A LIFE WITH THE FUTURE

LIFE 30

"Ge...," Rounan called Wei Ting, fear etched on her face. Wei Ting immediately went to Rounan's side, holding and squeezing her hand for comfort. His other hand wiped away the beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Everything will be fine. I will stay with you," he whispered and kissed her temple again. Rounan did not reply, just squeezing Wei Ting's hand when the contraction pain appeared again. it was so painful until tears started forming in her eyes. Meanwhile, the staffs were preparing to move Rounan to labour suite once they finished tracing the baby's heartbeat.

************

IT was already 7 in the morning. After few hours enduring the contraction pain, Rounan finally fell asleep in exhaustion after the epidural kicked in. The two probes were remained attached on Rounan's tummy, continuously monitoring the baby's heartbeat during the labour process. Aunty Shihan had been informed regarding Rounan's condition and she had been waiting for them outside the labour suite. Meanwhile, Rounan's parents were expected to arrive at the airport in one to two hours.

Wei Ting pushed away the damp hairs on Rounan's sweaty face. She might be sleeping but sometimes her hand reflexively squeezing his hand, indicating that she was having contraction pain. The pain much alleviated with the epidural, helping her to stay calm and giving her the time to rest while waiting for delivery of their son. Rounan opened her eyes the moment Wei Ting caressed her cheek.

"Am I disturbing you?" asked him, still caressing her cheek. Despite in pain and exhaustion, Rounan still managed to curl a small smile for him.

"No. I just feel sleepy," she murmured, closing her eyes again in exhaustion. After that, there was no more response from her. She fell asleep again. Wei Ting planted a long kiss on her knuckles. Being in this labour suite and watching Rounan in pain, Wei Ting could not help but feeling gratitude towards her. She had gone through a lot in carrying their son. There was nothing in this world that he could give her in return for it. The midwife quietly came into the suite to check on Rounan from time to time.

Exactly at 10 in the morning, Rounan complaint of something coming out. Because of epidural, the pain was bearable. The doctor and midwife attended her, informing that the head already visible and she just needed to push harder to deliver the baby.

"Husband, please give the encouragement to the Mommy," the doctor ordered while the midwife and other nurse instructed Rounan to pull her legs up and hold both calves to keep the legs open. Wei Ting immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder for support and whispered encouragement words her ear. Seeing the pain on her face, Wei Ting could not help to shed the tears.

"Okay, Mommy! You are doing very great," the doctor kept encouraging, so did the people inside the labour suite. After fifteen minutes of pushing down, the loud cry of the baby echoed inside the suite. Their firstborn was delivered on 7th January 2027 at 1030H. Even though he was born premature at 34 weeks 2 days, he was crying very loud.

Rounan's breathing was ragging as tears kept streaming down on her face. All the pain she experienced just now seemed disappeared the moment the nurse opened her gown and placed the baby on her bare chest. It was the first contact between mother and baby, the amazing bonding that miraculously gave the sense of security to the baby. Unfortunately, she could not hold the baby for longer time since the baby needed to be handed to the pediatric team for examination.

"Now we are done with delivering the baby. Congratulation for becoming the parents to such a beautiful baby. Now we need to attend the mother which the father needs to wait at outside," the young doctor congratulated them. Wei Ting understood that his presence was no longer required, so he had to leave to give the room to them to settling their jobs. One of the staffs assisted him to leave the suite.