Life After You | ✓

31

L I F E

A F T E R     Y O U

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When I finally come to, I see Dr. J and Tori standing over me. Dr. J is at the foot of my bed, sitting directly in front of my feet. My legs are spread apart while Tori has one of my knees and a nurse has the other.

"Welcome back Olivia." Dr. J smiles.

"The baby..." I mumble, "Where's the baby?"

"He's still on his way out, you need to keep pushing. You gave us quite the scare back there." He says, referring to the ambulance ride.

"You mean I'm still in labor?" I ask as my eyes widen.

"Precisely. Now push please." Dr. J smiles, lifting the sheet up and over my knees to give him access to the baby.

"Come on Liv, you can do it." Tori smiles, small amounts of tears in her eyes.

"Tor, why are you crying?" I ask after pushing for a few seconds.

"I thought you were going to die Liv, your heart completely stopped." She says with a deep frown.

"Why don't I feel anything?" I say, realizing I am no longer in pain.

"Since you passed out and weren't moving, I was able to give you an epidural after the paramedics got you into your hospital bed. I figured the pain is what caused your heart rate to pick up and that's why it stopped so suddenly." Dr. J explains.

"Thank you." I smile.

"Okay Olivia, I need you to push again. This time I need a really big one, okay?" Dr. J instructs.

I nod and take in a deep breath before I start pushing as hard as my body will allow.

"Great job Olivia! We have passed the head and are now at the shoulders, one more big push come on!" Dr. J smiles.

I give my last push all that I've got and I feel a weird sensation followed by warm liquid. Tori immediately beings to cry as her smile grows.

After a few more seconds, I hear tiny crying.

My baby.

I see Dr. J wiping him off and placing him in a blanket. Dr. J stands up and slowly walks over to me, gently lowering the small bundle down and into my already outstretched arms.

"Congratulations Olivia, a healthy and beautiful baby boy." Dr. J quietly says.

As I take him in my arms, I immediately look down and stare at the face of my perfect little boy.

"Oh my God... you're absolutely perfect." I begin to cry, tears falling from my eyes uncontrollably. "Hi baby boy... I love you so much!" I cry, leaning over slightly to place small kisses against his tiny forehead.

"Tori look at him... isn't he perfect?" I cry, looking up at my best friend.

"He's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." She coos, gently running her index finger over the baby's tiny fingers.

"Thank you so much Dr. J. You've been amazing throughout my entire pregnancy, and I will never forget you." I smile up at Dr. J who is beaming at me.

He chuckles lightly, "Don't worry Olivia, you still have a few more post-partum appointments with me, and I will stay in contact to check in on you from time to time." He smiles.