We both put on our clothes and rushed to the car. We went in and started driving to the hospital. I was breathing heavily and holding my bump as the contractions came and went. Ben held my hand in his as he drove me there.
"Are you ready to be a dad?" I asked him and he let out a breath.
"Yeah, actually," he said with a smile. He did sound a little nervous but he also sounded excited.
We made it to the hospital and I felt like a was about to pop. I need to have this baby, fast. Ben and I went in and told the woman at the front desk that I was in labour. There was a nurse that came behind me with a wheelchair and she made me sit in it. She started wheeling me into one of the rooms and Ben followed.
They took me to a room and I was helped into a hospital gown. They helped me lay down on the hospital bed and that's when Ben came into the room.
"Hey, Joey," he said to me and I said hi back. He went up to me and stood next to the bed.
"I called our parents. They said that they're coming soon," Ben told me and I nodded. That's when a doctor went to the foot of the bed.
"Okay, Joe. I'm going to need you to spread your legs just so I can see if you've dilated at all or not yet," she said and I spread my legs so now I was exposed.
"You're already three centimeters," she said to me. It was weird because I didn't feel like I was three centimeters.
They gave me IV's and gave me fluids. They also gave me chipped ice and some water so I wouldn't be in as much pain. The contractions were now at least ten minutes apart and they lasted for about a minute. They were very painful. I could even feel Emma getting in the right position to come out and it was one of the most painful things I've ever felt.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked me as I buried my head in my hand as another contraction came. I couldn't even talk to him and tell him that I wasn't okay. All I could do was shake my head to say no. That's when a nurse came over to me.
"Would you like an epidural?" She asked me. I nodded happily and she told me to turn on my side. At this point, the contraction went away but I was still in pain. She told me that I was going to feel a little pinch in my back and that's when I felt the needle go in my back. My eyes scrunched as it hurt but I was happy that I was going to be in less pain.
Soon after that, I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. I continued sipping on my water and chewing the ice when my mom, John, and Mary came into the room.
"Hi, honey," my mom said to me as she came up to the bed. I said hi back with a smile.
"How are you feeling?" She asked me.
"Not good. Emma really wants out," I said to her as I groaned in pain. She nodded and curressed me head. She told me that everything was going to be okay once Emma will be here. I smiled at the thought of holding Emma once she is welcomed into the world.
My contractions were now two minutes apart and they still lasted about a minute. They were still very painful but the medication they were giving me was helping a lot. A nurse went back in between my legs to see how dilated I was now.
"You're almost nine centimeters." Ben's eyes widened once he heard that.
"Aw, Benny. Are you nervous?" I asked him with a laugh.
"N-No, I'm fine. Actually, I'm more than fine. I'm completely ready to be a father," he told me but he didn't sound serious. He sounded more nervous than serious.
"Ben, it's okay if you're nervous. I'm nervous too," I said to him to try to calm him down.
"Okay, I'm just scared. What if Emma hates me?" He asked me with worry.
"Ben, Emma is not going to hate you. She is going to love you so much." He smiled a little.
"Thanks, Joey."
-
I was soon ten centimeters and I was about to get ready to push. I was really nervous so I took deep breaths. That's when one of the nurses sat at the foot of the bed. Now she was in between my spread legs.
"Okay, on your next contraction I want you to push," the nurse told me as she put her rubber gloves on. I nodded as I waited for the next contraction.
Then a contraction came and I started to push. The nurse in between my legs counted for how long I needed to push.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Take a deep breath." I took a deep breath as I felt Emma's head getting ready to slide out. It was very painful but I tried not to scream. Ben held my hand as I pushed our baby out.
"We're starting to see the head. You can push again," she said to me and I pushed again. I could feel her head moving along and I felt the stretch as her small head started to come out. They told me to breathe again and I let out another breath.
"The head is crowning," the nurse in between my legs told me. She told me to push again and I did. "Come on. Push, push, push!" She told me and I pushed with all of my might. I pushed several times and for several minutes, then I pushed again and I could now feel that her head was completely out. They even cut me a little down there but I didn't mind.
