#labor delivery peanut ball

[no-phrogs-in-hats]

Baby Steps Part 5

Larissa x pregnant!reader

Summary: The new addition has arrived

Warnings: Childbirth, vomiting

Read Part 4 here

“I don’t have much to distract you while we wait,” Larissa sighed as she dug through her purse. “Oh, I have a deck of cards!”

“Larissa,” you huffed, slipping the hospital gown over your head, “it’s okay. I’m sure I’ll be too distracted to play strip poker with you tonight.”

As you laid in the hospital bed, left hand over your aching belly and right arm over your eyes, Larissa came to sit beside you on the edge of the bed. Her fingers brushed through your hair and she hummed at your joke. “I know…I just–I hate seeing you in so much pain.”

You took a deep breath as a mild contraction washed over you. “It’s fine…It’s fine. My body was…built to endure this. We both…agreed…no epidural unless I absolutely need it.”

“Alright,” she mumbled. “Just don’t be afraid to ask for one, sweet pea. It won’t make you any less of a mother to ask for an epidural.”

“I know,” you muttered. “I know…I know…I know…”

Your mumbles of various affirmations were interrupted by two nurses and their assistants, introducing themselves to you and Larissa before opening your chart on the computer.

“I’m gonna need to hook you up to a monitor, hun. Is that okay?”

With a nod and a hum from you, one nurse, who said her name was Molly, strapped a band to your belly. The sound of your unborn baby’s heartbeat filled your ears and put your mind at ease. Larissa held your hand in hers, thumb stroking the clammy skin along your palm. 

“So,” the other nurse–who you learned was Alice–piped up from the computer, “do we know the sex yet?”

“No,” you mused, watching as the heart rate of your baby printed out beside you. “But at the end of this I’m either going to be ten dollars richer or fifteen dollars poorer.”

The nurses and their aides chuckled. “What are we hoping for?” one of them asked. 

“Well, in the end we just want a healthy kid,” you said. “But, I have a good feeling it’s gonna be a girl. Larissa thinks it’ll be a boy.”

As Alice took your vitals and the baby’s, she smiled. “In my ten years of being a labor and delivery nurse, I’ve found that most of the time, it’s the mother–or, I guess in this case, the one who’s pregnant–that’s right. On occasion, the other parent is right. But, most of the time it’s the one who’s carrying the child.”

“You hear that, Larissa?” you boast, grinning. “You’re gonna owe me ten bucks.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “We don’t know that yet.”

A few hours later at 9pm, you were standing in the dimly lit room, bent over the bed and resting on your hands as you took deep breaths through the pain. “Has my mom messaged you yet?”

Larissa, who was behind you, massaging your lower back, stepped away to her purse. You watched her scroll through notifications, tapping on one and putting the phone to her ear.

“Hey!” Larissa smiled brightly. “Oh, great! Yeah…she’s only three centimeters…yes, the doctor said the baby looks great. Alright. Okay. I’ll let her know. Alright. Bye.”

As your fingers gripped the bed sheets, you groaned. “Are they on their way?”

“Yeah,” Larissa said, coming to stand by your side again and accepting the tight grip your hand gave hers. “They’re just finding parking right now. They should be here soon.”

“Good…good–Jesus Christ!”

Your hand squeezed Larissa’s as she rubbed your back, talking softly into your hair. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “Put on some music, get the peanut ball?”

“No,” you breathe, rocking your hips back and forth. “No, just–right here is fine.”

Twenty minutes later, with the lights to the room completely off, one of your nurses knocked on the doorframe. Your eyes had been shut for some time while laying in bed, trying to get as much rest as possible as Larissa sat beside you answering emails on her phone one-handed (seeing as her other hand was preoccupied with yours).

Larissa looked up from her phone. “Yes?”

“I have two people downstairs for you,” she responded. “Would you like me to send them up?”

Larissa nudged you, receiving a grumble. “Your parents are here, love. Do you want them to come up?”

“Mhm…”

“Hi, Mom,” you mumbled, smiling sleepily as she kissed you on the forehead.

“Mia was gonna come with us,” she said quietly after handing the hospital bag to Larissa. “But when we called they said only two people at a time. Your dad’s had a few drinks so we’re not gonna stay long.”

“Nervous about being a grandfather, Dad?” you asked, chuckling before another contraction washed over you. 

“We’ll be back around six tomorrow,” your mom said. “Call us if you need anything or if something happens, okay?”

“Okay, Ma,” you whispered. “Go home and get some rest. Especially you, Dad.”

Your dad leaned down and hugged you, giving you a nice whiff of the whiskey he had been drinking. “You get some rest–both of you. You’re gonna need it.”

It just kept getting worse. After your parents left for the night, you tried to sleep, but it was impossible. As soon as you dozed off, a contraction ripped through you and at one in the morning, you found out you were officially in the active labor stage at six centimeters.

And you were miserable.

You could no longer talk through contractions and during a walk in the hallway outside your room, you had to pause every few minutes.

“Shit, Larissa, wait.” The feeling of fluid trickling down your legs made you stop in your tracks.

Her face contorted into worry and her hands immediately went to hold you. “What? Are you okay?”

“Yeah…Yeah,” you said, looking down at the small puddle beneath you. “I think my water just broke.”

You felt horrible for Larissa. You could tell by the look in her eyes that she was aching to go to sleep. But she didn’t once complain. As you laid in bed, a peanut ball in between your legs, you held Larissa’s hand, watching her closely as she tried to stay awake in the chair beside your bed. 

Her face was barren, completely rid of makeup, and her platinum hair was pulled back into a messy updo. Even as an absolute mess, she was the most gorgeous woman you had ever seen.

How did you get so lucky?

You saw her jolt awake after a few tiny snores slipped out, and you giggled. “Larissa, sweetheart,” you said. “You can sleep for a bit. I’ll wake you up if I need anything.”

“No,” she mumbled, placing a kiss on your hand. “No, I don’t wanna–”

“Larissa. You need to sleep,” you said sternly. “I promise, I’ll be okay.”

She pursed her lips, looking at you uncertainly, but still muttering an, “Okay…”

When Larissa woke up, she immediately regretted going to sleep after seeing how much pain you were in. After waking up to the sounds of your retching, she now sat in the bed with you, holding a bedpan under your chin and holding your hair back as you vomited into it. “It’s alright, darling. It’s alright.”

“I’m sorry!” you cried. “I’m sorry, Larissa! I’m sorry!”

She set the bedpan down and pulled you into her arms. Wiping your tears with the cuff of her sleeve, Larissa tried to soothe you. “Shhh…why are you sorry, sweetheart?”

“Because!” you sobbed. “Because, I’m a–a–complete mess! I didn’t wanna wake you up! You’ve done so much already! You shouldn’t have–to deal–to deal with this!”

“Oh, darling,” she cooed. “It’s okay…It’s my job as your wife to help you through moments like these. I want to be here for you.” She pulled away and kissed you lightly on your lips. “For better or worse, in sickness and in health, vomit breath or mint toothpaste, I will be here for you the entire time. Okay?”

You sniffled and wiped tears from your eyes, humming. “Okay,” you muttered. “Thank you.”

Larissa was wide awake after that. She stayed with you the entire time, holding you as you leaned into her, burying your face in her neck and groaning through a particularly strong contraction. 

The gray light of dawn was peeking through the curtains and the analog clock on the wall read 5:56 when the doctor came in to check you again. At four, you were still at seven centimeters and with the contractions becoming stronger and longer, they were almost certain you’d be in the transition phase by now.

You took a deep breath, trying your best to relax as the doctor checked your cervix. Larissa took her hair down and tied your hair up loosely with her elastic as beads of sweat started to form on your hairline.

“Okay,” the doctor smiled, taking off her gloves and disposing of them in a trash can by the sink. “You’ve dilated to eight centimeters, so if you’ve decided to get an epidural, I’d recommend you get it now before you’re fully dilated and can no longer get one.”

Your head was clouded by a thousand thoughts but you spoke up. “No,” you said, shaking your head. “No, I don’t want one.”

“Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll be back in an hour to check on you again, okay?”

When the door closed, Larissa sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want the epidural?”

“I’m sure,” you insisted. “I’ve gotten this far. I can go all the way. Where are my parents?”

“Your mum texted me–said there’s traffic,” Larissa said as she wiped off a line of sweat. “There was a big accident on the highway.”

By eight, you were at nine centimeters. You had lashed out at Larissa multiple times, completely falling to pieces after. You cried to her, apologizing profusely and begging her to not divorce you as she reassured you that it was okay. You even kicked your parents and sister out, saying, “If the last time you saw me naked was when I was a baby and you were changing a diaper, get out!”

“I feel like I need to push,” you muttered around nine.

“What?”

“I feel like I need to push,” you repeated to Larissa. 

 Larissa blanked, “Oh! Oh! Okay!” She ran out quickly and came back with a nurse who checked you and informed you that you were fully effaced.

And that’s when it all sunk in.

Your doctor and nurses all gathered in the room, prepping the area for the delivery. It was utter chaos. Larissa’s hand went to hold yours again, “Are you okay on your back, sweetheart? You don’t have–”

“Yeah,” you said. “I wanna stay on my back.”

“Okay.” She pressed a kiss to your temple. “I love you so much.”

“I can’t,” you sobbed. “I can’t do it! I can’t!”

“Darling–”

“No! I wanna go home! I can’t do this!”

Tears streamed down your face as your hand practically clawed at Larissa’s hand. You were ten minutes into pushing and you were absolutely exhausted. How had you been so excited for this, but now you were begging to stop and go home?

“How about we stop for a couple minutes,” the doctor suggested. “Take a break and we’ll start again, okay?”

Larissa’s hand let go of your bare leg and went to your forehead. “Darling,” she said. “Darling, look at me.” Your eyes opened and met hers as you steadied your breathing. “You are doing so well. It’s not much longer, alright?” Her hand smoothed back your hair and she placed a kiss on your head. “Just a bit more and we’ll get to meet them–girl or boy, it doesn’t matter to me. We’ll get to meet the tiny baby that we’ve loved since it was a tiny blob on a piece of paper. Just a bit more, alright? Just a bit more and we’ll be able to hold them in our arms and love them and protect them. Okay?”

“Okay,” you sniffled. “Okay. I’m ready. Okay.”

The doctor moved back in between your legs. “On the next contraction I want you to give me a big push,” she said. You nodded, clutching Larissa’s hand in yours and beginning to take deep breaths as you felt the contraction begin. Tucking your chin and pushing hard, the doctor gave you words encouragement as you continued. “Good! Good! I can see its head.” 

Another contraction, another push.

“Good! One more push! Keep going!”

A wave of relief washed over you and you leaned back, limp. The sound of loud cries filled the room and your heart swelled. On your chest was now a baby–your baby; a tiny human that you created from scratch. This was the center of your universe. This was your pride and the source of your joy. Tears slipped down your cheeks as you took the blanket from under them and cleaned them off. “Ten adorable fingers and toes,” you sniffled. “Oh, you are the most perfect thing ever.”

As Larissa leaned down to kiss you, she smiled. “I think I owe you ten dollars.”

Tag list: @gwenistheloml @barbarasstar @gwendolinechristierulez @furrysharkfart @yourgaeyisshowing

[jordie-gvf]

boom babies, josh

fluffy josh fic ahead loves! i loved writing this one ngl!

word count : 1.4k+

warnings : not any i can think of except pregnancy and childbirth

reblogs are appreciated! constructive criticism is appreciated!

Before Josh went to the studio this morning, you had been complaining about back pain. Josh had told you this morning that he would have stayed home to make sure you were okay. You shoved him off to the studio and called Jita to come over to hang out with you all day.

Josh always says, “my baby making queen should not be doing housework”, but what he did not know wouldn't hurt him. You washed the dishes, cleaned the counters, mopped the floor, and vacuumed. Jita was telling you to stop, that it was too strenuous on the babies.

You were doing laundry when you started getting more back pain. When you put Josh's socks into the washer, you felt an extremely sharp pain in your abdomen. Jita had come to you and asked, “Y/N. What's wrong?” You felt something trickle down your legs. No, it's not supposed to happen yet. “Jita. My water just broke. It's not supposed to happen now.” You started to cry out, it's not supposed to happen now. 

