Parb: Motherhood

Labor Day

Poppy's POV

The next several months were pretty swell after that. We spread the word and got ready for the new baby. We decorated the house, set up a crib, got it toys, and we read little Roxie stories when bedtime came.

Still, for every month we got closer, the harder it got for me to stay focused the whole time. I felt false labor contractions, got hefty migraines, and struggled to walk from time to time.

Barb was kind enough to help me out from time to time. She helped me with dinner, helped clean me up, and drove me where I may be needed. Still, throughout the challenges of pregnancy, we still awaited the arrival of our new baby girl.

One day, at the end of January, we were both taking a nap in a scented bath to take off some of the stress. Usually, I would ask to be in the tub alone, but Barb always liked to join in, since she liked the bubble's effect on the skin and she wanted to be as close as possible if Roxie arrived at any time.

That's when I felt it, a sharp pain in my hair, and I knew it wasn't a fake contraction.

IT WAS HAPPENING!

"Barb. Barb! Barb! BARB!!!" I said, trying to wake her up, knowing what was happening.

"What, what is it!?" Barb asked, groggily.

"It's happening!"

Her eyes went as wide as the sun.

"NOW!?"

"Well, my water just broke, so...YES!!!"

"Okay, don't worry! I got you!" Barb said, pulling us outta the tub and grabbing robes for the both of us. She led me to the bedroom where she set me up against the bed, with my head pounding like a drum.

"Oooooooooh!!," I groaned, trying to keep it together.

"It's okay, you'll be fine!" Barb said, "I'm gonna go get the doctor, you stay right here!"

"THERE'S NO TIME!!!" I said, my head in pain as I felt the egg ready to burst.

Barb sat down in front of me and held my hand the whole time, and we did breathing exercises to help ease the pain.

"I can't do this, I can't do this!" I whimpered.

"Look at me honey, you can do this, I believe in you," Barb said, checking my hair before looking back at me, "it's time to start pushing! You ready?"

It took a minute of breathing and concentration, but I was able to nod in agreement with her.

"Okay," she said as I squeezed her hand, "Push, Poppy! Push!"

I groaned and yelled the whole time as my hair follicles slowly loosened their grasp on the egg. It felt like a level-20 migraine that would never end. I kept pushing and pushing until finally, it finally ceased. I opened my eyes, and I saw a small Troll egg with a yellow base layer and red, pink, and gray patterns on the outside.

"Look who's here!" Barb said, cheerily, handing me the egg.

"Hi," I said, softly, holding the egg in my hands, cradling it as if it were already a child.

That's when me and Barb both heard a cracking noise coming from the egg. We looked and saw that eggshell was breaking apart to reveal the baby inside.

"TROLL MY GOODNESS!!!!" I said, holding the egg, "SHE'S HATCHING!!!"

Barb got a pillow and I set the egg on top of it. We both knelt down and waited for her to come out of the shell.

"Come on, Roxie! Come on!" Barb said, cautiously optimistic.

"You can do it! Just a little more!" Poppy said, "Come and meet your mama's."

The baby broke through the shell a bit slowly, but she still made a lot of progress in that time. First we saw an eye through the small cracks, then an arm broke through, and then finally the remainder of the shell gave way to reveal the beautiful baby girl inside.

"Hello, little Roxie!" Poppy said with a smile.