⚠️TW // The process of giving birth⚠️
Sunshine through the windows woke Gia up. She sat up and blinked a few times to adjust to light. Then, she realized that Seb wasn't on his side of bed. She frowned for a moment. It was unusual for him to leave the room before waking her up.
She took a glass of water on the nightstand and drank to hydrate her body. The next thing she did was making up the bed and looking at Ludwig who was still sleeping peacefully inside his baby crib.
She decided to take a bath with hoping that he wouldn't wake up when she was still inside the bathroom. Around 15 minutes later, Gia was back to see her son and she sighed a relief as the sound of running water when she was taking a shower didn't disturb him.
"Hi, baby boy. Today is your special day. It's amazing to remember that it's been a year you've coloured my life. Happy birthday, my sunshine."
That day was Ludwig's first birthday. There would be no special celebration, but it would be the first time for him to have his own room. Thinking of Ludwig's new room, Gia suddenly thought of a load of boxes that hadn't been opened.
About two weeks ago, Seb ordered some nursery furnitures such as glider and ottoman, a set of wooden safety gate, a teepee tent, some cute cushions, and a lot of toys, and it all arrived on the previous day.
"Oh, Seb must be there!" she talked to herself.
Then, her smile grew wider as Ludwig slowly opened his big blue eyes. She took him from the crib and held him in her arms for a few minutes before she bathed him.
When Gia laid him on her bed to take his clothes off, Seb finally appeared. "Ah, my angel has woken up. The birthday boy too!"
She glanced at him. "Seb, where have you been?"
"I was in his room. I've sorted out everything there," he replied while approaching his wife and son. "I come here to make sure that Ludwig has woken up, so I can move the crib there."
Gia left what she was doing for a second to give her husband a morning kiss. "I wanted to help you, Seb," she said after pulling away.
"Thank you, gorgeous. Maybe when we have had breakfast, you can have a look at his room and then tell me if I should rearrange it."
She nodded. "Okay. Now I want to bath him."
"What do you want to have for breakfast?"
"Hmm, peanut butter toast," she grinned.
"Coffee?"
"I'll make it myself."
"Alright. I'll see you there."
Seb kissed her again and then rubbed Ludwig's head gently and also kissed it before leaving to the kitchen. He also didn't forget to bring the crib and move it to his son's room. While, Gia continued taking his clothes off and brought him to the bathroom.
An hour had passed and it was time to look at Ludwig's new room. It was right next to his parents' room. Seb had put a baby monitor inside, so that Gia and himself could keep an eye on their little one.
Seb helped to open the door as Gia was holding Ludwig in her arms. He heard her gasp. He was convinced that she was surprised to see the room. It was more or less the same reaction as when he showed her a mini library as a surprise before they got married.
The room was dominated with white colour. Seb had added some wallpapers with little black arrows as the pattern. There was an elephant cushion pasted on the wall between colourful paper banners.
There was also a white teepee tent that Gia liked because there were some little black stars on it. She also looked at the brand new grey glider with white chair scarf and imagined herself sitting there and singing some lullabies before he slept.
"You are fantastic, Seb! I wanted to help you organizing the stuff here but you did it yourself."
"I left home nearly four weeks. I don't want you to get exhausted after doing a lot of things while I was away."
Seb was right. He had finished the last triple header of the season, which were two races in the Americas and a race in the Middle East. After racing in Mexico and Brazil, he initially planned to go home first, but Gia insisted that it was fine if he went straight to Qatar with his team crews.
"You are the best!" she praised before kissing him.
"Thank you. What if we sit down there?" Seb asked, pointing to the grey rug below.
He was the first to sit down with crossing his legs. Then, he reached Ludwig and made him sit on his lap. Gia took a cat cushion inside the baby crib before sitting next to them.
She was startled when she saw him teary. "Seb, what's wrong?"
"I'm such a sensitive person," he chuckled. "Thinking back to a few years ago, I-"
Gia knew what he was going to talk about. "Seb, please stop. You've promised me that you are going to forget it."
"I'm sorry, I can't help it."
Unsurprisingly, she started crying too. "I know, but I want us not to talk about that anymore. We have a bright future ahead. We are and will always be together."
She rose his left hand and kissed his ring finger where his golden wedding band usually sat (they usually didn't wear it at home). And he smiled. She always knew how to comfort him.
"Thank you for always reminding me. Hmm, what if we talk about last year? The moment when you gave birth. It will forever be the most amazing experience for me to witness it."
"How brave you were that time, Seb. You often tell me that you are a little fear of blood."
He chuckled again. "You know, I didn't feel any kind of fear when I accompanied you. I don't know where the courage came from."
Then both of them were lost in their thoughts. Coincidentally, they both were having a flash back of the moment when Gia gave birth to Ludwig a year ago.
25th November 2020, 02:58 a.m.
"Aargh!!" Gia groaned in pain.
Seb suddenly woke up and look at his wife who was holding her stomach. Sweat ran down her temples. "Gia."
"Seb, it hurts!"