Jita loaded everything in the car and came back into the house and walked you out to the car. You looked at her and told her, “call Josh and tell him. Please call him.” She looked at you and said, “I called him three times already. Him and Jake wont answer. We have to get you to the hospital.”

When you got to the hospital, you were checked in and put on the labor and delivery floor. They checked for dilation and you were 3 centimeters. The obstetrician asked you when your water broke. You told her, around an hour ago, she looked at you and said, “Your water broke an hour ago, and you're already 3 centimeters dilated? Girl, what were you doing?” she laughed and told you everything would be alright. 

You started to call Josh, telling him on a voicemail to pick up the damn phone, that his bundles of joy were coming. Your mom and sister showed up in your room. Jita drove to the studio to go tell Josh what was happening.

Josh's POV:

The boys and I were recording a new song. We took a break and I went to get some tea for my throat. I saw Y/N’s car show up in the parking lot. I saw Jita running out of the car. She ran up to me and told me, “Y/N’s in labor! You need to go now!” I looked at her and said, “But she's only 37 weeks? She can't go into labor this early.” Jita looked at me and said, “if you don't hurry, she is going to deliver your children without you. GO!” I ran out to the studio parking lot.

Y/N’s POV:

You had your sister's hand as the Obstetrician walked in and told you someone was here to see you. Josh had walked in, out of breath and red. He looked at you and said, “What the hell were you doing that caused your water to break?” You looked at him and said, “housework.” He looked at you with a stern look on his face. “Ladybug, you know you can't do that.” 

You had been tired of the peanut shaped yoga ball in between your legs. Josh convinced you it would “dilate you further.” The doctor came in to check dilation. You were 10 centimeters dilated. It was baby time. 

Josh had gotten behind you in the bed to hold your legs while you pushed. “Alright Y/N. Are you ready to be a mommy?” ,the doctor asked you. You nodded your head and Josh kissed your head, “You can do this mama.” 

You were pushing for two hours. First was your son, Sage Kelly Kiszka. Then, your daughter, Gardenia James Kiszka. You looked at your babies and smiled. Sage had fallen asleep on Josh's chest. “Look at him, he sleeps like you.” you told Josh. He looked over at Gardenia, who was asleep on your chest, he said, “Look at my little girl. She opened her eyes when I held her, she's already a daddy's girl. When can we bring them home?” You looked at him and told him, “I don't know if we are going to be bringing them home today. They have to do tests.” He frowned and held Sage closer to him. One of your amazing nurses came in and said, “Dad, it's time for skin to skin with the babies.” He looked so excited to hold his children so close to him. He took off his shirt and the nurse told him how to position his arms. She put Gardenia in his arms first and she opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked at his daughter and said, “You have your mama's eyes.” She then handed over Sage and he curled up closer to Josh. He looked at you and said, “We made babies.” and smiled

It had been two weeks since you had given birth. You still weren't completely healed, but you were getting there. It was time for the Kiszka-Wagner family to meet your babies. Jake and Jita had already seen them, considering Jake was his twin brother and Jita was your best friend. Sam was a little butthurt that his older brother got to meet his niece and nephew first, but he eventually got over it. 

Sam, Danny, and Ronnie had arrived at you and Josh's home, carrying a huge bag of stuff. You opened the door and Ronnie looked at you and said, “You do not look like you had two babies.” You laughed and welcomed them in with open arms. You looked at the bag in Sam's hand and asked, “What's that for?” He looked at you and said, “Two words Y/N. Sage and Gardenia.” You looked at him and smiled. Danny walked in last and gave you the biggest hug. “Looking good Mama.” and winked. Josh came up to you two and said, “Trying to steal my girl, Wagner?” and laughed, giving Danny a hug.

Next to arrive was Karen, Kelly, Lori, Dan, and Josie. The whole family was there. Your family had already met them. Kelly was unaware of what Sage’s middle name was and Josh was going to tell him today. Jake had Sage in his arms as he was sleeping and Karen had Gardenia. Lori, Dan, andJosie walked over to you and Josh and gave you both big hugs. You were so grateful for your second family, you loved them and they loved you.

Karen came over and said, “They both look so much like how Josh looked when he was born. All that hair and the eyes.” Karen had always asked you and Josh when you were having kids. You told her you were pregnant on her birthday, over lunch. She found out you were having twins on her own. 

Everyone had brought gifts for them, you were so overwhelmed with joy. Josh had whispered to you that he was ready to tell his dad the news. Josh had stood up and told everyone that he had something to announce. He grabbed them and said, “This is Gardenia James Kiszka.” He handed Gardenia to you and then brought Sage over to his father. “And this is Sage Kelly Kiskza.” His father looked up at him with delight. Karen started to get teary eyed. She got up and hugged Josh and came over to you and said, “Thank you. This could never top anything. He will cherish this moment, this is his greatest gift.” You looked at her and smiled. Gardenia had started to move around in your arms and you knew it was time for her lunch. You told Josh you would be in the nursery, giving him time with him and his family. You walked up to Kelly and frowned, “Sadly, it's lunch time for these two. I'll bring him back after they're done.” He smiled at you and said, “Can I burp him after? It's been so long since I've done this, it would be nice to do it again.” You smiled and said, “Of course you can.”

You were in the neutrally decorated nursery with the curtains closed, it was so nice and cozy for you and your babies. You looked down at your beautiful baby girl and thought, just like her dad, always on the tit. You laughed as Josh walked in and said, “Jake wants to know if he can hold Gardenia, he's the last one. He wanted everyone to be able to hold them before he could.” You told him, “Of course he can.” Josh came over to you and looked down at his babies. He said, “You know, Sage is going to hold it over her head that he's older. I did that with Jake.” You responded with, “I expected nothing less.” and kissed him.

You were truly exhilarated to have a growing family.

[ask-papa-terzo]

It’s recommended and less likely to cause damage, to not put any pressure upon Papa or the kits, that he uses a squatting position. It would provide less pain and no tearing while giving birth. Make sure you have warm towels and blankets for the kits and Papa.

-Sister Juniper

P.S. I only know that information because I watch a lot of medical related people (EMS, Labor and Delivery nurses, etc.) on YouTube.

Yeah, we've been trying different positions to see what he's comfortable in. He tried squatting for a bit earlier, but he says it's too much weight on his back. So far, lying on his side with a peanut ball between his knees seems to be the most comfortable position for him. - Omega

[an-amalgamation-of-me]

Montys Labor & Delivery Story (Condensed)

I started having consistent contractions that were on average 3 mins apart at 10pm on the 2nd. 2 hrs later, while I was in bed trying to be quiet like a mouse, but in pain, my water broke at 1208am. Got to the hospital at 130am and when they checked me they said I was only at 3. Around 5am I asked for an epidural bc they made me nervous that when I actually needed it, they’d be busy and I’d have to wait a while. So even tho I didn’t need it yet, I was like GIVE ME DRUGS😅 so I get it and around 6am I’m still at a 3. So they gave me pitocin. And they’d check me every 2 hours and I’d only have dilated 1 cm 🫣 it was frustrating. But I watched the toy story marathon with Carmen and ate lemon popsicles, apple juice and ice water (but also just ice bc hospital ice is the best) for like 6 hours…then I started throwing up. I was eating too much I think and the epidural didn’t like that. So I threw up once and I was like ok I’ll stop eating the popsicles. But I still want the apple juice. And then I remembered there was ginger ale. Took 2 tiny sips to see if I like it (I know nothing of the brand shasta so I had to analyze the taste 😒) IMMEDIATE NO. Threw it up in like 1 min. Cool. I’ll stick to water…..threw that up too. FINE I WONT DRINK ANYTHING EVEN THO IM HUNGRY AND BECOMING DEHYDRATED. I totally fully became dehydrated and got an infection and finally by maybe 7pm I was at a 7 or 8 and I was like…cool this should go quickly. Wrong. My cervix was being stubborn af….. So they’re flipping me from side to side. Omg btw PEANUT BALLS ARE AS MAGICAL AS THE INTERNET SAYS IT IS. Use iiittttttttt if you get an epidural and need to dilate. It’s amazing. Anyways. At around 9ish-I’m still only at 8 AND THE LEFT SIDE OF MY BODYS EPIDURAL WORE OFF. So I’m feeling contractions at 8cm only on one side. But I was riding the waves and using my low voice for vibrations and pain relief. Anesthesiologists come and fix it but it takes about an hour or so for it to start working on my left side again. At about 10, I’m at a 9. But now I have bad acid reflux. And it’s fierce. Rising in my stomach, into my throat and making me nauseous af and it was burning tf out of my throat. I was miserable. I almost hated that more than contractions bc I could manage contractions. I couldn’t manage the acid. I ended up throwing up twice of just gross bile. It was awful and I wanted to cry. They finally get me some tums, some acid reflux meds to put in my IV and nausea meds to put in my IV. You’d think after all that I’d be ready to push. Nope. 11pm I’m at 9.5cm. They have me doing practice pushes to see if maybe I can push pass the lip of my cervix that is being stubborn but they worry I may rip my cervix which they really don’t want. So we are waiting again, but getting nervous bc baby’s heart keeps rising and falling with the contractions and I’m feverish bc of my infection but they give me antibiotics which is sort of helping but they only have a little bit of time to give me before they have to seriously consider a c section which I really didn’t want bc I was scared and also IM AT 9! So one of the nurses out my right leg up on the side table and we waited. She said back in the day, that used to work really well w a stubborn cervix. And IT DID. By 1215 I was ready to push and pediatric doctors came in as well as my labor and delivery team and they dropped the bottom of my bed off, pulled me closer to the edge, one nurse had a leg, Carmen had my right leg, I had my arms under both legs and I pushed this 9.5lb baby out in 10min!!!!!!!! Born 4 Dec at 1247am💙 It was such a dramatic labor in my opinion. But well worth it.

[thefoodiesfithome]

Alexis Nicole's Birth Story

Four months later, I'm here to talk the details of Alexis Nicole's birth.

Four months later, I’m here to talk the details of Alexis Nicole’s birth. For anyone wondering, no, we’re not getting graphic. In fact, I don’t even have any more than a couple of photos before baby girl even arrived. I’ll be sharing my timeline and high level details because every birth story can be vastly different. Disclaimer: I am not a licensed healthcare provider, any medical explanations…

[fan4196]

Sleepover At The Hospital

Hey everyone here's a fanfic. We hope you like it. Enjoy!

Again thanks to @angry-slytherin :)

-

Alex is just about to close little Max, who he has been operating on for the last five hours, when he spots his wife sitting in the galery.

Looking up towards her their gazes meet and he smiles widely under his mask, before he points to her left. Getting his hint she stands up and walks towards the speaker.

"Hey beautiful. I'm just about to close. Do you need anything?" He asks through the intercom, still looking up towards her.

"Yeah no, just wanted to see when you're done." She smiles while pushing the button on the speaker, suddenly grabbing her stomach with her other hand, scrunching her face in pain.

"Dude, what the hell? Talk to me!" Alex voice changes as soon as he sees the pain on his wife's face.

After breathing through it, Jo stands up straight again, pushing the button she let go through out the pain to answer her husband.

"I'm in labor." She answers casually, shaking her head while laughing.

"What? O- ahm ok. Helm! Get over here, you can close. And do the post-ops, please. And I'm off for today, so no one pages me." He orders hectic, already ripping his mask, gown and gloves of but before he walks into the scrub room he turns towards Jo again.

"And you. Sit down, I'm coming!" He orders, pointing towards her; he then turns around and quickly unscrubbs.

+

Tossing his used towel into the bin, the door of the scrub room opens and Jo walks in.

"Damn it Jo! I told you to stay in the freaking gallery! I was just about to-" Alex starts as soon as he sees his wife standing in the door but gets interrupted immediately.

"First of all Mister, I'm not a puppet and we are not in 1947 where you can tell me what to do and what not. Secondly, my water just broke up there so I thought walking towards labor and delivery, while you take ages to unscrubb, could be a good idea." She winks at her husband, bending forward as soon as she's finished. Putting one hand on her belly as the other one gripps into the door handle.

Alex immediately clicks into worried dad mode and rushes towards Jo, wrapping his arms around her to stabilize her through the contraction. Whispering into her ear to breath.

As soon as the contraction subsides Jo lets go of the door handle and puts her hands on Alex's cheeks to kiss him.

