

He sat straight up, with his messy, disheveled hair sticking out in all places. His eyes were in shock of being woken up early on a Sunday morning after a late night of making love.

At 11:00 a.m., we were in the hospital room, and I sat on the bed. We had already been there for a few hours. By then the contractions were strong, and I was practicing the breathing techniques Jake and I learned during pregnancy yoga class.

"Do you remember the breathing techniques we learned? Keep doing that." Jake soothed me, as I let out a soft wail of pain.

"You remember?"

"Of course, Missy."

The last few hours of labor were excruciatingly painful. I never felt any kind of pain that could compare to giving birth. The contractions hurt like hell as they grew more intense.

By 6:30 p.m., our baby was born. The midwife and her assistant cleaned and wrapped our little angel in a blanket, and stitched a minor tear that I had from the birth. Jake helped with cutting the cord and was the first of the two of us to hold our child.

Jake gently placed our baby in my arms. To hold. To nurture. To love.

I peered down at our precious little treasure.

"Jake, she has your eyes!" I gasped. They were more blue than gray. It was too early to know her final eye color, but I had a feeling it would resemble Jake's more than mine.

"She looks like you," he replied. "Beautiful. Like her mother."

We were going to name her Eve, but her eyes gave away her true name.

"Jake, can we call her Violet?"

"How about Violet Eve Somersby? Eve can be her middle name."

"That's perfect." I smiled. It was one of the happiest days of my life.

Violet Eve Somersby, with her father's eyes and her mother's hair.

---

A couple of days later, we were back at home, settling in with a newborn. We had a crib by our bed and a changing table in the bathroom, with diapers and wipes. The laundry was already filling with baby jumpsuits, bodysuits, and tiny socks.

Jake requested a week off work to be with me and the baby during the first week after Violet was born. We received a bouquet of flowers from Jake's work colleagues and a visit from Celine and Rosa. Messages were inundating our phone screens, and our parents met Violet on Skype.

"Oh my goodness, look at that," cooed Rosa.

"She is so beautiful," Celine said, smiling at Violet, who was sleeping in my arms as I rested on the sofa.

"Ladies, would you like some coffee or tea?" Jake was preparing snacks and drinks for our guests.

"Ooh, coffee sounds divine," Rosa called out to Jake.

"Me too," Celine said.

"How about you, Missy?" Jake looked over at me, waiting for my answer. He wore an old pair of jeans, a navy-blue T-shirt, and looked edible.

"I'll have water, please," I replied, smiling at him.

"Oh, he's so handsome, Lydia. Such a handsome man," Rosa said in a hushed voice.

Celine laughed softly when I yawned.

"This is what handsome does to you," Celine said to Rosa, pointing at me and the baby. "Twelve hours of labor and sleepless nights feeding a child."

Laughter escaped my lips, which triggered Violet to stretch and move, but thankfully, she kept on sleeping.

I loved listening to Celine and Rosa talk, with their beautiful accents, and the manner in which they uniquely expressed themselves. I wished I was a better student in French and Spanish in high school. Instead, I dreamed of Jake during class, rather than paying attention to the teachers.

Jake, on the other hand, was practically fluent in Spanish. He paid better attention than I did. He was focused, driven, and ambitious. After all these years, some things stayed the same.

"Erm, your coffees, ladies." Jake came with two coffee cups and placed them on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He returned to the kitchen to get a cold glass of water for me.

"I'm just going down the local store to pick up some bread and milk. Anything you need, Missy?"

"No, I'm good," I replied, as he placed my water on the coffee table.

Jake gave me that look. The I'll stay away from the girl talk look, with one slightly raised eyebrow.

"So, how are you feeling, Lydia?" Celine asked when Jake left the apartment.

"A little tender, but I'm recovering," I replied.

"It will take about six weeks to heal," Rosa said. "Especially if you have stitches."

"I have a doctor's appointment around that time," I replied.

Just then, Violet moved. I looked down to see two tiny blue eyes staring at me.

It was feeding time.