Baby Come Back(34)
It seemed as if a painful eternity had passed before the nurse came in and checked me again. All the way to four centimeters - whoopee!
Tylar was on her phone now with my Aunt Becky to let her know that I was in labor; telling her my progress. She kept it short as I started in with my sobbing and cursing. Tylar tried coaching me but I was totally distraught with the pain and the fact that Tristan was not here with me. She convinced me to lay on my side, while she pressed hot towels against my lower back to help with my back labor. It offered a little relief.
Tylar was right when she had told me modesty went out the window during labor and birth. I didn’t give a shit who saw what at the moment. My hospital gown was open in the back; my underwear had been confiscated when I was given the gown to wear. Tylar was trying to put slight pressure with the hot towels but I was still restless.
“Gina,” Tylar said, pulling the warm towel away from my rump. “When did you have your tattoo redone?”
“What?”
“Your tattoo on your hip that used to spell ‘Ian’, you freaking had it re-done to spell ‘Tristan’?”
“Yeah - actually, Tristan paid for me to have it done. Isn’t it neat the way the tattoo artist made the ‘I’ in Ian into a fancy ‘T’ in Tristan?”
“Ingenious,” she said, chuckling.
Just then another wave of pain came crashing through me. I let out a string of cuss words and waved Tylar away when she persisted in trying to get me to do the ‘hee-hee-hee’ breathing exercises. It was starting to get on my nerves. I sent her out for more ice chips afraid I might start cussing her out. It wasn’t her fault.
I managed to get through the last contraction without splitting in half. My lips were dry; I tasted blood where I must have bit down on the bottom one.
Where in the hell was Tristan? He should be here suffering through this with me. Where the hell had Tylar gone off to?
She certainly was taking her good old f*cking time getting those ice chips I thought after my most recent, mind-blowing contraction had ended. My doctor came into the room just then, pulling on his latex gloves. I wondered how many more fingers were going to be prying into my Who-Ha before this baby made his entrance.
Tylar returned with my ice chips just as the doctor informed me that I was at five centimeters. I ordered the nurse that was at his side to bring me my f*cking epidural now. She scurried away to get it.
Once administered the effects were immediate. It was fantastic. I relaxed back against my pillows getting comfortable. I just wanted to take a short nap while I could. I closed my eyes drinking in the pain-free refuge I had found. It seemed only momentary before pain was back. It was different. It was higher up and it was agonizing. I felt like I was freezing cold; I was shaking. I saw the look of alarm on Tylar’s face; then she started screaming something. The doctor was back with several nurses beside him. Tylar was ordered to leave the room. I saw someone put a clear, plastic cone shaped apparatus up to my face. I was instructed to breathe in deeply. Then I fell into a blessed, pain-free sleep.
CHAPTER 19
I had been dozing so peacefully when somewhere I heard a baby crying. It was a newborn baby’s cry, I could tell. Was that my baby? I willed my eyes to open to see if I had delivered our baby boy yet.
The first thing I saw was Tristan’s face. He was sitting next to my bed. He was watching me.
“About damn time you got here, Tristan.”
He immediately leaned over and kissed me. I noticed he was holding a tiny, swaddled bundle in his arms.
“Is he okay?” I croaked, looking at Tristan’s face.
“He is perfect, Gina. He weighs six and a half pounds but he is a tough little guy.”
“I want to see him. I want to hold him.”
Tristan lowered the baby down into my waiting arms. The rails were up on both sides of my hospital bed. He tucked the baby against me, making sure he propped a pillow under my arm to continue supporting his head without having to keep my arm lifted.
I pulled the receiving blanket around him to keep him warm. He had a little blue knit cap on his head. I could see dark hair poking out around the edges. His eyes were wide and alert. They were a very deep blue for now. He had Tristan’s nose and chin; his tiny eyebrows were arched the same way as Tristan’s. There wasn’t anything about him that looked like Ian.
“Oh Tristan,” I breathed, “He’s yours.”
“Of course he’s mine, Gina. You both are mine,” he said.
“Reese Patrick Sinclair,” I said, looking into his tiny, wide-eyed face. Your mommy and daddy adore you.”
He was squirming around, making cute little faces, sucking on his fingers. I suddenly knew what all the fuss was about. I knew what Tylar had felt after she had given birth to Preston. This was the ultimate love.
Tristan explained what had happened during labor. The placenta was separating, and there was a tear that started in my uterine wall. The doctor had performed an emergency C-Section; he had repaired the uterine tear as well. I would be in the hospital for a few days.
“Before I forget to bitch at you Tristan, do you mind telling me where the hell you were?”
“The extra hours I have been spending at the club, Gina, were not about working there. I’ve been actually making a wooden cradle for the baby in the basement there. I was trying like hell to get it finished up so that I could surprise you with it before he arrived. I think his early arrival will make it necessary for me to get it sanded and stained while you recuperate here.”