"Let's go have a baby." She smiles, kissing him one last time before she unravels out of his grip and starts walking out of the room. "Are you coming? Or should I get a wheelchair for you." She chuckels, starring at a frozen Alex. "Alex!" She calls with a hit on his chest.

"Are you sure you are in labor? You are laughing and smiling way too much. It really creeps me out." He answers as he finally follows Jo out of the scrub room towards the elevators.

"I don't know if my wet pants are enough of a sign that I'm in labor, jerk but I like creeping you out." She answers playfully, grapping his hand and pulling him into the elevator.

+

On the labor and delivery floor Alex and Jo get admitted into a room and Jo changes out of her scrubs into one of those incredibly sexy hospital gowns. They are now waiting for Carina DeLuca to do Jo's first check-up.

"Hey guy." Carina greets Alex and Jo with a smile as she walks into the room. "I heard another Karev decided to maybe join us today. Let's see how far you are already." Putting on her gloves, Carina checks Jo and looks at them surprised as she finishes her check-up. "Looks like you are already at seven centimeters. It shouldn't be too long until you meet your little bambina." Carina smiles at the two and leaves them again.

"Seven? Since when are you in labor?" Alex askes surprised, looking at his wife in disbelief.

"This morning. I don't know, maybe nine." Jo admits, trying to stand up from the bed but Alex stops her.

"You are in labor since nine and you didn't tell me. You let me do a five hour surgery while you where in labor?" He asks, still not believing his wife.

"The kid needed the surgery and you know how long I was in labor with the twins, I knew it would take some time." She says, again trying to get up from the bed.

"You could have at least told me that you started having contractions." He snortes, still standing in front of Jo, not getting that he's in her way to get up.

"Geez stop crying and help me up already, damn it Alex!" She snaps.

"Sorry." Alex apologizes, grapping her hands to help her up. "What do you wanna do?"

"I want to sit on the yoga ball."

"Ok let me help you." He grabs the ball and brings it to the bed for Jo to sit on. He helps her getting comfortable on it as the door opens and Mer and the twins walk in.

"Hey, here's your bag." Mer puts the bag down on the chair beside the bed.  "And the twins wanted to say good night before I take them home to have their sleepover." The twins are a little shy, not knowing what to think about all the machines and wires that are connected to their mom.

"Come here Peanuts it's ok those machines help to see if the baby is doing ok in mommy's tummy." Alex asures the twins, who immediately run to their mother and hug her.

"Good night mommy. I hope the baby isn't hurting you too much." Their son says as he huggs his mommy's left side, stroking his hand over Jo's belly.

"Will the baby be here when we wake up in the morning?" His sister asks, looking up to her mom.

"We'll see." Jo shnugges her shoulders. "But I promise you as soon as the baby is here daddy will call aunt Mer and she will bring you here again to meet your little sister. Ok?" Jo asks looking from her daughter to her son, who are both nodding. "Alright. Now go and have a nice sleepover with Zola, Bailey and Ellis." Jo untangles her arms from her kids and patts their little butts, which makes the twins giggle. With a good night kiss for each of their parents the twins say their goodbyes and leave again with Meredith.

The next hour flows by uneventfully, with Jo changing from the yoga ball, to the bed, to walking through the room, Alex always near by, which she appreciates. He is the greatest birth partner she could wish for. He has already been a great birth partner at the twins birth but with their birth ending in a c-section, this was a whole new experience now.

The following hour was filled with Alex feeding Jo ice chips, giving her pressure on her hip to reduce the pain and Jo breathing through contractions in Alex's arms.

"I think it's time." Jo admitts quietly, untangling her arms from around Alex's neck.

"Ok let me get Carina, real quick." Alex is already about to spring out the door, when Jo gripps his shirt tight, breathing through the next contraction.

"No Alex, it's too late for that. She's coming. Now!" Jo breathes through the pain, gripping tight onto her husband.

"A-alright. We can do this. Lucky you I once was a member of the vagina-squad, so I know how to birth a baby." Alex jokes with a side grin.

"Shut up and catch you daughter, jerk." Jo snapps at him, as she waits for another contraction to push. Two pushes later Alex puts a tiny, screaming baby on Jo's chest. Grabbing a towel to rubb his daughter clean and to keep her warm on her mom's chest.

"She's perfect, Jo." He grinned, looking at his wife with tears in his eyes.

"She is." Jo answers happyly, watching her husbund marvel over his daughter. "I'm sorry to interrupt your little moment, but now is probably a good time to get Carina." She jokes at her husband.

"Wow you just birthed a human and already tease me. Birth can't be as bad as everyone says when I see you." Alex jokes.

"Shut up and get doctor DeLuca before I go by myself." Jo orders jokingly, patting her daughters butt softly to stop her from crying.

After Carina checked out Jo and the baby and confirms that everything is perfectly fine, Alex is giving his little girl a bath, while Jo takes a well earned nap.

Marveling at the tiny baby in his hand, Alex carefully cleans his daughter's dirty blonde curls with a cloth. She's so perfect, that Alex almost can't believe that she's his. Her blue eyes stare at him while her tiny body is completely relaxed in her daddy's big hand that holds her safely in the warm water. She looks so much like her bigger siblings, but also not. Neither of the older Karev kids have blue eyes or blonde hair, the twins were both born with brown eyes and brown hair. But the smallest Karev was still a perfect mixture of her parents. She inherited Jos eye shape and nose but her ears, mouth and dirty blonde hair are without a doubt Karev.

Alex is just about to dress his little girl and swaddle her into her blanket, when he hears his wife waking up again.

"Hey beautiful. Did you have a good nap?" Alex asks, walking towards the bed with his little bundle in his arm.

"Mmhhh." She answers, trying to sit up but immediately regreting it as pain shoots through her body.

"Careful." Alex says, helping Jo sit up.

"Geez, I forgot how painful bith was." Jo jokes, holding her arms out for her daughter. "But it's so worth it." She smiles down on her beautiful baby girl.

"It is." Alex agrees, stroking one finger over his daughter's cheek while he sits down next to his wife. "Speaking of kids. Should we wake the Peanuts and force Mer to drive them here now or should we wait until tomorrow morning?"

"Well we promised them to call as soon as their baby sister is born, which was an hour ago, soo-"

"Let me call Mer and see if she's still up." Alex graps his phone and calls Meredith, who agrees to wake the twins and bring them.

+

Half an hour later two very excited twins in pj's run through the door.

"Hi mommy." They greet their mommy as they climb onto the bed to sit by their mom who has their little sister in her arms.

"Hi Peanuts. Look who's finally here." Jo lays the baby down on her legs for the twins to have a better few.

"She's so cute." Emery says happyly, hugging her mother's site.

"Can I touch her, mommy?" Parker asks looking up to his mom, waiting for permission.

"Sure. Do you want to hold her?" Jo asks her son who looks at her with big eyes.

"Yes!" He answers excited, with a big grin.

Showing her son how to hold his arms first, Jo places the sleeping baby in Parkers arms.

"It's good we practiced with our dolls at home, right Park?" His sister comments as she watches her brother hold the baby, making the adults laugh. Alex takes some pictures of his son holding his little sister, before Jo places the baby in Emery's waiting arms. Alex again snappes some pictures to satisfy his wife, before he sits down on the bed too.

"What's her name mommy?" Parker asks, watching his two sisters with the same sparkle in his eyes as his dad has.

"Well after a long discussion with your daddy I couldn't convince him on our favorite name. So it's not Donut Tinkerbell Karev, I'm sorry guys." Jo shrunks, hiding her laugh.

"Daddy why? It's such a fun name." Parker protests, crossing his arms as he looks at his dad.

"Sorry dude, but I'm not naming your little sister after your favorite food and Emy's favorite Disney character." Alex shrunks, while he has to hide his laugh too.

"Then what's her name instead?" Emery asks, looking up from the baby in her arms.

"It's Eden Alexandra Karev." Jo announces with a smile, connecting eyes with Alex who's happyly smiling too.

"That's a fun name too, I guess." Parker answeres, erupting into laughter as soon as Jo starts tickling him.

The twins marvel over their baby sister for another twenty minutes until Mer is ready to take them home again. But the kiddos disagree, wanting to stay with their parents and new baby sister.

"What do you think about a sleepover here?" Jo ask them. "Daddy can probably organize some beds for you to sleep in and we can have a family sleepover at the hospital." Jo adds, trying to find a compromise.

The twins agree excited. And they end up having their sleepover at the hospital as a family of five.

[jawritter]

Together

Request: Hey! Can I request a Jensen x reader where reader is pregnant. Plot is like can you write experience in like 3rd or 4th month? Everyday Jensen stays with reader in bathroom when she had morning sickness. Then goes with her for vitamin shots. Reader panics in the doctors room, so doctor lefts so that Jensen will calm her down. He stays with her through full experience, then time gap and direct delivery room experience? Where reader curses Jensen but they have a son and everything's lovey again❤️

Warnings: Angst I guess? Stressed Reader, Reader in labor, shameless misuse of pregnancy and labor terms probably, even though I’ve had two kids I’m no doctor. lol. Language, fluff, I think that’s it. 

Word Count: 1867

Beta’d by @deanwanddamons! Thanks so much hun!! ❤️

A/N: I hope this is okay anon!! It’s a little different from the request, but that's the way I saw it in my head lol. Every pregnancy is different guys! This is a fictional one shot! Not everyone needs the things the reader had to have in this fic! Also it doesn't matter how the baby gets here! Moms are power, strong, and awesome beings who deserve to be treated like the Gods they are!! Feedback is gold guys! Let me know what you think! Hope you all enjoy this one!! Flashbacks are broken off in sections, and in italics!

Want more? Check out my masterlist!!

***MASTERLIST***

“Okay, calm down Y/n,” you say to yourself as you pace the floor of your bedroom, waiting on Jensen to get there so that you could go to the hospital. Your phone is held out in front of you, the contraction counting app on your phone informing you that your contractions had in the last hour gone from 7 to 10 minutes apart, to 3 to 4 minutes apart. 

You had already called your doctor, and they said it was a good idea for you to go ahead and leave for the hospital. The only problem was, Jensen wasn’t there yet, and you were starting to panic.

He was filming late tonight. Even though he said in the text message he’d just sent that he’d be there in 10 minutes, you could feel the worry grip you tight in your chest. 

10 minutes…

That’s at least two, maybe three more contractions on your own without him.

They were getting stronger in length and intensity, to the point where you had to breathe through them, and also had to stop your pacing. 

You could already feel the beginnings of the next contraction. The uncomfortable tightening in your stomach letting you know it was coming, increasing in discomfort as the contraction peaked.

You tried to remember the breathing exercises you had learned in the birthing classes, and you knew that the contractions were only going to get a lot stronger, that this was just the beginning. 

You wanted to try and have a completely natural, drug free delivery.

Well it seemed like a good idea at the time, but as the strongest contraction you have had so far peaked , you were starting to rethink the whole epidural thing. 

Picking up your phone as your contraction started to ease up, you pressed the pause button on your phone counter and hurriedly dialed Jensen’s number, needing to hear his voice more than anything else right now. Your anxiety gripped at you tighter and tighter with each passing second.

“Baby, I’m on my way, five more minutes and I’ll be there, just hang tight okay.” Jensen’s voice came through the speaker, calm and deep as always. The man had a resolve of fucking monk, and it got under your skin in ways you couldn’t even describe at the moment.

“That’s not fast enough Jensen! This baby is coming, and I’m here by myself, so fuck you, and don’t you tell me to fucking calm down!” you yell at him through the phone, hormones and adrenaline making you a little more snappy at him then you had ever been in your life.

“Babe, easy, don’t stress out the baby. I will be there in plenty of time. The bags are already packed, and waiting for us in the car, all we have to do is get in it and go. Everything is going to be just fine! Have I ever left you alone throughout this whole pregnancy? You're gonna be just fine sweetheart, I’m almost there.”

He was right, and you knew he was. You instantly felt bad for yelling at him. 

He’d been with you through everything. 

When the morning sickness didn’t let up in the 3rd month, but instead stretched on in the fourth month he was right there…

-------------------------

Closing the toilet seat you flushed away the evidence of your morning sickness, and leaned your head back against the cool, porcelain of the bathtub next to you, taking deep breaths through your nose, trying to stave off the next wave of nausea that was already pulling at your senses. 