"She has a lot of hair," the nurses told me and I smiled while I tried to catch my breath.
"You can push again and once you do, we can pull her out," she told me and I nodded. The realization then hit me that Emma was finally going to be in this world.
"Let's hope you have some hugs and kisses saved up for her," she told me and I laughed a little.
I continued pushing and once the shoulders were about halfway out, the nurse grabbed onto Emma and started pulling her out. I felt her little body slide through my opening and it was so painful. But then I heard something I will never, ever forget.
Her cry.
She cried as she came completely out, but she couldn't cry much. The amniotic fluid was blocking her from crying. The nurse got an eye-dropper and took the amniotic fluid out of her mouth. Then one of the other nurses put a white towel on my torso and chest. Emma was placed on the towel and that's when I started crying. She cried as the nurse cleaned her off with the towel. I looked at Ben and he was crying too, though he was smiling. One of the nurses got a pair of scissors and handed them to Ben. The nurse clamped the umbilical cord and she told him where to cut it. He cut it and a little drop of blood came out of it. Emma was now silent on my chest. The nurse took a stethoscope and checked her heartbeat. The nurse told us that her heartbeat was normal and she took Emma to clean her up. Emma cried again once she was off my chest. I think she liked being on my chest.
I wiped away the tears as I was told to push again, they said I had to get the placenta out. I pushed again and it didn't take long for it to come out. I didn't have to have my legs spread anymore so I put them back together. I was now laying normally. My mom told me that I did an amazing job and so did John and Mary. That's when Emma came back into the room and she was completely swaddled. She had a little baby cap on her head. I smiled at that.
Emma was placed back on my chest and I almost started crying again. I was just so happy that I could finally hold her and look at her beautiful face.
"She is very healthy. She's 7 pounds 9 ounces, and 19 inches." She then left us to be. Ben and I looked at our daughter with awe. We couldn't believe this was our baby. She was absolutely gorgeous. She also looked a lot like Ben. She had his nose, his chin, his forehead, and his ears. She was also blonde so she did look a lot like him. She then opened her eyes and Ben and I could now see her pretty blues. Ben gasped once he saw that. I turned to him and smiled.
"She's beautiful," he said as he looked at our daughter.
"Yeah, we did good, didn't we?" I replied to him with a chuckle. "Can I hold her?" He asked me and I nodded. I put Emma in his arms and he smiled at the little thing.
"Hi, Emma. I love you," he said to her as she looked at his face. Ben kissed the top of her forehead as she tried to move her little limbs.
Then, Gwil, Rami, and Lucy all came into the room and saw Ben with a baby his arms.
"Oh my god," Gwil whispered as he, Lucy, and Rami walked over to where Ben was. They looked at Emma and they cooed over how cute she was.
"May I hold her?" Gwil asked and Ben said yes. She was carefully placed in gwil's arms and he looked at the little thing in his arms.
"She's definitely Ben's baby," Gwil said with a laugh.
"Is it because she looks just like me?" Ben asked with a smile. Gwil nodded happily.
"She is so tiny," Lucy said to us. We told them how much she weighed and they nodded.
Then she started crying in Gwil's arms.
"What do I do?" Gwil asked and Ben took her. He placed her close to his chest and rubbed her back a bit. She then stopped crying and she was now silent. Ben laughed as she was able to stop crying so fast.
-
Soon, Ben's parents came into the room. Emma was still in Ben's arms and he was giving her a bottle. Ben's parents looked and saw Ben and the baby. Ben looked up and smiled at them.
"Hi, mum. Hi, dad," he said as they walked over to him.
"Can I hold her?" Ben's dad asked him and he nodded. He carefully put Emma into his dad's arms. "Emma, this is your grandpa," Ben said as he placed her in his dad's arms. Ben's dad looked at his granddaughter with awe.
"She's so beautiful," Ben's mom said as she looked at her. Ben smiled and nodded happily.
We were now Joe, Ben, and Emma.
This is the last chapter, BTW. I hope you enjoyed it!!!