It was the time. He knew it. "Take a breath and try not to panic." He saw her doing what he asked. "I'm gonna tell your mom."
Seb ran a little to Adelina's room to tell her that Gia had to be taken to hospital. A few minutes later, they both entered the room where she was still groaning.
"Gia, calm down, sweetheart."
"Mom," she whispered, holding one of her mother's hands tightly.
Adelina lifted the duvet with her free hand and she noticed that her water had broken. "Seb, have you prepared some clothes to bring?"
"We have," Seb replied. "There's a black duffle bag in our closet. Just take it. I'm gonna bring her to the car."
"Seb, I don't want to wet the car seat."
Even in that moment, Gia could still think about that. "You don't have to think about it. I can wipe it later."
Seb took his phone and also car key. He picked a large SUV that was Audi Q7, so that Gia would feel comfortable inside it with some large space. He slowly lifted her from the bed and brought her to the car.
He could feel that her nightgown was wet and that was what she meant earlier, but he didn't care. "Gorgeous, take a breath once again."
Gia did it again. Then, she looked at him. "Seb, your clothes."
He finally realized that he was still wearing a plain black tee and a pair of dark grey shorts. "Yeah, I'm gonna change it when your mom is here."
After Seb changed his clothes, he locked the front door of his house and quickly walked back to the car. He started driving his car to the nearest hospital, the same hospital where Gia usually checked up on her pregnancy.
---
Some hours later and it was finally the time. A lot of contractions and the cervix was fully dilated. Usually, up to three people were allowed to be in the delivery room, but during the pandemic, the hospital had a strict regulation that there was only one support person allowed. And Seb was ready to be that person.
"Seb, why are you still here?" Gia asked with a gentle, or rather tired voice.
"Because I want to," he replied while stroking her hair that had been covered with disposable surgical cap.
"But you are a little afraid of seeing blood."
"I know, but I don't care about it for now," he insisted. "You can do this, gorgeous."
He moved a little to stand next to her head and he bowed to kiss her forehead one more time before the laboring process started.
"Mrs. Vettel, if you are ready, you can start pushing now," dr. Manuela instructed Gia.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
"Please try not to scream because it makes you more tired."
"Yeah, it's looking good so far."
"Gia, I love you. You can do this. It's getting closer."
Gia could only groaned and grimaced. She couldn't respond to all of the doctor's instructions nor Seb's love confession and support. She only wanted it to end soon.
Seb almost cried. He wasn't racing but his heart was. He didn't have the heart to see his wife in pain for so long. But he knew that she was a strong woman.
A few minutes later, the baby's head slipped out. Gia felt nothing but relieved. She asked for permission to drink first before she started pushing again. And Seb helped her to put the tip of a straw in her mouth.
"Okay so, a couple of pushes and the baby will finally be out. We start again," dr. Manuela told.
Gia put all of the strength left she had into her final push and the baby that had been inside her tummy for more than 9 months was finally out.
Happy tears were running down Seb's cheeks when he saw the little one's face and heard his cry for the first time. Then, he whispered to Gia, "You've done it. I'm so proud of you."
Some things happened afterwards. The cord of the baby had been cut, Gia felt some mild contractions and had to deliver the placenta. The baby also needed to be cleaned, weighed, and measured.
Gia couldn't hold her tears when she could finally breastfeed her newborn baby for the first time. She had been moved to an inpatient room and Seb still accompanied her. While, Adelina was outside the room as she waited for Gilbert and his family to arrive.
"Seb, you are supposed to have a flight tonight," she said as she remembered that he had to leave for the double header in Bahrain.
He chuckled. "Please don't think about it. I've told Britta that you gave birth today. So, she reschedules my flight to tomorrow evening."
"Really? So, you will miss the media interviews, press conference, and also track walk?"
"What happened today is more important than anything else. They can understand." Then, Seb leaned in to kiss the baby's head. "We should submit the name of our baby soon."
"Are you sure with that name?"
"Of course I am. The name means a lot to us, mainly to you. And it has a great meaning as well."
A minute later, a nurse entered the room to check on how Gia was. "How are you feeling, Mrs. Vettel?"
"The pain is easing, I guess, but I still feel so fatigue."
"It's always happening to everyone who has just given birth, so don't worry. Is there a problem with the breast milk, if I may know?"
"I don't think so."
"That's good. Good nutrition, plenty of rest, and staying well hydrated are important for you to keep producing milk for your baby." Then, she changed the subject. "Can you submit the name of your baby?"
Gia glanced at Seb and nodded. He knew what she meant. She wanted him to be the first one to mention it. "Our baby's name is... Ludwig. Ludwig Vettel."
---
Author's note: Another one from my favourite couple, Seb and Gia! With this note, I'd like to express my gratitude as I'm so happy that a lot of people have added Back To You to their reading list. I also want to thank you as BTY has got more than 2k votes. It's just fantastic to me!
I'd also like to apologize if there's something wrong when I described the laboring process on this one shot. I admit that I struggled a little bit on that one but hopefully you are satisfied with it❤