“Easy sweetheart, deep breaths,” Jensen said, as he sat down on the tub, running his fingers through your hair, gathering it up and pulling it up into a ponytail for you, before placing a cool, damp rag on your face.

“They said the second trimester was supposed to be the good trimester Jay! All this morning sickness was supposed to be over by now!!”

You were not only sick, but frustrated . This pregnancy had been hard, and this was the sickest you had ever been in your life. In these moments, it was hard to keep sight of the goal, which was a healthy baby and just soldier through it. Especially when the sickness had lasted this long for you.

“Remember what the doctor said? All these pregnancy symptoms, the morning sickness, the headaches, the fatigue, it’s all a sign that the baby is healthy and growing. We got an appointment for tomorrow to check on everything.  Right now, let’s just get something in your stomach so it will settle. I’ll go grab some crackers. That seemed to help some yesterday.”

-------------------------------

Jensen stayed on the phone with you until he got there, and true to his word everything was packed and ready to go. 

He even had a towel on the seat waiting for you, just in case your water broke. You hadn’t even thought about that.

The ride to the hospital was quite uncomfortable, but it was nothing compared to the next 20 hours. 

When you got to the hospital, the contractions were 3 to 2 minutes apart, they decided to keep you, since you were four centimeters dilated, and you were 100 % effaced. 

From that point on, the contractions became almost intolerable, and just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore, they got even worse.

The only problem was you weren’t progressing. 

You were still at 4 centimeters. The baby was still very high in positioning, and it just wasn’t going anywhere. 

You had tried everything. Walking as much as you could, sitting on a birthing ball, peanuts pillows between your legs, everything. Nothing had helped!! 

Now the doctors were talking about things that just weren’t in your birth plan. Epidurals, possible c-sections… Things you just didn’t want to do. 

You were upset, you were exhausted, and you were angry, especially at Jensen.

“Baby girl, you’re so fucking amazing, and taking an epidoral will help not only you, but the baby rest as well. If your body can relax you can progress without the help of pitocin, and hopefully avoid a section.”

“Fuck you Jensen. You know this is not how I planned for this to go! How can you just suggest I just give up! You know how I feel about needles.”

There it was. The real reason you hated the idea of having the epidural. Your irrational fear of needles.

“Baby girl. Remember when you got really, really sick during this pregnancy? You had to go have those vitamin shots? They helped didn’t they? Baby, this will help to.Please, I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

Looking into his jade, slightly bloodshot eyes from exhaustion, you could see he was telling you the trust, that he was genuinely worried about you. He’d not slept any in over 48 hours, combined with work, and now this labor dragging on. Still, he never once complained.

Your mind drifted back to those vitamin shots he was talking about, and he was right, they did help.

------------------------------

“Mrs. Ackles, you're going to have to stay calm.  It’s not that bad of a shot, I promise you. You will barely even feel it.” 

The doctor was quickly losing his patience  with your hysterical state, and you could tell , but you people just don’t understand what it’s like to fear something so completely, that you can’t see past it the way you did about needles. Your anxiety didn’t help you either. 

“Let me talk to her.” Jensen said, coming over to your side, and wrapping his arms around as you buried your face into his shoulder, body still shaking with the fear that was gripping you.

You heard the door to the room close , and you felt Jensen’s lips brush the top of your forehead. His strong hands rubbing up and down your back in an attempt to sooth you.

“Baby girl, it’s gonna be okay. This will help you, and the baby. If you're not well, the baby isn’t well either. He depends on you to get his nutrients. You both need this. It’s one little pinch and that’s it. Then you will feel so much better.”

“I know Jay. I’m just terrified, and I can’t calm down.”

Jensen tightened his grip around you, one large hand coming down over your stomach. A comforting, grounding weight in the midst of all your anxiety induced confusion.

“I’ll be right here the whole time.” 

You heard the door open, and the doctor and nurse reentered the room.

“You just keep your face buried where it’s at, and it will be over before you know it. I’m not going to let anything hurt you, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“Okay.” you finally agreed to let them give you the vitamin shot. Burying your face closer into his shoulder, and breathing his scent in deeply. 

----------------------------

The vitamin shot did help, and it wasn’t even that bad. 

Your fears at the time were irrational, and you knew that was the case now.

It didn’t make you any less of a woman to have an epidural. It didn’t make you weak, or any less of a Mom, and you knew that. It was just your fear. 

But Jensen was here, and he would always be here. Even though you had been hard on him, he was right here, and you knew he’d protect you with everything in you.

“Okay, okay, let’s do the epidural.” you said, almost in defeat. Jensen’s lips came to meet yours in a quick peck. Relief evident on his face. 

“Okay baby girl. Let’s get you some relief.”

----------------------------------

The epidural wasn’t as near as bad as you thought, and it did allow not only your body to rest and progress, but also for Jensen, as well as you, to get about three hours of much needed sleep. 

You were even well enough rested to go through the whole process of birth a little clearer, and not in as much pain. The two of you bringing your little miracle man in the world together. 

Jensen never left your side throughout the whole delivery, and even now that he was here, sitting as close to you as possible with his arm thrown around your shoulders, holding the both of you as you nursed your new little miracle. 

“You did it sweetheart. He’s perfect.” Jensen said, placing a kiss to the top of your head, lingering there longer than needed.

“No Jay. We did it together, and I’m sorry I was such a bitch during the delivery,” you told him, resting your head against his shoulders. 

Jensen’s deep chuckle next to you made you smile a little, as he remembered some of the things labor made you say to him.

“If we ever have another one, I’m wearing a cup just to be on the safe side.” 

You had never felt so close to him in all of your life. This had brought you both into a deeper level of love and respect. One that you didn’t even know existed. 

No matter what you had to face raising this baby boy, you’d do it the way he came into this world. 

Together. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tag List: @screechingartisancashbailiff​ @thecreatiivecorner​  @aflamboyanceofgays @vicmc624​ @busy-bee-angel-misska​ @justanotherwinchester​ @deanwanddamons​​ @imabitch4jensen​​ @rvgrsbrns​​ @bi-danvers0​​ @onethirstyunicorn​​ @i-love-superhero​​ @akshi8278​ @alanegaming @magssteenkamp​ @lemondropirwin​ @squirrelnotsam​ @hobby27​ @spnbaby-67​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​ @defenderrosetyler​ 

[ladywinchester1967]

The Lady has a Baby

Hey guys!!

I know it’s been a super long time, but I thought it would be cool if I told you guys my labor and delivery story and do an update on how our little man is doing.

TW: Below the cut contains somewhat graphic descriptions of labor and delivery of a baby. If that bothers you, PLEASE skip this blog entry.

Well, at 40 weeks, I was DONE being pregnant. I’d been done for a month it felt like!

That’s my belly at 40 weeks exactly!

So we waited baby out until Saturday 2/6, and under the advice of my midwife, I showed up at the hospital and complained that I hadn’t felt the baby move in a while. (Totally false, but no one else needed to know that)

Once we got checked in and into a room, they decided to kick start my labor by giving me this medicine on what (seriously) looked like a shoelace with snot on it. It’s placed near the cervix and makes it dilate, because when I went in and they checked me, I was 1 1/2 cm dilated.

So after a few hours of this, the medicine is somewhat doing its job and the decided to put a balloon inside me to force my cervix to dilate. I’m REASONABLY sure I had my epidural at that point because the PAIN!!! Good GOD the pain!!! Nothing in this life prepared me for labor pain, in spite of all the warnings I received before hand....nothing I’ve ever been through was as bad as labor pains!

Meanwhile, I’m trying to get some sleep and the fetal heart monitor keeps beeping, because it couldn’t sense baby’s heart beat. Nothing was wrong, the little booger just kept moving away from it, so the nurse was CONSTANTLY in the room, adjusting the monitor and drowning my belly in ultrasound goo. Made for a restful night’s sleep....NOT! 😜

So, the day goes on and I’m slowly making progress. The nurse and my midwife had my legs up on a peanut ball, which is exactly what it sounds like, a ball shaped like a peanut between my legs which would also help my cervix dilate.

At around 2:00 on 2/7, the nurse and my midwife were checking me and their eyes were glued to baby’s heart monitor. I really didn’t know what was going on, but the next thing I knew, 6 people flooded into our room. They were shouting different things at each other (that I really didn’t understand) and then they slapped the oxygen mask on me and told me to take slow, deep breaths.

M’Lord was sitting about at shoulder level and he asked if I was okay. I shook my head no. Things calmed down for about 4 seconds when I heard, loud and clear, “we’re operating NOW.” There was no time to ask questions or for anyone to explain to me what was going on. It seemed like within a minute, the bed was laid back and I was being rushed to the operating room, leaving M’Lord in the dust.

Once I was taken to the operating room and the partition between me and my belly was up, a nurse came and asked me “are you okay?” I was shaking and crying in fear and looking around for my husband.

“Where’s my husband?” I asked her. I NEEDED my person in that moment!

“They’re getting him ready to come in here,” she told me “the baby’s heart rate dropped and they were able to bring it back up. They THINK it’s going to drop again and we don’t want that to happen, so we’re going to go ahead and get the baby out.”

All I could do was nod; I really didn’t have a choice but I was also worried about my baby. A million thoughts ran through my head while they kicked up my epidural and got me ready for surgery. I learned later that M’Lord was busy getting into his surgery wear and texting our family and friends letting them know what was going on and that he’d update as soon as he could. Once he arrived into the operating room, he assured me that everything would be okay and wiped my tears away.

A period of time passed (I’m not really sure how long) the doctors pushed on my stomach and said “okay, lots of pressure!” and that’s exactly what I felt! A few seconds later, I heard my baby cry and never felt so relieved in all my life! My husband was taking pictures rapid fire and then we heard the doctors and nurses say “congratulations, it’s a healthy BOY!”

My husband and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. “Okay, haha, very funny!” we both said.

The doctors and nurses asked “Did you guys know what you were having?”

I said “Yes, we’re having a GIRL!”

One of the doctors said “This is a boy, Dad, come look!”

My husband looked over the partition again and sat back down, his face was WHITE.

“Yep, that’s a boy!” He exclaimed.

The shock didn’t wear off for a week.

M’Lord had a choice, go with the baby or stay with me. “Go with him.” I told him and he stayed with our son while the doctors and nurses sewed me back up. The doctors and nurses were talking while they worked and someone eventually asked “where’s Dad?”

Someone responded with “anxiously waiting for her.”

M’Lord told me later that was the longest 30 minutes of his life.

They took me into recovery and I finally got to hold my newborn son!

It was extremely important to me for us to do skin to skin contact and since I was shaking, they let me lay back and placed him on my chest so we could snuggle.

How I felt in that moment was indescribable. I felt everything from shock, wonder, and happiness to “oh my god, this is a BOY”. M’Lord spent some time with us and then left the recovery room to go let everyone know that baby and I were okay....and also that it’s a boy.

Not ONE SINGLE PERSON believed him. They ALL thought he was kidding and insisted on speaking to me. He explained there was no service in the recovery room (true) and I was in no shape to hold a phone. My Dad threatened to come through the phone and punch him if he was kidding....but he wasn’t!

While we were thrown for a loop by the gender, we weren’t at a loss for a name. We had a boy name and a girl name picked out before we went to our gender reveal sonogram, so we both said “I guess this is Damian!”

Damian comes from Batman; he is Bruce Wayne’s son with Talia al Ghul. Alexander is from Alexander Skarsgard (because of course).

The day after my delivery, my midwife and I got to talk about the delivery. The reason his blood pressure dropped so suddenly was because his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and arm. Babies don’t tolerate that very well; so in order to protect him from getting hurt, they went ahead and did the emergency c-section.

We stayed in the hospital for a total of 4 days to keep an eye on me and Little Man.

This was after 4 days of no sleep for me and M’Lord and we were beyond happy to go home!

It’s been 2 weeks now and while we’re still figuring some things out; we are completely in love with our Little Man!!

My sister was here for his first (official) week home (my husband’s week was spent in the hospital with me) and she helped me put some weight on this little boy AND get him on a schedule, which has made a HUGE difference in all of us getting some sleep.

My mother-in-law is here this week to help me out, my mom will be here the following week and then my MIL is coming back. It takes a village to raise kids and I couldn’t be more greatful for the help we’ve been getting.

So guys, that’s it!!! That’s my labor and delivery story! I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I’m planning on telling a story from one night in the hospital called “The Night from Hell” if you guys are interested.

