the next morning...
I woke up early in the morning and immediately felt a sharp pain on my stomach.
"Fuck," I muttered through my gritted teeth. Dalton held my hand and ran his hand through my hair as he tried to comfort me. After a little while, the pain slowly diminished.
"Do you want me to call the midwife?" Dalton asked. I nodded and he pressed on a button next to my bed. Soon, Laura came into the room.
"I'll be checking on your progress, okay?" she asked. I nodded and placed my heels on the stirrups. She then checked on me.
"You're now at five centimeters. It's now the perfect time to get an epidural if you want to have it. Do you want to have it?" she asked. I shook my head.
"Are you sure baby?" Dalton asked, "If it hurts too much I don't think the epidural would be so bad."
"I'll be alright," I reassured, "a lot of women had gone through the same thing."
"Okay, you still have time to change your mind as long as you're not fully dilated yet," she said. She then excused herself.
"This takes forever," I sighed.
"Awe, I'm sorry babe, but I promise, once she's here, it's all going to be worth it," he reassured.
"Baby, you didn't sleep last night, didn't you?" I asked, noticing the bags under his eyes.
"I was just worried about you, I don't want anything bad to happen to you or the baby," he said.
"Go get some sleep, we're going to be okay," I reassured. He shook his head. "No, I'm gonna wait at least until our baby's here."
"But it's gonna take a long time."
"I don't care, it's going to be worth the wait," he insisted.
"Okay, if that's what you want," I told him. He's really caring and protective, but he could get really stubborn at times.
hours later...
"Fuck," I groaned as I felt another contraction. I squeezed Dalton's hand and I swore I nearly broke it. I've been in labor for eighteen hours now, and my contractions were getting stronger and closer apart. Laura told me that it's pretty normal for first time labors to take a long time. I had no idea how I managed to pull through.
"Baby, it hurts so much, make it stop, please," I said to Dalton as I tried to hold in my tears.
"I'm so sorry baby, it will be over soon, I promise," he smiled. I groaned. The pain kept on increasing as the time passed by. Soon, Laura came back and checked on me.
"You're at nine centimeters," she smiled, "you will start pushing in about two hours."
"You can watch a movie or do something else to keep yourself distracted," she said before excusing herself.
"She's coming," Dalton smiled.
"I'm scared."
"I'm here baby," he reassured, "squeeze my hand hard if you need to."
"But if I squeeze too hard it's gonna break," I chuckled.
"I don't care, it's for you and our little girl," he smiled. My heart melted. He's such a cutie. I couldn't help but smile at his words.
"Let's watch a movie," I suggested. He agreed. I picked a movie and played it as I held Dalton's hand.
***
The movie lasted about two hours and it came to an end, meaning Laura would come back soon. At this point, I had a really strong urge to push, but I had to wait for instructions to make sure nothing goes wrong. I was right. Laura soon came back and checked on my progress.
"You're fully dilated," she said, "when you feel a contraction, I need you to push with all you've got. If you need to take a breath, do it and continue pushing until the contraction ends, do you understand?"
I nodded. Inside, I was really scared. I was about to push a whole human being out of me. Only two people were allowed in the room, so my mom and Dalton stayed with me while my dad, Tori, Dakota, Frankie, Hale, and Dalton's parents left the room.
"Baby, you're scared, aren't you?" Dalton asked. I lightly nodded. How did he know?
"I'm here baby," he smiled and placed a kiss on my forehead. I gave him a tiny smile in return. Soon, I felt a contraction. I squeezed Dalton's hand and pushed as I scrunched my face, trying not to scream or cry from the pain. I took a deep breath and continued pushing until the contraction stopped.
"You're doing great, Ariana," Laura encouraged. Soon I felt another contraction. I gave another push and tears started streaming down my face. It was hurting really bad. The contraction stopped and I started panting, trying to catch my breath.
"I swear I'm chopping off your dick after this," I snapped at Dalton.
two hours later...
I continued pushing and felt like I was being burned down there. Right at that moment, I knew it was my baby's head coming. I pushed harder and felt something popping out.
"The head's out!" Laura announced. Finally. I panted breathlessly. My face was covered in sweat and tears. I was a mess. I felt another contraction and pushed again. I took a deep breath and continued pushing as I felt something bigger coming out. It must've been the shoulders. I felt the burning sensation getting worse. Something had definitely torn.
"The shoulders are out," Laura announced, "just give one more gentle push, and your baby will be here."
I felt another contraction and pushed one last time. Soon, the cries of of our baby were heard. Our baby girl was placed on my chest, and she immediately calmed down. I placed a little kiss on her head. I was crying tears of joy.
"Hi baby," was all I managed to say. I was overflown with emotions. She's really tiny and fragile. She's so beautiful.
"I love you so much, little one," I smiled at her, "I promise I'll always protect you."
I placed a kiss on her forehead and held her in my arms, not wanting to let go. After a few more minutes, I handed her to the midwife for the cords to be cut.
"Does Dad want to cut the cords?" she asked Dalton. He smiled and nodded. He cut the cords and she was handed to the pediatrician to get checked and weighed. I delivered the placenta and was then cleaned up. I was numbed up down there and was stitched back up. Soon, my daughter was returned to me, neatly wrapped in a blanket.
"She's exactly five pounds and she's very healthy," said the pediatrician, "Pretty small, but that's normal since she's early.
"You can start breastfeeding her whenever you're ready," she said and I nodded.
"Wanna hold her?" I asked Dalton. He smiled and nodded. I handed her to Dalton and his expression immediately softened.
"Hi little one, it's your Daddy, I love you so much," he smiled. He's really soft around her, and that's just adorable. He's already the best dad.