Epilogue
MABEL
Ijump awake, gasping and doing my best to take a deep breath from the oxygen mask affixed to my face. Panic shoots through me and I start taking gulping breaths.
“Mama, you’re okay. You don’t have to play catch up.” Jude’s warm hand closes around mine and it’s like his touch returns all logic back to my exhausted brain.
My cheeks burn with embarrassment and I let out a groan of frustration. “Why do I keep doing that?” Jude, the useless brat, just chuckles at my annoyance with myself.
“Babe, your body’s doing so much work right now. It’s okay for your brain to take a second to catch up.”
Grumbling at his logic, I rub the sleep from my eyes. Jude presses a kiss to the side of my head and offers me some water. “Do you want a popsicle or some broth?” Stuck on a clear liquid diet has been hard. Correction, being in labor is hard.
“No, ugh, I think I need to reposition again.”
Not being allowed to lay on my back with the epidural in my back, I’ve had to routinely rotate which side I’m laying on. If I don’t, the pain killers start to wear off on one side and these contractions are a bitch.
Jude reaches out and presses the call button for the nurse, letting me know that I’m needing some assistance. Jude has been a rockstar throughout all of this. I definitely cursed him out before I got my epidural and his hand still has indents from my fingernails digging in.
The nurse joins us, helping me rearrange to a new, slightly less uncomfortable position and asks me the same questions they ask me every time they join me in the room.
“Do you feel like you need to poop?” I take a moment before answering, doing my best to take an accurate account of how my body feels.
Achy.
The answer is achy everywhere.
I shake my head and take another sip of water, the nurse checks the machines and starts to walk out of the room when I’m hit with a new pressure that feels a lot like I need to go to the bathroom.
“Oh, wait!”
The nurse spins on her heel with a smile. I know she literally just asked me and has literally had her fingers inside of me but it was hard to push down the embarrassment of admitting I could feel an intense pressure.
Bless this nurse for not making me say it. “How about I do another quick check to see where you’re at?” I nod and reach out for Jude’s hand. He gives me a reassuring squeeze, keeping eye contact with me as the nurse takes a look under the hood.
“Oh boy, ten centimeters. It’s baby time!”
My heart falls out of my butt, looking at Jude his face has paled. The look of shock on his face pulls me out of my own shock. The nurse starts to tell us about how she’s going to break down the bed and do some practice pushes while we wait for the doctor to show up. “Dad, you wanna hold a leg?”
Jude swallows hard but he nods, even though it’s pretty jerky.
Once I’ve assumed the position, the legs start a countdown and guide me to push just like I was going to the bathroom. “Deep breath. Ten, nine, eight…” I put all I can into pushing. Once we hit zero, I throw my head back and start to gag.
“Let’s go again. Ten…make sure you’re breathing Mama.” I grind my jaw to keep the snarky comment from lashing out. I’m sure she means well. I take a deep breath, a glance at Jude sends a jolt of worry through my body.
“Dad, are you doing okay?” A nurse walks over to Jude, who’s whiter than a sheet and swaying on his feet.
Jude offers a very shaky nod, “Uh, yeah, maybe I should have some juice or something.” He starts to take a step away from my bed but the nurse standing next to him stops him. “I’ll grab the juice, why don’t you have a seat by Mom’s head?” A chair materializes at my side.
Once Jude’s color has returned, we get back to the main event. Jude stays at my shoulder, pressing a cool cloth to my head between counts of ten. It feels like I’m pushing is never going to end, I’m exhausted and begging Jude to be done. My gentle giant whispers sweet nothings into my ear.
Finally, the doctor promises me that one more big push and I’ll be done. “This little guy’s ready, can you gimme one more, Mama?” I huff out a breath and nod, I can’t waste the energy to answer her with words. “Alright, let’s do this. Ten, nine, eight…”
Time stops, everything fades away except for the bloody bundle in the doctor’s arms, the only sound is the beautiful cry that proves my baby boy has a powerful set of lungs. My vision blurs as they set my baby in against my chest.
“Oh my god, Jude, he’s here!” I sob out, looking over at my fiance.
Tears are streaming down his eyes and he wraps his arms around the pair of us in a gentle hug.
“You did amazing, Mama. He’s perfect.” He presses a kiss against my table before kissing his wet hair.
“Look at his hair. He has so much hair.” I’m babbling, going over all of the perfect little details of our baby.
“Warren Orion Daniels, you are so loved. Your parents love you so much, such a perfect baby.”
After I’ve been all cleaned and stitched up, a warmth runs down my stomach. At first, I assumed it was just contentment settling but the warmth trickles down my side and after a beat it’s cold. “Oh my god, Jude! You’re son just peed on me!” I can’t stop the laugh that explodes out of me.
“Your uncles are never going to let you live this down, kid.” Jude chuckles, grabbing a wash cloth to wipe up the mess. “Forget his uncles, I’m bringing this up at his wedding!” Our little guy sleeps through our sleep deprived giggles.
A sense of contentment settles over me as the nurse wraps baby Warren up in a cozy blanket before putting him back in my arms, prepping us to move out of the delivery room.
We settle in our new room before Jude pulls out his phone and snaps a picture of our baby burrito in his bassinet. He shoots a text off to the family group chat announcing the newest arrival of our family, chuckling.
“I can’t believe you got away with giving birth without any of the family finding out.”
I shrug, “I just wanted it to be you and me. It was perfect.” Jude hums his agreement before he presses a soft kiss against my mouth, his phone starts to blow up with notifications.
THE END