As always, hope everyone is doing well and I’ll catch you guys for the next update!! Thank you once again for all the love and sweet messages, it means SO MUCH to me and M’Lord! 💖

[dungeonsndiapers]

Jefferson’s Birth Story

I arrived at the hospital at 8am on 11/11/19 ready to be induced. I was 1cm dilated at 39 weeks exactly. I opted to do the misoprostol vaginally since I had been battle the stomach flu the week prior and my stomach was still feeling uneasy. The plan was to get my cervix to 3cm and then start pitocin. I started the misoprostol around 10am and settled in for the long process. I walked the halls, bounced on a ball, slept a little, and watched the Seahawks barely beat the 49ers in overtime all while not really feeling much contraction wise even though they were registering on the monitors. Around midnight and 4 doses of misoprostol in, the nurse checked my cervix and I was up to 3cm. They started the pitocin and we all tried to get some sleep. Here and there I felt some pressure but nothing really consistent. By 7am I hadn’t progressed any more and the doctor offered to break my water. The next doctor was coming on shift an hour later and I knew that she was the head of the OB department and wanted to get her opinion and reassurance. I was worried that breaking my water would result in me having limited time before being forced to have c section. I told Dr. Welch that after the experience of our son Liam’s birth and I was having nightmares of a dead silent delivery room and I was really worried that if I had a c section that I wouldn’t be alert enough for the first moments of his life, and I really needed that. She said that with how my body had already progressed coupled with the fact that I’ve had a vaginal delivery the chances of a c section were really low. And that breaking my water would just help my body have stronger contractions. It also would enable them to do internal monitoring on Jefferson, which would mean I would be able to move around more if needed. So we decided to go for it. At 9am I was at 4cm and my water was broken. They placed the monitors on Jefferson and I was told to let them know if I wanted an epidural. Almost instantly I started feeling pain from the contractions, all of them low. It took less than 15 minutes before I caved and had Bill call the nurse and tell them I wanted an epidural. Around 9:45am the anesthesiologist came in and I was slightly concerned because she seemed rushed and possibly flustered. Not really the person you want shoving a needle into your back. She had me sit up and lean over a table, Bill stood in front of me. The entire process seemed like a cluster fuck. I was having really intense contractions, but wasn’t allowed to move. The anesthesiologist kept getting pages that were emergencies and had to stop multiple times to reply. She missed the first time and had to do it again. I started silently crying as my arms were shaking uncontrollably, to the point Bill had to hold them still. Eventually everything was in place and I was settling back into bed, only to find out that they internal monitors came out. For some reason, this happened 2 more times before I delivered. Meaning I had to have the doctor come in and place the monitors 3 times. Still no clue why this happened.

The epidural slowly made its way through my lower body and it was glorious. Better than with Kennedy pregnancy because I was able to lay in whatever position was comfortable rather than what the baby monitors allowed. I laid on my side with a peanut ball between my legs for a majority of the time. At one point Jefferson was reacting negatively to the pitocin and we had to stop it. The nurse helped me onto my hands and knees (quite a feat while I had an epidural) and that helped him adjust to a better position and we started it back up. Around 1:30pm I was feeling a lot of pressure so the nurse checked me and I was fully dilated. The nurse set the room up and did some practice pushes while we waited for the doctor. I did two practices pushed and was instructed to stop. The doctor came in and we were ready to go. At 2:28pm with 3 pushes Jefferson Grey was born and immediately placed on my chest weighing 7lbs 1oz and 19.25 inches long. All three of us cried for a few minutes but Jefferson was easily soothed by skin to skin contact and having his forehead rubbed. Bill cut the cord and I was able to nurse right away. We got an hour of bonding time before they took him to get his vitals. After that we were moved to our room. We were discharged and home prior to 24 hours after he was born. Literally no complications or health problems, he’s a perfect little baby.

His birth is by far the best experience we’ve had with all of our children. The staff was supportive, the labor was easy, and the epidural worked great. I was up and walking around less than 2 hours post delivery and maybe needed ibuprofen twice during my recovery. I got to hold him immediately, goop and all. He was so quick to settle on my chest we didn’t even get video of his first cries. The worst part about the recovery afterward was Bill being forced to return to work so soon afterwards.

[lia-jones]

Growing Stronger - Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Life-Changing Word

He loved how her hair smelled. It was a scent he couldn’t really figure out; it didn’t smell like anything in particular, yet it was fantastic. It reminded him of lazy afternoons by the lake, and vigorous nights of lovemaking, and peanut butter cookies. It was sweet and floral, with a fruity freshness to it. It was his favorite scent in the whole world.

He watched her sleep, his nose close to her curls, admiring her pink and slightly parted lips, her soft breaths a melody in his ear. She was his, and soon, the whole world would recognize it officially. The thought made his heart swell with pride, gratitude, and love, and he felt like holding her tight and kissing those cupid lips, and burying his face in the nape of her neck.

But she was sleeping peacefully, and he would let her. Time to take a shower and make some breakfast.

Eggs, sugar, milk, softened butter, vanilla. Flour and baking soda. Victor beat the egg whites to soft peaks, mixed the liquids and added the solids. He stirred the egg whites into the batter slowly, softly, a labor of love for the one he loved. He remembered how soft and warm her skin felt in bed, and basked in the knowledge that he would feel that every morning, for the rest of his life. She gave him so much happiness that flipping pancakes was the bare minimum he could do to make her morning brighter. But he also knew that she drew great pleasure from these very simple things. Andrea was all about the small gestures, the planted kisses here and there, the sweet I love you s without much thought or reason.

Andrea entered the kitchen freshly showered, her still damp hair in an intricate bun, wearing a woolen dress and leggings with knee-high boots, going to Victor for her morning hug. Snaking his arm around her, he pecked her on the lips, the silent greeting they had come to share every morning. She sat at the table and Victor silently plated the pancakes, filling both their mugs with freshly brewed coffee. He knew she was still too sleepy to chat, so he simply took in the warmth of her presence in silence.

“Hmmm.” She moaned with the first bite of pancakes, sipping on her coffee while she checked for any new emails on her phone.

He watched her as she ate quietly, her mind still a bit foggy with sleep, like she was a beautiful painting of days to come. Suddenly, he had an idea and reached for his phone. He had an announcement to make.

“Elise knew.” She smiled at Victor, completely awake and ready to engage in conversation. “She helped you prepare all of it. She knew I wasn’t meeting the Norwegian guy.”

“She was great. She even went to work early so the delivery man could get all the flowers in your office in time.” Victor confirmed.

“God, you are like the mob, making connections everywhere.” Her laughter echoed in the kitchen. “You’re the Godfather.” She teased.

“Either I’m the Godfather or I’m Batman.” Victor concealed a smile while sipping his coffee. “Can’t be both.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know. How do you look wearing a fedora?” She playfully narrowed her beautiful brown eyes at him.

“If you must know, very exquisite.” He smiled slyly.

“Ok, so all you have to say now is that you have an offer I can’t refuse.” She teased.

“Don’t even think about it.” He feigned annoyance, although he was too happy to hide the smile. “I refuse to participate in your shenanigans again.”

Before Andrea could retort, her phone rang.

“It’s Diane. What does she want at this time of the morning?” She frowned at the phone, picking up.

The shriek that could be heard from the other side of the line was so high-pitched and loud that Andrea had to hastily pull the phone away from her ear, having Victor fear for her poor eardrums.

“Ok, you need to stop doing that!” She scolded Diane. “What’s wrong with you?” Victor could hear Diane’s excited tone. “How did you know?” Andrea frowned again. “Oh he did, did he?” She smiled widely, turning to Victor, who pretended to be busy with his phone, oblivious to their conversation. “Thank you, Di.” She paused. “Yes, you were right.” Andrea playfully rolled her eyes. “I need to go now, are we still having lunch tomorrow? Ok, talk to you then.”

Victor focused on his breakfast, not caring to hide the smug grin on his face.

“You posted our engagement on Moments.” Andrea smiled widely. “Let me see… Here. It was you.” She showed her her phone.

“I thought it would be a good way to share the good news.” Victor started collecting the breakfast dishes to load the dishwasher. “How’s your evening today?”

“Uneventful.” Andrea finished her coffee, handing Victor the mug. “Why?”

“We’ve been invited to this benefit soccer game. I wasn’t sure I would be here when I received the invitation, but since I’m here…would you like to go?”

“Sure, should be fun.” Andrea answered while taking her purse. “I need to go now. See you later, handsome.”

“Be home at six.” Victor pecked her on the lips. “Have a good day.”

While being driven to LFG, Victor grabbed his phone to see the reactions to his announcement. He laughed at some of the reactions.

Victor Lee posted: It’s remarkable how a simple yes can be so meaningful and change the course of a lifetime.

Joshua Jones commented: Nice! Welcome to the family, man!

Henry Goldman commented: Congratulations, Sir!

Diane Goldman commented: About time! :P

MC Bai commented: Yes, the world needs more positivity! I need to say yes more often too, I’m so negative.

Victor couldn’t help the chuckle as he walked into LFG. That Mia was an oblivious idiot. He made the mental note of replying to the comments later, saving a mockery for her.

Victor would never notice the day go by, if not for the meals and breaks Goldman reminded him to make. He had started funding a new company in Switzerland, and the different laws between both countries were making him extremely busy, the legal department calling him incessantly to confirm terms. He was relieved when Goldman announced it was 5:45 pm, time to go home and get ready to attend the game.

“Best benefit gala ever!” Andrea was pleased, looking through the hangers in their walk-in closet. “I’m so sick of having to dress up every time you have an event. Ooo, do you think I can wear these jeans?” She showed him a pair of dark blue jeans.

“Can’t see why not.” Victor offered as he put on his shoes.

“Ok, so these, and a black turtleneck sweater, because it’s going to be cold, my boots and a leather jacket.” Andrea thought out loud. “You’re not going to wear a suit, are you?”

“Does this look like a suit?” Victor asked, showing her his black pants and a dark red sweater.

“Are you wearing a suit jacket with that?” She knowingly raised a brow at him.

“Shut up.” Victor retorted, making Andrea laugh. “Are you ready? Can we go now?” He whined, feigning impatience.

“I’m starting to think suits are your casual clothes. Hard to upgrade that for the wedding.” She teased.

“Ye of little faith.” He smiled. “Don’t think I have shown you all my cards.”

The stadium was almost full when they arrived, and Victor led Andrea to their private cabin. Andrea didn’t seem happy with the idea.

“Can we sit with the other people? It’s so much fun in the bleachers.” She pleaded. “It’s a way better experience, I promise!”

“We’ll be more comfortable in the cabin. It’s windy today, you’re going to be sick.” Victor had no intention of sitting with strangers. But Andrea wouldn’t have it.

“What, you don’t want to sit with the commoners?” Andrea teased and Victor glared at her. “Besides, when have I ever been sick since we met? I’m not that fragile!” She took his hand and led him downstairs. “It’ll be fun, I promise!”

They were able to find a spot that was pretty much empty, and Victor acknowledged sitting on the bleachers was not that bad, provided there were only a few people around. He took the pamphlet he was given at the entrance, and started reading the names of the famous football players that would be playing that night.

“Do you recognize this one?” Victor pointed at Cristiano Ronaldo’s name.

“He’s going to play?!?” Andrea gasped. “Oh my God, I need to take a picture of that pamphlet and send it to Josh. He will be so jealous!”

“You can do better than that.” Victor smiled mischievously. “He will be at the dinner after the game, Chances are he will be sitting at our table. I’ve attended a few events with him before.”

“You know him?” Andrea looked at him with wide eyes, making him chuckle. “My boyfriend knows Cristiano Ronaldo and I’m hearing of it just now?!?”

“I don’t know him, we’ve sat at the same table a few times and engaged in idle conversation, that’s all.” Victor tucked one of her curls behind her ear. “And I’m not your boyfriend anymore, I’m your fiancé, soon to be husband.”

“I didn’t forget.” Andrea smiled. “How could I possibly? This thing blinds me every time it catches the light.” She raised her hand, showing him the ring.

“Mhm.” Victor hummed in approval. “Let’s see who else we have here...Kylian Mbappe, Neymar… Messi is also playing.”

Suddenly Andrea jumped on her seat.

“Look, we are on the kiss cam!” She quickly pecked him on the cheek, surprising Victor with the unexpected move. The crowd booed, unhappy with just a kiss on the cheek.

