Through Thick And Thin

Chapter 8

It had been two days past the due date Amelia’s OBGYN had set and she was getting antsy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed before she began pacing up and down again. She hated the idea of having her labor induced but at the same time she knew the one thing she wanted more than anything was to have that baby out of her.

She had been pacing for close to a whole five minutes before Chad popped his head in.

“How are we doing in here?” he asked.

“I have a full sized melon pressing on my bladder and it is driving me nuts,” she said pointing to her abdomen.

“So, I called the doctor and she said that we can come in tomorrow morning,” he said as he began walking towards her.

“But if I go in they are going to induce,” she said as he held her waist. “I don’t want an induced labor. I just want a normal birth.”

“Well you are at least going for an epidural,” he said.

“Yes but that’s the only kind of medication I want while giving birth,” she said. “I have seen women who have had their labor induced.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Chad walked around her and stood behind her. He was gently rubbing her lower back as he kissed her neck.

“Don’t worry. We are fine,” he said in a soft voice. “In case anything happens, we have everything under control. The go bag, your head band so your hair doesn’t get messy and in the way of photos and I have your special blanket and pillow.” He kissed her again.

“You are too good to me,” she said in a soft voice.

“I have to be,” he said in a whisper. “You are the mother of my child. The woman I am going to spend the rest of my life with.”

“The huge woman you are stuck with,” she pointed out.

“Oh please. Amanda told me there some great exercises nowadays. You will have your tight body back in no time,” he said as he walked her up and down the room. “Besides, I love every version of you the good Lord has given to me.”

She was breathing hard as they picked up the pace.

“I don’t think this is working. We have been walking up and down for two days now and nothing is happening,” she said as she stopped, leaning heavily on him.

“Maybe it is because you don’t see it, but I know it is working,” Chad said as he rubbed the back of her hand.

“What do you mean? It is not like you can see the baby descending or anything,” she said in a soft voice.

“Come on. I made us dinner,” Chad said in a soft voice. “Come on and eat before it gets cold.”

Amelia nodded and began walking towards the door. She had just got to the door when she suddenly felt herself wet and when she looked down, she saw that the ground around her feet was wet.

“Um…Chad,” she said in a soft voice making Chad turn around to look at her.

“Yeah babe, what is it?” she asked as he looked into her motionless face.

“I think my water just broke,” she said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

“What?” The panic on his face was evident.

Amelia was not sure what she was feeling. There was no pain or any kind of discomfort in her body. All she knew was that one minute ago she was wearing perfectly dry sweatpants and now she was not.

“Okay. I got this,” Chad said as he walked back into the room and grabbed her go bag. He swung it on his shoulder and then handed her a small quilt blanket before he grabbed her pillow from the bed. “Come on. I know the shortest route to the emergency room and I will call Dr. Burke from the car,” Chad said as he helped her down the hallway to the front door. When they got there, he grabbed a coat from the hook by the door. She was breathing hard and deep as he draped the coat on her shoulders.

As she waited for Chad to get his phone, she dialed her sister as she leaned against the wall.

“Hey Mandy,” she started in a soft voice.

“Amelia, hey. How are you doing?” Amanda sounded a little more excited than usual.

“Good…great I think,” Amelia started. “My water just broke,” she said, trying hard to control her breath.

“Oh my God. Oh my God,” Amanda said in a soft voice. “Okay, Chad mentioned Parker Memorial. Is that where you are going?” she asked.

“Yeah. We should be there in maybe ten, fifteen minutes,” Amelia said.

“Alright. We will meet you there.”

Chad walked up to where she was and slipped an arm around her waist.

“Come on, come on,” he started as he walked them out of the apartment.

The walk down to the car was as fast as they could master without putting her at risk. By the time Chad began pulling out of the parking lot, Amelia was already feeling her contractions. They were a little closer together than the doctor had told her they would be. She was counting five minutes between every contraction and as per Dr. Burke’s instructions, it wouldn’t be long before she saw her little beautiful child.

When they got to the hospital, her doctor was not around and it took just a few minutes for him to get there.

“Hey, Amelia,” he said when he walked into her room. “The long awaited day is finally here.” He picked up her chart and looked at her.

“And without induction too,” Amelia managed to say in between gasping breaths.

“We are making good progress Amelia,” Dr. Burke said as she looked at her. “But if you want an epidural, now is the time…” She raised her head and looked at him.

“Get me that damn epidural,” she said in a commanding tone.

“Done,” the doctor said as he looked at one of the nurses.

Chad walked to where Amelia was and began rubbing her back. Amelia closed her eyes and groaned softly as his massage gave her slow gradual relief. Just then, she looked up and saw Amanda and Mark walking in. Amanda had a glass of ice cubes in her hand.

“I didn’t know what to bring but someone at work told me that eating ice chips worked for her. So,” she raised the glass and frowned. “I brought some.”

Amelia was too tired to answer. She simply nodded and her sister walked up to where she was.

“How much longer?” Amanda asked as she looked at Chad.

“The doctor didn’t say but it might be a while,” he said, still rubbing her back.

“Yeah…I just got my epidural,” Amelia said as she leaned back on Chad’s shoulder.