Salted Wound

Chapter 70

Anastacia
May 4, 2019

"Pass me the popcorn," Strella says.

She's sitting on a yoga ball bouncing up and down. I can't decide which is bigger- the ball or her belly. She's wearing an oversized grey sweater and black leggings. Lately, this has been her favorite outfit. I'm laying across the couch in fuzzy pants and a tank top. Julian is sitting at the coffee table chugging down some cereal and popcorn. We've been chilling here for the past few hours watching Disney movies and right now it's Dumbo's turn. He gets up and hands Strella the bowl of cheerios.

"Ma, I look ridiculous," Strella complains as mom walks out of the kitchen.

"Te va ayudar. No te estaban tando coligos ase rato?" It's going to help. Weren't you getting cramps earlier?

"Yeah, but I'm sure they are just Braxton Hicks. The due date isn't for another week," she says.

"Nomas ten cuidado. Puede ser que ese bebé salga más pronto que piensas. Tu salistes casi dos semanas temprano," Just be careful. It's possible that the baby can come out earlier than you think. I remember you came out two weeks earlier than the due date. She says going down the hall.

"Sheesh. I'll make sure to keep track of the times," Strella says.

The movie continues to play and Strella starts to wince every few minutes. I turn to her and she holds her belly with her eyes closed.

"Strella, how far apart are the cramps?" I ask.

She opens her eyes and starts to bounce again. "Around 20 minutes."

I grab my phone and do a quick google search and am surprised by what I see. "Oh, look. It says those are contractions and you're basically in the first stage of labor." I say holding my phone up.

Her eyes widen. "Oh, cool, cool, cool, cool," she starts trying to get off the ball. I climb off the couch and reach for her arms and drag her up.

"I'm going to call Dr. Elisa and see if you have to go in. If you do, you're going to call Adrian and we are going to go get your things packed because you're going to have a baby." I say putting my hands on her shoulders. Her eyes grow wary and foggy. She nods her head and walks down the hall.

I grab my phone and find Dr. Elisa's name on my contacts and hit call. The phone rings for a few seconds before I hear her voice on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Elisa! So, I'm calling because I think Estrella is experiencing contractions. She said they are around twenty minutes apart and I just wanted to call and ask what we should do."

"Alright, and is she just experiencing contractions?"

"At the moment, yes,"

"Okay, so what you need to do is to continue to monitor her contractions. Once they get four to five minutes apart that's when it's time to head over here. If she experiences any bleeding or water breakage bring her in immediately. This might take some time so she's going to have to be patient," she responds.

"Okay, cool. I'll keep an eye on her and call you if you have any more questions,"

"Please do. I'll see you guys soon," she says and we hang up.

I look around to see if Strella came back, but she's nowhere to be seen. I walk down the hall and find her room. She is sitting at the edge of her bed rubbing her belly and looking around the room. A couple of weeks ago Adrian came over and helped create a little nursery in Strella's room. She cleaned out everything and has her things organized in her closet. Her bed is pushed up against the wall and there's a drawer next to it. There's a built yellow bassinet at the end of the bed for when the baby is finally here. On the other corner of the room, she has a white used crib with light pink sheets and a teddy bear inside. She put some butterfly decorations around it and a picture frame with the first ultrasound she got. Next to the crib is a dresser that's filled with all the baby clothes she got at the baby shower and gender reveal. The dresser is short enough to be used as a baby changer and she has a pink matt on top and a diaper holder hanging over it. Everything seems to be ready for the baby.