And that, Victor could not have. He would not allow himself to look so cold in the eyes of the public, having Andrea merely peck him on the cheek, as if she was begging for attention. He would show the world how much she loved her, how much she meant to him. Throwing caution to the wind, he held her and gave her a passionate and proper kiss, making her immediately melt in his arms. The crowd applauded, and although he usually didn’t care much for public approval, he felt good about himself. Proud even.

“Victor…” The flustered look on her face only inflated his ego more, he had done his job right.

The game proved to be a rather amusing experience, as Victor could have sworn he had never seen Andrea so excited before. The way she vibrated with each pass of the ball, screaming with every goal just made him chuckle in his seat. And apparently her energy was contagious, as he found himself increasingly more engaged with the game as well, excitedly jumping from the bleachers like she did, his voice shouting in unison with her. Andrea was absolutely right. The game was more captivating when watched from the bleachers. It proved to be an impressive adrenaline rush.

Although having an informal note, the party was still exquisitely prepared. It did not have the refinement of a gala, but the decorations were sober and fitting, giving a sophisticated look to a not so elegant event.

As they entered the decorated ballroom, they heard a familiar voice coming in their direction.

“Victor! And Andrea! So nice to see you both!”

Andrea tensed slightly as she saw the voice’s owner approaching with her husband.

“Hello, Mia. “ Victor greeted. “And Gavin.”

“Good evening.” Gavin answered somewhat dryly, with his hands in his pockets.

“Gavin, this is Andrea, Victor’s girlfriend-” Mia started introducing.

“Fiancée.” Victor interrupted. “Andrea, this is Gavin, Mia’s husband.”

“Pleased to meet you!” Andrea extended her hand, and Gavin shook it.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Although she had never really verbalized it, Victor could clearly see Andrea did not enjoy Mia’s presence. And judging by the few times he had met Gavin, Victor could guess that the other man didn’t like him much either. Fortunately, Miss Bates came to their rescue.

“Victor, you came! And you brought Andrea!” She greeted them, completely ignoring Gavin and Mia with all the excitement.

“Miss Bates!” Andrea hugged her happily. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“This is an event that can’t be missed, everybody who is somebody is-- Andrea! What is that on your hand?!”

“My engagement ring.” Andrea beamed at Miss Bates.

Miss Bates almost shrieked with enthusiasm.

“You and I.” She took Andrea by the arm. “We need to talk, no men allowed. We need to discuss the matter of the wedding dress.” Miss Bates started walking away with Andrea, as she looked back and mouthed an apology. Victor chuckled, nodding in approval. He would rescue her later.

As he looked forward, he noticed Mia and Gavin were still there, Gavin looking at him like he was the spawn of Satan. Victor cleared his throat.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to greet some associates.” His hand went to his chest to straighten his tie, except… he wasn’t wearing one. “Enjoy your evening.”

Victor walked up to some of his business partners, who were engaged in a stimulating exchange.

“Victor! How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while! How’s the financial market treating you?” One of them shook his hand.

“Adequately.” Victor greeted the others with a handshake as well.

“You look different.” One of them said. “New haircut?”

“No.” Victor frowned. “Nothing changed.”

“You look good though.” Another chimed in. “You’ve been hitting the gym?”

Victor was utterly confused. What was happening?

“I haven’t had the time, yet.” Victor tried to think of a new topic to divert attention from him.

“Victor definitely looks different. Almost like he is… taller?” Another chimed in. Victor had to make an immense effort not to roll his eyes at him. This conversation was starting to become ridiculous.

“Excuse me. There’s someone I must talk to. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.” He excused himself hurriedly.

Victor frowned as he walked away. That was an odd conversation, to say the least. He was absolutely sure that he hadn’t changed anything about his appearance lately. What could possibly have changed that was so noticeable to others but not to him? Victor brushed the thought aside, closing the subject with the usual and often correct assumption: people are idiots.

He found Mia again, this time alone, leaning against a column, pouting.

“Lose the frown. It doesn’t become you.” He poked her forehead playfully. “Where’s your husband?”

“He’s getting us drinks.” Mia’s frown deepened. “Did you notice Miss Bates didn’t even talk to me?”

“Quit being an idiot. She didn’t even see you.” Victor replied. “She was too excited with the engagement. I’m sure she will be happy if you go talk to her.”

“That’s right, you’re engaged! So that’s what your post on Moments was all about.” Her expression changed to one of excitement.

“Did you think I had suddenly converted to that New Age nonsense?” Victor glared at her. “You really are dense.”

“Well, how should I know? “ Mia defended herself. “Besides, maybe it would be good for you to be more positive. You’re always so snarky.”

“I am extremely positive.”  Victor stifled a laugh. “I am positive that you are an idiot.”

Mia pouted again, but said nothing. Victor’s mind wandered to the weird conversation that happened a few minutes ago.

“If I ask you something, will you promise not to make a big fuss over it?”

“Of course.” Mia nodded. “What do you want to ask me?”

“It has come to my attention that people think I have changed something about my appearance. Do you think I look different?”

Mia eyed him carefully.

“You know, now that you mention it… Yes, I do.”

Victor glared at her.

“Care to elaborate?”

“You look… happy. Especially when you are with Andrea. Your face softens, your eyes sparkle, you smile immediately. Yes, I think that’s the major difference. You smile a lot more now. You don’t look as standoffish. You look happy and… serene.”

Victor took some time to ponder on her words. Maybe she was right. This was the best he felt in decades.

“Hm. I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Victor joked again.

Victor did feel happy. And it wasn’t mere contentment, or infatuation, or the excitement of a new romance. Victor was so exhilarated that he wanted nothing more than to shout out to the world how lucky he was, and show how good it was to have Andrea in his life. He was so proud of her, as she was so strong, had endured so much pain, had so much taken away from her, and yet she didn’t have a cynical bone in her body, always so loving, so honest, so ethical.

Like a moth to a flame, his eyes were magically drawn to her. She was somewhat hidden in the crowd, busy talking to a few businessmen. Of course, now that she was working with so many companies for her study, she was bound to become more popular in the business world.

Victor admired his loved one like a fine piece of art, basking in her honest smile, in her enthusiastic expression, the bounce of her golden curls as she spoke. He noticed how everyone’s eyes were also set on her, drinking in her knowledge, appreciating her insights. Victor’s heart filled with immeasurable pride. She was truly precious, one of a kind.  

All of his fortune, all he had attained, was nothing compared to the feeling of having her in his arms. He would give it all up in a heartbeat if that meant he could have her in his life forever. Andrea was all that mattered, all he lived for, all he cared about. The one and true love of his life.

At that moment, Victor made a vow. He would do right by her. He would honor her and what she meant to him by giving her a wedding she wouldn’t forget, creating a magical day for her. Andrea would have no doubt of how much she meant to him. Their wedding would be more than just a public acknowledgement of their love. It would be the crowning of his Queen.

[marvel--for--life]

Starker + Pregnancy

~ Peter has always been in love with babies. He always stops to wave at them in the grocery store. Sometimes, he even will stop in the middle of walking down the crowded streets of downtown or in a park, just to stop and coo at an adorable baby.

~ All babies are cute. There are absolutely no exceptions.

~ Truthfully, Peter never thought he’d have a baby as much as he liked them. He was always afraid he wouldn’t be a good mother.

~ The day he finds out he’s pregnant, he cries for at least two hours straight. He honestly doesn’t know if it’s stressed induced or pure happiness, but afterward, he sits on the kitchen floor and eats a pint of Ben & Jerry’s (one of those ones with the core of caramel because he just can’t resist).

~ Telling Tony is the scariest thing he’s ever done. Even climbing up the Washington Memorial and flipping over a moving helicopter blade couldn’t even remotely compare to how terrifying it had been to tell his partner.

~ Tony insists on Peter moving in with him because, while he loves May, he instantly becomes twice as protective of Peter and his unborn child because while Tony may not have ever said it out loud... he has always wanted a family.

~ Pregnancy isn’t nice to Peter. He’s hormonal anyways being a teenager still, but pregnancy adds a whole new level of hormonal hell he never thought about before.

~ He suffers all-day sickness. Peanut butter is a no-go when it used to basically be his major source of cheap and easy protein, but now the sight of a peanut butter anything is enough to send him running for the nearest trashcan. Olives, however, are now a go-to snack, so Tony makes sure to keep several jars and cans well within the boy’s reach.

~ When Peter starts to show, he breaks down. Taking one look at himself in the mirror and seeing that all his muscles are gone and have been replaced with fat, he begins to ball his eyes out. Tony comes in to see his partner curled up in the bathtub sobbing hysterically, and when he finally gets Peter to open up and talk to him, the teenager tells him how ugly he looks now that he’s getting fat. Tony quickly assures him that he is anything but.

~ Tony hates it when Peter puts himself down because yes, the boy is getting quite big and round, and he can’t fit into any clothes besides Tony’s old tee-shirts and loose sweatpants, but Peter is glowing. He’s the most beautiful thing Tony has ever seen (he always has been, but pregnancy really does bring out all of the beauty Peter has and adds to it), and he hates to see his little angel crying about how his body is changing. Tony always knows how to help change Peter’s mind though. He’s gotten really good at showing Peter exactly what he thinks of the lovely stretch marks that have spread across his stomach. He kisses every single one of them, nuzzling into the soft baby fat that clings to Peter’s hips as he takes him apart with his fingers until the boy is sobbing and begging for him.

~ On bad days though, when the baby won’t stop kicking and all the aches and pains can’t be relieved, Tony will take the day off and curl up with his partner in bed. He’ll massage at his tired and aching muscles. He’ll whisper to their unborn child, asking the little one to settle down and “be good for Mommy. He’s tired, little one, so why don’t we all take a nap?”

~ Peter always giggles like mad when Tony talks to their baby in Italian or any of the other languages he’s picked up over the years.

~ Their baby is happiest when Tony is singing, pressing tiny feet or hands against Peter’s belly to try and get close to their singing father. Tony will never deny giving the little reacher a kiss.

~When Tony is gone for more than twelve hours, their little bundle of joy will not stop kicking Peter and whacking him in the ribs until Peter sobs into the phone and begs his older partner to return home.

~ Right before his seventh-month ultrasound, Peter’s spidey-senses kick in and leave him more anxious than he’s ever been his entire pregnancy. When he confides in Tony his fear, Tony promises him that they’re in this together and no matter what happens, they’ll work with it. Peter’s anxiety turns out to be shocking but wonderful news: he’s having twins.

~ When they find out there’s two (apparently one of them was smaller and often times hid behind the other to avoid being seen in the other ultrasounds), the nursery goes under a dramatic change. There quickly becomes two of everything, and now it makes sense to Tony why Peter’s been eating enough for four instead of two.

~ They choose to be surprised by the babies’ gender, but Bucky convinces Peter to have a gender-reveal party. Natasha and Bucky plan everything and are in charge of the reveal, so when Peter and Tony open the card filled with blue glitter, the screams of joy are real. When the second card is opened to reveal even more blue glitter, no one says anything about the tears staining both soon-to-be-parents’ cheeks.

~ On a really cold and snowy day in the middle of January, Peter is rushed to the Avengers hospital bay while Tony is busy with a mission. He cries and screams for someone to call Tony because he’s scared. Tony barely makes it in time, but he shows up in the operating room still in his Iron Man suit of armor and immediately takes Peter’s shaking hand in his. The entire delivery goes extremely smoothly because Dr. Cho had been specifically handpicked by Tony years ago since she is the best and “only one qualified to be taking care of the Avengers”. At the end of the day, Peter is curled up in a bed resting with his two little bundles of joy: Anthony Richard Stark and Benjamin Howard Stark. (Tony does not cry over the fact that Peter insists that the firstborn be named Anthony; there was merely something in his eye from the mission.)

~ Tony doesn’t sleep the first night after the twins are born. He stays awake, watching over the love of his life wrapped around his brand new little loves all of them sleeping peacefully in his arms.

~ When the twins first meet the rest of the Avengers, it’s a bit of a mess. There is so much noise and so much going on since everyone wants a good look at the tiny little boys, but eventually, everyone gets a chance to hold them. There are a lot of pictures taken, but the favorite for everyone is the one of Fury holding a tiny blue bundle against his chest with a hint of a smile on his stoic face.

