A Melwood Story

/chapter thirteen/

A Melwood Story
Chapter 13
Melissa

I wake up to a stabbing feeling in my stomach.

At first, I don't think I'm going into labour because I'm just thirty one weeks pregnant.

I'm going into labour on my one work day this month. The timing couldn't be worse at this point.

I look at my alarm clock. 6:13 a.m. I grab my phone and time each contraction, like I was told to do, except I'm kind of freaking out. I have to do this alone, I remind myself. Which only makes it worse.

I relax for a little while then try timing them again. They're around seven minutes apart.

I call my mom first. "Good morning, mom. Sorry to wake you, I just needed someone to talk to."
"About what, Melissa? It's six in the morning sweetheart."
"I know, I'm sorry," I say. "I'm just having contractions and I don't know what to do."
"Okay," she says calmly. "Have you tried timing them?"
"Yes," I tell her. "They're seven minutes apart for now."
"Alright. Once they're at least three minutes apart, you need to go to the hospital."
"Okay, thanks mom," I say.

"I'll see you in a few days, sweetheart."
"I can't wait."
"Good luck, Melissa."
"Bye, mom," I say, then hang up.

I decide to call Chris next. Not to tell him to come over and help me, but just to let him know I am going to the hospital soon.

"Hey, Melissa," he sounds like I woke him up. "Are you okay?"
"Sorry I woke you. I'm just having contractions," I tell him quietly.
"Oh!" he says. "Okay...do you need someone to drive you to the hospital?"
"I was going to drive by myself."
"I-I don't think that's a great idea since you're probably in pain," he says.
"You're probably right." I didn't think about that.
"I'll be over as soon as I can, okay? Don't leave without me."
I hesitate. "Okay."

I guess he's right. I probably shouldn't drive while having contractions.

I finish adding a few things into the hospital bag, which is hard when I have to stop every four to five minutes from contractions. In the end it takes me about fifteen minutes to add five things into the bag that arrived in the mail yesterday.

There's a knock at the door at 7:15 a.m. Chris.

I slowly walk over and open the door to let him in. "Good morning."
"Good morning," he says as he steps inside. "Do you need to leave now?"
"Not yet."
"Okay."

I sit down on the couch and he sits in a chair across from me. "Did you leave Nya by herself?" I joke.
"No, I dropped her off at a friends house."

We stay in relative silence for a little while until I decide I should probably go to the hospital before I can't even walk to the car.

"Thank you for coming," I say to Chris as we walk down the hallway to the elevator.
"No problem," he says. "When I told you I'd always be here to help out, I wasn't lying."
I smile.

We get to the hospital around close to nine in the morning.

Once we get to the room, I swear one of the babies is trying to get out by his or herself.

It's 9:46 a.m.

"Okay, Melissa, are you ready to push?"
I nod. Beside me, Chris takes my hand and squeezes it.
"One, two, three, push."

After about five minutes, "first baby is here. It's a girl."
I smile through the pain. My little girl.

One of the nurses holds her. There's still another baby, I remind myself.
"You're doing great," Chris whispers from beside me. "She's beautiful."

"Okay. Ready to push again?" asks the nurse.
I nod.
"One, two, three, push."

"Baby number two is here. It's a boy."

I relax as they place my son on my chest. He's so handsome. I put my hand on his head as they get ready to his umbilical cord.

After about twenty minutes, I'm able to hold my daughter while they take my son to weigh him.

They're both healthy, which is wonderful.

Chris stands next to me. "Have you decided their names?"
"Yes, I have," I tell him.
"May I ask what they are?"

I look down at the baby girl in my arms. "This is Eloise Juliana."
"I love it."
I look over at my son. "And that's Maxwell James."

He smiles down at me. "I knew you could do it."
"Do what?" I ask. "Name my kids or give birth to twins?"
He laughs. "Both."
"Thank you for believing in me. I really truly do appreciate it."
"Like I said. I will alway be here."

-a couple hours later-

Chris is still here. I've tried to get him to leave, but he keeps insisting that he stays, so now he's sitting in a chair next to my hospital bed, holding my son, Maxwell.

"Hi," he says to the newborn baby. "Hi, Maxwell."
I smile over at him. He's been saying that same phrase of words for over forty minutes.
"You'll wear out his name before he even knows it," I joke.
"Well," he says. "Do you want me to hold her instead? Make sure she knows her name too?"
"Sure," I say.

We switch babies and manage to make Eloise cry in the process.
"It's okay, Lulu," Chris whispers. "Shh, you're okay. You're safe."
Surprisingly, but not really, Eloise stops crying at the sound of Chris's voice.
"You're good with babies," I say.
"Thank you," he whispers and takes a short pretend bow while he's standing, rocking Eloise.
I laugh. I don't know how I could be managing both babies without Chris. He's too nice.