A Lifetime With You

A New Addition

(continued from previous part)

"Hello, gorgeous! I'm going to be your on-call nurse all day. I'm here now to get an IV started. Through this IV, I'm going to start you on Pitocin. This will start your contractions. We'll leave you on this for a while. Your doctor has advised me that if you haven't gone into labor by 3 PM, she wants me to break your water and that will for sure get things started for you." the nurse said. I nodded. I watched as she put the IV into my hand and administered the Pitocin. "Alight, now I'm gonna hook you up to the fetal monitor." she said. I nodded.

10 AM
My contractions have finally started, but they're very light ones and I'm having no signs of active labor. "I guess I'm gonna try and get some sleep before things really pick up." I lied my bed back and took a nap.

3 PM
"Honey, wake up." my mom said. "Sorry, I was knocked out. I haven't really been sleeping lately because this little man right here keeps me up." I said. "You're fine, sweetie. I'm here to break your water." my nurse said. "It's 3 already?! I was sleeping good, I guess. I was asleep for almost 5 hours." I said. "That's good though! So basically I'm gonna leave you lying like this. I'm gonna take this blanket off for a second though, is that ok?" she asked. I nodded. "Ok, I just like to double check because some moms are hesitant about it. Open your legs for me." I did as told. "This thing right here is just gonna go inside of your vagina and break your water. There shouldn't be pain so let me know if it hurts." I nodded. I felt her stick the skinny hook inside of me. "And we're done. Your contractions should pick up. It will feel wet down here until you actually deliver. Are you thinking about getting the epidural?" she asked. "No. I did it naturally the first time so I know I can do it." I said. "Awesome! Love the positivity, mama. I'm gonna sit you up and it's gonna feel weird just to let you know." she said. "Ewww. I literally feel like I'm peeing." I said. All 3 of them laughed at me. "Alright. I'll be back at 5 to check on you. Just let me know if you guys need anything. You can get up and walk around the room if you want. The tub is also available for you. Whatever you wanna do." I nod. She left the room and I looked up at the clock and it was 3:20 PM. "When do you guys think he'll be here? And how much do you think he'll weigh? My guess is midnight and 7 pounds even." I asked. "Hmmm...10:18 PM, 7 pounds 4 ounces." Joe said. "I say 11:40 PM, 6 pounds 6 ounces." my mom said. Time to play the waiting game.

6 PM
"I'm so tired. I just want him out already." Joe was rubbing my back and my mom was patting my face with a cold washcloth. "I know you do, honey. He'll be here soon." my mom said. Abigail sent me a text message and attached was a picture of her new baby girl who arrived 4 days ago. I was lucky enough to be present for the birth and she's so beautiful and I've never been more proud of my best friend. My nurse came back in. "I'm gonna check you again. It's been 3 hours since I broke your water and you are..........6 centimeters dilated." she said. "Oh thank god! I was scared I was gonna be like 4." She giggled.

8 PM
"I can't do it. It hurts so bad" I said, on the verge of tears. "Yes you can. You're so strong, baby. You said the same thing when you were in labor with Avery and you did it. He'll be here very soon. Just don't give up." Joe said. "I can do it." I reassured myself. "You can do it." he said, kissing my cheek.

9 PM
"I need the epidural! Mom, can you go get the nurse?" I asked her. "Are you sure you want it? You made us promise we wouldn't let you get it." she mentioned. "Just go get her please! It fucking hurts! There's so much pressure!" I screamed. "Where?" she asked. "In my vagina." I said. "Okay, honey. I'll go get her, but remember to breathe." my mom said. She returned with the nurse. "Woah, okay sweetie...there's no time for an epidural. This baby is coming." the nurse said. She paged my doctor and she came immediately. They got everything ready. "Ok, Taylor, remember from the first time around? Push every contraction until I tell you to stop." I nodded. Joe was on my left side, pushing my leg back and my mom was doing the same on my right side. I pushed as hard as I could. "Good one. Right back on it." my doctor said. I listened to her and pushed again. "Awesome job." she added. "Ok mama, push as hard as you can for me and don't stop until I finish counting." she said. I pushed as hard as I could. "Ugggghhhhh!!!" I screamed. "Baby's head is right there. One more big push and he'll probably be crowning." I pushed again. "Okay, he's crowning! I need you not to push, Taylor." she said. "I have to. It hurts so fucking much." I said. "I know honey, but I need you to just breathe. If you push before I tell you it's safe to do so, you're going to cause more trauma to yourself and recovery will be 10 times worse." I tried to focus on breathing. About a minute later she told me to push again. "Good push! Baby's head is out! It's only forward from here." she said. "His head is out?" I asked. "He's got quite a bit of hair." Joe said. "Push once more for me, mama. Make it a big one and it might be the last push." she said. I screamed as I pushed with all of my might and next thing I know I feel no more pain and the room is filled with the tiny cry of my son. The doctor placed him on my chest and I started sobbing. Joe and my mom were both crying as well. Joe placed a kiss on my lips. "Hi, baby boy. Oh my goodness you're so cute. You're so stubborn too. You did not wanna come out, did you?" I said to my baby boy as if he could answer. "Ok, I gotta take him for a second, but I'll bring him right back. Dad, do you want to cut the cord?" the nurse asked. Joe cut the umbilical cord and the nurse took him to get cleaned up. "His weight is 6 pounds 9 ounces. He's pretty tiny. His body length is 20 inches long." the nurse said. I looked over at Joe and he was standing next to the baby, still visibly emotional. The nurse put a diaper on the baby. "You wanna do skin to skin while she's getting cleaned up?" the nurse asked. "Yes please" Joe said. He took off his shirt and the nurse handed the baby to him. "Holy crap, Tay! We have a son!" he said, looking very proud. I smiled. It took about 30 minutes for me to get cleaned up. Afterwards, my mom helped me to the bathroom so I could put on one of those ridiculously large postpartum diapers. I got back into bed and unbuttoned my gown and Joe placed the baby on my chest. "Does he have a name yet?" my doctor asked. "Yes. It's Elijah Joseph Alwyn." I replied. "That's so cute! That name fits him perfectly. I'm gonna take you guys to your postpartum recovery room." my nurse said. I covered Elijah up as we were wheeled to our new room. "Ok, well, I'll be back to check up on you tomorrow. Congratulations to you two and to you also, grandma." my doctor said. "Thank you" we said. My nurse administered some pain meds to me before she left the room. "Well baby, I'm gonna go. Congratulations to you both. He's perfect. I'll talk to you tomorrow and see if you're up for visitors." my mom said, kissing my forehead. "Thank you and okay. You can come literally whenever. I don't care," said. She hugged Joe before leaving the room. "I'm so proud of you, babe." Joe said. He kissed me and pushed my hair behind my ears.

11 PM
"I cant believe we've got 2 babies." He smiled at me. "I'm so tired." I said, yawning. "I can tell. You look exhausted. Plus you didn't really sleep well last night." Joe said. There was a knock and then our nurse came in. "I hate to say it, but it's time we part ways. I'm going home. Your new nurse is going to be Madison and she's super sweet. She'll be in here at probably 2 AM or so." my nurse said. "Ok. Thank you so much for everything. You've really helped a lot." I said. "Of course! Congratulations again." she said. She left the room. Elijah was sleeping soundly on my chest and I hated to move him, but I'm ready to get some much needed sleep. Joe took him from my chest and swaddled him and cuddled him on the couch. I fell into a deep sleep and everything in my life just felt right. I couldn't ask for more than this and I'm so thankful for this amazing new life as a mama that I've been living for 10 months now. It's truly the best feeling in the whole world.