~ The twins are spoiled. Everyone spoils the two little boys, who are the apple of the Avengers’ eyes, but their Uncle Bucky and Uncle Steve are definitely the twins’ favorites.

~ After the twins’ second Christmas, Peter gets the news: he’s pregnant again.

~ The second pregnancy goes better than the first, but it’s still a surprise when they find out (a lot sooner than with the boys) that he’s having multiples again. Bruce thinks it has something to do with Peter’s spider bite, but Tony doesn’t really care. He’s always wanted a big family.

~ And so, instead of starting up a new batch of online college courses, Peter is holed up in the operating room again at the beginning of September, delivering their new little bundles of joy.

~ Maria, Mary, and May are very different than their older brothers. They tend to fuss a bit more, and they certainly favor Peter over Tony (but honestly, the twins do nothing but hang off of everything Tony says/does, so Peter thinks it’s only fair).

~ May Virginia Stark is the smallest of the girls, and she’s the only fraternal one of the three.

~ Maria Josephine and Mary Elizabeth along with May are all princesses in the eyes of their parents and therefore get treated as such.

~ It’s not until the girls are five and the boys are seven that the baby fever bites Peter hard again. Tony is more than happy to oblige.

~ Their last child is born in April on a very rainy morning. It’s also surprisingly the most difficult of Peter’s labors, but it’s also the most rewarding. Little James Harold Stark is finally a part of their giant family.

~ As the kids grow older and grow up with the other Avengers’ children, Peter and Tony watch over them fondly from their spot curled up together on the couch. They can’t help but think of how lucky they really are.

~ The stretch marks and c-section scars have never gone away even as the years pass, but Peter has given up on seeing them as ugly. Tony continues to trace them fondly and kiss over them every time they make love, and he refuses to allow Peter to see them as anything except fond reminders of their family.

[pastelninjaimagines]

Hi! Could you write headcannons about sasuke and his s/o having twins? And what he was like when she was pregnant? Thank you💕

Sasuke having twins headcanons + how he was during his s/o’s pregnancy

During the Pregnancy

Sasuke just kind of lets you do your own thing tbh. He doesn’t put limits on you just because you’re pregnant and the outside world is kinda dangerous. He trusts that you can handle yourself and know your own limits. He is a bit more protective of you, but he’s in no way overbearing. 

He’s also not the most interested in the baby preparation. Like he’ll help you put the crib together and decorate the nursery, but don’t ask him to go shopping, ok he doesn’t wanna hear it. You’d have to beg him for Sasuke to come baby shopping with you and even if you convince him, he’ll go begrudgingly. 

Sasuke’s also not the type to run for every little craving you have either. He’ll look at you like wtf, you think I’m going to the store to buy you peanut butter and bacon at 11 at night? Don’t hold your breath. It’s not that he doesn’t care, he just thinks it’s pointless. Expect heavy eye rolling. 

While he doesn’t have like a step by step schedule for when you go into delivery, he does have a game plan to get you to the hospital if you go into labor unexpectedly. The last thing that will happen is Sasuke being unprepared, so you’re in good hands. He’s also extremely calm when you go into labor, like the entire time. It really helps you out because he helps you calm down quite a bit when the pain starts, holding your hand, doing whatever you need. He’s there for you. 

Afterwards

Honestly, he’d be internally crying. He was expecting one child. One. Now he’s got responsibility for two. Even though he’s overjoyed, he’s like oh fuck deep down. He’ll just be panicking until both of his children are in his arms and he looks down at them and then he’s like wow, they’re both mine. And a feeling a serenity comes over him and he’s like yes, we can do this. He sees you looking at him with that little smile of yours as he holds your twins and he just feels so happy, like nothing he’s ever experienced and it hits him that you’re officially parents and he is looking forward to the future. 

Probably gets them mixed up like all the time. You better make sure that the twins have very different outfits because Sasuke will legit mix them up no matter what until they’re toddlers. He just thinks all squishy little babies look exactly the same, including his twins. 

Ok, but he gets super attached very, very quickly. He’s always with his kids (yes fuck canon here) He loves having one on each knee, reading to them or playing with them. It’s legit the cutest thing every. And when Sasuke just falls asleep with the twins snuggled up to him, it can’t get cuter. 

He’s a little bit hopeless when it comes to actually taking care of the babies though. Like changing a diaper, him? You have to show him how like 12 times, not because he’s too lazy to learn, but because he’s just difficult af and doesn’t actually want to learn. Also baby food is beyond him. Sasuke’s like, why can’t I just feed them carrots. And you’re like, because they don’t have teeth yet! Omg and when they start crying, and at the same time, forget it, he’s sending you to deal with calming them down. It’s again, not that he’s exactly lazy, but in this case specifically he doesn’t think he’s gentle enough to handle two crying babies. 

He gets better with them as they grow older. His favorite thing is teaching them to walk when they’re toddlers. Like he gets so overwhelmingly proud at their first steps. 

Also once they’re old enough, you bet he’ll be excited to teach them ninjutsu. He’ll be so excited to see what their individual strengths are. And you bet that he’ll be more hands on with their training than his father had been with him. He’ll still leave them to figure things out for themselves, but when they both master the fire ball jutsu, he won’t hold back that he’s proud of them, and even while they’re both learning it, he’ll encourage them. When one twin masters it before the other, he’ll obviously praise the faster of the twins, but he’ll doubly encourage the remaining twin to not give up, and he might give them an additional pointer or two. He’s just so proud of them and can’t wait for their bright futures. 

[champagnetoasts]

Marlowe’s birth story

Her sister arrived 12 days early. Labor was a short 8 hours. An epidural happened only after realizing I was 9cm dilated and baby girl was positioned sideways. Palmer was born in March 2015 -- almost 2 weeks early and at 8 lbs, 1 oz. 

As Marlowe’s due date approached in spring of 2018, I prepped almost everything in March with the asterisk of **I might not actually be there**. Work events, Palmer’s 3rd birthday party... Everyone told me that each baby writes her/his own story and I was fully prepared to go until April 2nd (her due date) and after if that’s what this baby decided to do. However, I felt hugely unprepared with Palmer’s early arrival and I didn’t want to end up in that same boat -- with a full plate at work and a toddler at home. I did have a “special” picked for M’s birth; a midwife that I picked to be by my side as my daughter was born. I picked someone that was tough, no nonsense, and that I knew would be brutally honest with me (and not sugarcoat things during my labor). I was so excited to have her as part of my birth team. 

I started having intermittent contractions on Sunday, March 25th. They weren’t at all regular and one of my midwifes, and dear friend Beth, said to drink plenty of water and try to relax as much as I could. They continued to progress until I finally called my mom on Monday (the 26th) saying-- THIS COULD BE IT! She came up to be on hand to help with Palmer and support us only to have the damn things pitter out over the next 24 hours. False alarm indeed. Mom headed home. The next day (the 27th) at my appointment, my midwife discovered that Marlowe was OP (occupant posterior) or sunny side up and that the contractions were likely baby + my body trying to get her flipped into optimal positioning for delivery. She said to lay off the high heeled shoes and take it easy. We determined that my last day at the office would be that Thursday (March 29th) after an Easter Egg hunt. Wednesday afternoon I treated myself to an intense pedicure and charged the nail tech with getting me into labor. There was also another gal at the salon that was due the same day I was-- 4/2.

The next morning I woke up and felt some dripping. I chalked it up to any number of things that can happen during pregnancy (we don’t need to actually go there) and went on with my morning. Finally I got to the center (where I work) only to have the leaking continue. “Something isn’t quite right here.” I told one of the midwives, Angela. She insisted it was worth a check though it was unlikely anything was happening. After a check and the FERN test, we concluded that my water was leaking. HOLY COW- IT’S TIME!!!

After a reassuring NST to check baby’s vitals, I called my midwife (who also, fortunately, happened to be on call that day) and along with Angela we made a precise game plan for that day (I was only 2-3cm dilated at that point). Because my water was ruptured, I had about 18 hours to get active labor kicked into gear or they would have to induce me with pitocin/ something similar at the hospital. My goal for this birth was medication free so being hooked up to a drip was the last thing I wanted. I called Blake to tell him it was go time + alert him to head to the center. He also was instructed to pick up castor oil before he got there. I then called mom + Blake’s mom to inform them of what was going on and to ask for help with P. She had an Easter Egg Hunt at school that afternoon and I was brokenhearted thinking she wouldn’t have her parents there. I then dissolved into tears thinking that I hadn’t dropped her off at school that morning thinking it would be the last time I saw her as an only child. Hormones, y’all. 

I waddled around the birth center for the next couple of hours. Blake arrived around lunchtime with castor oil + a chocolate milkshake. He dosed me with 3 ozs (the recommended dose is 2 ozs) because if 2 was good, 3 was better. I drank that greasy shake and paced around the parking lot. All I wanted to do was keep moving. Eventually we headed to a local park to walk around the pond until -- er... the castor oil kicked in. We then called Mandesa, my midwife, to meet us back at the center to have me checked. I was really feeling contractions and wanted to be sure I was close to hospital/ center given how quickly I progressed with Palmer Jane. 

We arrived at the center around 3:00 and waited for Mandesa to do an exam. After a membrane sweep and a check, I was about 4 cm dilated and progressing to active labor. We decided to head to the hospital. We got checked in and had to briefly wait for our room. I finally got back to my room shortly after 4, got changed, and was hooked up for 30 minutes of monitoring before I was allowed to move around the room. Mandesa also had to give me one dose of Zofran because I was so sick and she wanted to try and keep some food/ fluid in my stomach to avoid having to get an IV. Being hooked up for monitoring and having to lay on the bed during contractions was MISERABLE. 

As soon as I was allowed, I moved into the water of the tub. The warmth felt wonderful and I labored there for about 45-50 minutes. They brought dinner in for me and I managed to choke down a roll or two and a chocolate chip cookie. And about 34 cups of freezing cold apple juice. I was having what seemed to be constant contractions due to Marlowe being OP. 45 seconds of intense contractions-- 10 seconds of a break -- and then 45 seconds of intense contractions. Eventually I got too hot in the tub and decided to move onto the birth ball. 

I remember the next hour or so as a blur. At one point they hooked me up again to monitor Marlowe and I briefly considered ripping the nodes off of my stomach because it was so uncomfortable. But the last thing I wanted was to end up back in that damn bed on my back. Eventually I looked at Mandesa and said “I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I might have 2 hours left in me.” Mandesa said then she knew I was in transition. I asked to get in the bed and try to close my eyes. She agreed but insisted I lay on my side and prop my knees opened with the peanut birth ball. Fine. I didn’t have the energy to argue. 

I was in that position literally for 10 minutes when I looked at Mandesa and said “I either have to push this baby out or I’m going to poop.” She laughed and asked if she could check me. Baby girl was coming! I remember her looking at me and saying “I need you to really push your hardest. She’s almost here and you’re doing so well!” That’s all I needed to hear- challenge accepted. Let’s get this baby girl earth side!

I pushed for 5 minutes before Marlowe made her appearance into the world at 6:47 on Thursday, March 29th. On my daddy’s 70th birthday. 7 lbs, 4 ozs and 20 inches long. She came out wearing her cord as an accessory. She needed a little coaxing before her first cry- who can blame her?! That was one hell of an arrival! She latched almost immediately and has been our little love ever since. And just like that my heart doubled in size. 

