Hold My Girl

Chapter 13

//Crowded town or silent bed
Pick a place to rest your head and
Give me a minute to hold my girl
Give me a minute to hold my girl//

I held her to my chest once I had been cleaned up, put back into my room, and in a clean set of pjs.

She was so unbelievably tiny. I couldn't believe it. I had tears streaming down my face the whole time, I couldn't bear it.

We stayed like that for about two and a half hours. I was just starting to drift off, when something happened that I will never forget.

I heard someone snuffling. I assumed it was Tom, he had a bit of a cold. I looked beside me, but he was sound asleep, curled up in a blanket on the couch that was in my room.

I looked at my baby girl. She had more colour to her than before. She wasn't as pale looking.

I must be seeing things I thought to myself.

The snuffling became louder, and was more like someone sighing. The next thing I know, she's started crying.

She's alive.

She started breathing properly. She was screaming, her tiny hands in little stars.

I woke Tom up, and called for the doctor.

"Ok. Get an incubator set up. She needs oxygen. Get a monitor set up, an IV fluids. Amelia, how long has she been alive?"

"Uhhh like two, three minutes?" I was in such shock.

"How did this happen?" I asked, handing the baby to the nurse, who ran through to the incubator with her.

"Well, I've never seen this, but a friend of mine had a case similar to this. I'll talk to her, see what she knows."

"Oh my god. Amelia. We have a little girl. She's alive." Tom cried, unable to control his tears.

"I know. I know." I whispered through my tears.

We spent about an hour waiting anxiously. It felt like the longest hour of my life.

"Ok. She's hooked up to a monitor to keep an eye on her vitals. She's taking fluids through an IV drip, but she doesn't need oxygen. She's breathing fine on her own. I've also spoken to my friend. What she discovered is that, having skin to skin, and being exposed to I suppose the cold of being with you rather than inside the womb, must have shocked her system. Why it took a couple of hours, I don't know, but that's what must have happened, there's no other explanation for it."

"Oh my god. Thanks doc. When can we see her?" Tom asked.

"You can come through now, if you'd like. Amelia, there's a wheelchair outside your room if you'd like it. I'll show you where she is."

We were taken to see her. She looked so helpless, all these monitors hooked up to her. I couldn't believe she pulled through. I thought she was dead. But here she is.

"Tom?"

"Yes love?"

"Am I dreaming?" I laughed.

"No, darling. She's alive. She's with us. Safe and sound."

"Our little baby girl. Oh, we need a name for her!" I exclaimed.

"Isabella Rose Holland." He replied.

"You have her name picked out?"

"Yeah. Since she was born." He smiled.

"Why? Do you not like it?"

"I love it. And I love you. And her." I rested my head on his shoulder as we watched over her lying in her cot, her little pink hat keeping her ears toasty.

"I love you both so much." Tom murmured, kissing the top of my head.

"You can go in to see her properly." The doctor guided us into the room, pulling up two chairs for us to sit on.

I reached my arm through the hole in the side of the incubator, her tiny hand wrapping around my finger.

"Welcome to the world, Isabella Rose."