Christina

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It all starts with a pain. An aching pain. In my stomach. Then heaving. Then contractions. "Nick!" I call, after the first one. I hear his heavy footsteps come up the stairs. "What?"

"Nick," I whisper. "I think I'm going into labor."

"...What?"

"Yeah," I say half exhilarated, half terrified."

"Okay, let me drive you to the hos-"

He is interrupted as I scream. Another contraction. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he says, holding my hand. "You're strong."

I start to cry. "If it's this painful right now, how will it be later? And I have to be alone? You can't even come?"

"Chris, we've talked this over. You'll be fine. I wish so badly I could come with you, but I can't, and I know you'll get through this, you're so strong."

I nod and grip his hand a bit harder. "Okay," he says. "Let's get you to the car before the next contraction. With this, I place my feet into slippers next to the bed, grabbing my mask off of the bedside table and leaning on Nick as we go slowly down the stairs. On the way out, he tells Katherine what is going on and to tell everyone else. We get in the car and drive as I grip my stomach. Halfway through the ride, the next contraction hits. I grip the car seat and grit my teeth, trying not to scream in pain. Nick keeps one hand on the steering wheel and place the other on top of my stomach. "Breathe."

We finally arrive at the Nashville hospital and I hobble out. Nick helps me to the door and checks me, where he has to leave me. I am sat in a wheelchair and I experience some of the worst pain that I have experienced in my life. I am wheeled to a delivery room, where I am given a mask.

"I have...to wear...a mask?!" I gasp out, in between heaving.

"Unfortunately, yes," the nurse nods, decked out in full protective gear as she helps me pull the mask over my ears and then get out of the wheelchair and into my bed. My OBGYN comes in. "Hi Christina, are you ready to deliver?" He asks through a mask and face shield. I am terrified and I don't feel ready at all, but instead of admitting this, I nod my head and try to smile enthusiastically through the pain. Another very painful contraction begins and I scream. He comes over to the side of the bed until I am staring straight up at him. "I need you to focus," he says and proceeds to explain how I am supposed to deliver this baby. I am trying to pay attention, but I only catch half of it, because the other half of the time, I am trying not to cry from the pain. Every time I get a contraction, it feels like somebody is reaching inside my body to my inner organs and twisting them around until the pain in unbearable, and then, they slowly untwisting them and the pain once again becomes bearable until the next contraction. After my OBGYN explains how to give birth (from what I've heard, push like I'm trying to go to the bathroom) he goes around to the end of the bed and puts my feet up on something he calls "stirrups." Soon enough, another contraction comes, and through the unbearable pain, I feel a stream of water running down my legs. What the heck??

"Oh, your water just broke," the too-enthusiastic OBGYN announces.

"Cool," I mutter through gritted teeth and feel a few tears slip out of my eyes. This hurts so bad and suddenly I really wish I had Nick next to me right now, helping me through this. It's harder than I ever imagined. After about three hours, my OBGYN announces that I'm six centimeters dilated. Only four more centimeters to go. Apparently, now my contractions should start being more regular. Great, I'm exhausted already and missing Nick even more. But I have to focus so I can deliver my baby boy. At this point, my most painful contraction hits me and through all the pushing, I am full on sobbing now. It hurts. Bad. It hurts really, REALLY bad.

"Push! Come on Christina, you got this," my OBGYN encourages.

It is getting really hard to breathe through the mask and top of that, my face is getting REALLY sweaty where the mask is. The contraction ends and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good job, take a rest," I am validated for my hard work.

And I continue this cycle, until finally, an hour later, my OBGYN announces, "You're at ten centimeters! Now the baby is ready to be delivered. He can take anywhere from a couple more pushes to a few more hours. Just be ready for more pushes."

"Oh...my...god," I gasp. "I don't know how much more of this I can handle."

"You got this, I believe in you Christina."

I nod, just as I feel the next contraction come on and push like I am instructed to do. And push. And push. And push. And push. But apparently the head still isn't showing. I really don't know how much more I can handle. Finally after one more excruciating hour, my OBGYN announces that he can see the head. "A couple more pushes!"

"Yes," I breathe and push really hard and...nothing happens? "Why isn't anything happening?"

"Oh, it could take anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple more hours."

"WHAT?!" I scream in surprise. "I thought it would be done soon!!"

"It might, if you work really hard. It really depends on the woman."

"Okay," I sigh and wait for the next contraction. When it comes, I push really hard, and finally, after almost six excruciating, exhausting, horrible hours, I feel the baby slide out of me. I reach up my arms to hold him, but I look up and the doctor is walk out of the room with a bundle in his arms. WHAT???!! He comes back, and I stare at him. "Where did you take my child?"

"Oh. You didn't know? There is a two week incubation period. You can't have him for two weeks to make sure he's safe from COVID19."

I immediately start crying. "I can't hold my baby for two weeks?"

"Unfortunately not, I'm so sorry Christina, I thought you knew."

"How will he stay alive?" I sob.

"We have nurses taking care of him and as long as everyone's healthy in two weeks you can bring him home and resume life as normal."

"I can't deal with this." Pain is still radiating from my stomach area and now I'm finding out after nine months and six hours of blood and pain, I can't meet my baby boy for two weeks. This hurts too much. I close my eyes and try to sleep. Before I know it. I am drifting off.

HI GUYS, HOPEFULLY YOU LIKE THIS, CAUSE I JUST WASTED TWO HOURS OF MY LIFE RESEARCHING CHILDBIRTH 😂 👏🏾 

OH YEAH AND THEN ANOTHER TWO HOURS ACTUALLY WRITING THE CHAPTER.  ANYWAY, I PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO IT. SO YEAH. 

AND I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE REALLY MAD AT ME AFTER YESTERDAY'S CHAPTER. THERE WILL BE AN UPDATE ON THAT WHOLE LISA SITUATION IN A CHAPTER OR TWO 😭😂

PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKED THE CHAPTER CAUSE I RELALY WORKED HARD ON THIS ONE, I TRIED TO MAKE IT REALLY REALISTIC! LOVE YOU GUYS! 

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