How we picked her name? Woodford is a family name -- my name before marriage was Elizabeth Woodford, my aunt is Alice Woodford, and my grandfather’s aunt was also Alice Woodford. We both loved the name Marlowe though we had a MUCH harder time picking names for this sweet babe than we did with Palmer Jane. Just like PJH, we heard this name from someone and after narrowing down the list from 135 options to 10, to 5, to 2-- this just felt like the best option. I will say I think it fits her quite nicely. 

photo taken the morning of 3/29 before I knew I was in the early stages of labor

Meet Marlowe Woodford / March, 29th 2018 

[365goalsfor365days]

2018 Bucket List - August Update (3/365) (Total: 24/365) (I did 0 in July. Oops)

1. Become a Homeowner

2. Get a new mattress

3. Become a First Aid Instructor

4. Become a CPR Instructor

5. Get a position in Labor and Delivery or Postpartum

6. Write a legal will and get it notarized

7. Complete Neonatal Resuscitation Program

8. Obtain a regular drivers license

9. Write a legal advance directive and get it notarized

10. Get a Passport

11. Complete ACLS certification

12. Increase student loans to $350 each/month

13. Get a new couch

14. Get a tattoo

15. Get a permanent position

16. Join the organ donor registry

17. Get a British Bulldog (Winston)

18. Make melted crayon guitar art (JK)

19. Sew a teddy bear

20. Sew a dress

21. Make a quilt

22. Start a scrapbook

23. Crochet a hat

24. Complete grad photobook

25. Complete wedding scrapbook

26. Crochet Christmas stockings

27. Make a Wonder Woman apron (JH)

28. Crochet a hooded owl blanket (MB)

29. Do a cross stitch*

30. Fold 1000 origami stars

31. Make matching Mr & Mrs Scarves*

32. Crochet a black cat blanket with hood (KS)

33. Fold 1000 origami butterflies

34. Make a mobile of 1000 origami cranes

35. Design my own deck of cards

36. Complete wedding photobook

37. Make homemade lip balm

38. Make house key print tree ornament

39. Make carved wood or burned wood personalized wine box (ME)

40. Swap customized keychains with Daniel

41. Sew matching aprons for me & Daniel

42. Make a Feminist cross stitch quilt (CB)

43. Make Lion King cross stitch (JK)

44. Make wine glass winter scene candle holders

45. Make a Little Mermaid Apron (JM)

46. Make carved or burned wood “It’s Always Tea Time” Mad Hatter Tea Box

47. Crochet a Spiderman blanket (LS)

48. Crochet a legend of Zelda blanket (CW)

49. Make jazz guitar print art (SS)

50. Adopt an otter

51. Answer 50 correct answers in a row on Freerice.com

52. Participate in a charity walk/run

53. Donate $50 to the Edmonton Humane Society

54. Run a Hogwarts Running Club race

55. Donate $50 to the Canadian Mental Health Association

56. Donate 5 Items to Ronald McDonald house

57. Donate 5 Items to the Terra Centre

58. Adopt a polar bear

59. Make “Curious Confection” Disney drink

60. Make “Sirens Song” Disney drink

61. Make “Glass Slipper” Disney drink

62. Make “Belle of the Ball” Disney drink

63. Make herb butter

64. Make homemade fried chicken

65. Make caramel apple jello shots

66. Make macarons

67. Make homemade California rolls

68. Make all recipes in Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

69. Make candy apples

70. Bake a baked Alaska

71. Cook lobster

72. Make Tiramisu

73. Bake Boston cream pie

74. Make homemade basil pesto

75. Roast pumpkin seeds

76. Finish my red recipe book

77. Bake lemony blueberry cheesecake bars

78. Bake cream cheese, banana & coconut pain perdu

79. Make Sims Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich (in real life)

80. Make Mexican tostadas

81. Make 365 new recipes

82. Cook every single recipe in a cook book

83. Make all recipes from Swap & Drop Diet Cookbook

84. Do a chopped competition with Daniel

85. Make fruit sushi

86. Make “Sleep Cycle” Disney drink

87. Make “False King” Disney drink

88. Make “Ohana Colada” Disney drink

89. Make all recipes from Cooking Light Global Kitchen cookbook

90. Make Sims Porcini Risotto (in real life)

91. Make Crepes

92. Go to Dinner Theatre

93. Eat at Café Bicyclette

94. Have lunch at Ampersand 27

95. Eat at Café Linnea

96. Eat at Earnest’s at NAIT

97. Go on a gelato date

98. Have dessert from Italian Bakery Edmonton

99. Eat at the 3 Bananas Café

100. Eat at Dorinku

101. Try a Po’ Boy

102. Eat deep fried ice cream

103. Eat at Have Mercy

104. Have lunch at the Harvest Room at Hotel MacDonald

105. Have dinner on the Edmonton Queen Riverboat

106. Try La Poutine

107. Have breakfast at Under the High Wheel

108. Have dessert at Block 1912

109. Eat at Uccellino

110. Go out for hungover breakfast the morning after a party with friends

111. Have a meal at Bistro Praha

112. Read “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and watch the movie

113. Read Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and watch the movie

114. Read “It” by Stephen King and watch the movie

115. Read “Labor Day” by Eleanor Henderson

116. Read “Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden

117. Read “The Girl on the Train“ by Paula Hawkins & Watch the movie

118. Read “They Left Us Everything”

119. Read “The House Girl” by Tara Conklin

120. Read all 36 books from the Dear Canada series

121. Read “My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir” by Mark Lukach

122. Read all 54 books from the fictional Magic Tree House series

123. Read “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher and watch the series

124. Read “Dolores Claiborne” by Stephen King

125. Read “We Need To Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver

126. Read all 51 books from the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series

127. Read “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach

128. Read “The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients Lives” by Theresa Brown

129. Read “Working Stiff: by Judy Melinek and TJ Mitchell

130. Read “Every Patient Tells a Story” by Lisa Sanders

131. Read “The Night Shift” by Dr Brian Goldman

132. Read “Wenjack” by Joseph Boyden

133. Read “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” by Oliver Sacks

134. Read “Weird Edmonton” by Mark Kozub

135. Read “11/22/63” by Stephen King

136. Re-read Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events series

137. Read all 20 Royal Diaries books

138. Read all the books from the Dear America series

139. Read “End of Watch” by Stephen King

140. Read “I, Ripper” by Stephen Hunter

141. Read “Happyface” by Stephen Edmond

142. Read “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

143. Read “The Mighty Miss Malone” by Curtis

144. Read “In The Unlikely Event” by Judy Blume

145. Read “Church of Marvels” by Leslie Parry

146. Read “My Secret Sister” by Helen Edwards

147. Read “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Annie Barrows

148. Read “The Book of Negroes” by Lawrence Hill & watch the movie

149. Read “The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly” by Matt McCarthy

150. Read “Nerd Do Well” by Simon Pegg

151. Read “Wild” by Cheryl Strayd and watch the movie

152. Read “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai

153. Read “The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak and watch the movie

154. Read “Welcome to Nightvale” by Joseph Fink and listen to all podcasts

155. Read “1984” by George Orwell

156. Read “Nightmares!” by Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller

157. Read “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” by Stephen King

158. Read “Finders Keepers” by Stephen King

159. Read the Little Old Lady Series

160. Read “Mr Mercedes” by Stephen King

161. Read “Left Neglected” by Lisa Genova

162. Read “Doctor Sleep” by Stephen King

163. Read “Bringing Adam Home” by Les Standiford

164. Read “Carry On” by Rainbow Rowell

165. Read “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande

166. Read “A Spy Amongst Friends” by Ben Macintyre

167. Read “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova and watch the movie

168. Read “Five Days at Memorial” by Sheri Fink

169. Read “Canada” by Mike Myers

170. Read “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo

171. Read “Quiet: The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain

172. Read “The Haunting of Sunshine Girl” by Paige Mckenzie

173. Read “Dirty Jobs” and “Second Hand Souls” by Christopher Moore

174. Read “My Sister’s Keeper” and watch the movie

175. Read “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” by April Genevive Tucholke

176. Read “Four Past Midnight” by Stephen King

177. Read “Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland” by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus

178. Read “Anya’s Ghost” by Vera Brosgol

179. Read “Trauma”

180. Read “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by JK Rowling and watch the movie

181. Read “This is That Travel Guide to Canada”

182. Read “The Trouble with Goats and Sheep” by Joanne Cannor

183. Read “Tough Shit” by Kevin Smith

184. Read “Tales of Beedle the Bard” by JK Rowling

185. Read “The Trouble with Alice” by Olivia Glazebrook

186. Read “The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating” by Alisa Smith & JB MacKinnon

187. Read “At Home in Old Strathcona” by Gwen McGregor Molnar

188. Read “The Tumbling Turner Sisters” by J. Fay

189. Read “The Dangerous Animals Club” by S. Tobolowsky

190. Read “The Book of Speculation” by E. Swyler

191. Read “The Nurses” by Alexandra Robbins

192. Read “Shine Shine Shine” by Lydia Netzer

193. Read “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel and watch the movie

194. Read the EC Wells series

195. Read “Scrappy Little Nobody” by Anna Kendrick

196. Read “The First Phone Call From Heaven” by Mitch Albom

197. Read “Hope’s Boy” by Andrew Bridge

198. Read “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” by Claire North

199. Read “The House At the End of Hope Street” by Menna Van Praag

200. Read “Home” by Harlan Coben

201. Read “The Devil in the White City“ by Erik Lawson

202. Tour the Chicago Connection tunnel in Moose Jaw

203. Tour the Passage to Fortune tunnel in Moose Jaw

204. Visit the Dead Sea of Saskatchewan (Little Manitou)

205. Tour the Royal Canadian Mint

206. Visit the Eskimo Museum in Churchill

207. Visit Prime Berth Fishing Museum in Twillingate

208. Go to the Barbie Expo in Montreal

209. Visit the Acadian Historical Village in Caraquet

210. Visit the Tokyo National Museum

211. Visit the Owl Café in Akhabara

212. Go to the Tokyo Studio Ghibli Museum

213. Visit the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg

214. Tour the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina

215. See a Sunset Retreat Ceremony at the RCMP Heritage Center in Regina

216. Visit the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec

217. See Head-Smash-In Buffalo Jump in Fort McLeod

218. Visit the Royal BC Museum in Victoria

219. See Niagra Falls

220. Visit the Gopher Hole Museum in Torrington

221. Visit Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto

222. Visit the Royal Ontario Museum

223. Do the Underground Tour at Bell Island’s Mine Museum

224. Visit the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon

225. Visit Leo Mol Sculpture Garden in Winnipeg

226. Visit Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in Whistler

227. Visit the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax

228. Visit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

229. Visit the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa

230. Visit the Fort George National Historic Site of Canada at Niagara-on-the-Lake

231. Go to Science North in Sudbury

232. Take a photo with the Hachiko statue in Tokyo

233. Do a “Disney Love” photoshoot with Daniel

234. Grow a carrot plant

235. Go to new Royal Alberta Museum

236. Catch all First Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon

237. Catch all Second Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon

238. Catch all Third Gen Pokemon Go Pokemon

239. Successfully do winged eyeliner

240. Have a yard sale

241. Build a Bear at Build a Bear

242. Go scuba diving

243. Go rock climbing

244. Go through the Edmonton Corn Maze

245. Attend a Superstore cooking class

246. Bowl a 100+ game

247. Catch a fish

248. Dye my hair blonde

249. Go ice fishing

250. Tour Candy Cane Lane

251. Find 5 Geocaches

252. Go paintballing

253. See the stars at an observatory

254. Go on a double date

255. Can something with mom

256. Play through Fran Bow

257. Visit Dr Woods House Museum

258. Grow parsley

259. Go on a bike ride around Telford Lake

260. Solve a Rubik’s cube

261. Grow oregano

262. Pick berries from a berry farm

263. Host a holiday dinner for family

264. Win something

265. Skip rocks with Daniel

266. Do yoga outside at sunrise

267. Go horseback riding

268. Walk across a suspension bridge

269. Learn how to edit photographs

270. Get a hot stone massage

271. Pose for a nude painting

272. Visit Grandmas grave

273. Be in a boudoir photoshoot

274. Get ears pierced again

275. Learn Under the Sea on xylophone

276. Learn calligraphy

277. Go roller blading

278. See a moose in the wild

279. Learn Over the Rainbow on ukulele

280. Pick a pumpkin at Upick

281. Build a fire

282. Complete Wreck this Journal

283. Build a sandcastle

284. Build a snowman

285. Complete a 1000 Piece Puzzle

286. Get all Pokemon Go medals

287. Try a sensory deprivation chamber

288. Sew all badges on my camp blanket

289. Sign a petition

290. Camp at Elk Island Provincial Park

291. Go to Sea Life Caverns at WEM

292. Go apple picking

293. Go hostelling in Nordegg

294. Photograph a robin

295. Photograph a blue jay

296. Go to the ballet

297. Go to a hot spring in winter

298. Plant a Fairy Garden

299. Fully decorate apartment for Halloween

300. Go to another TWOS Dark Matters Night

301. Go to the Muttart Conservatory

302. Play through Beyond Two Souls

303. Try an alcohol shot

304. Go to the John Walters museum

305. Body paint with Daniel

306. Take a class at the Greenland Garden Center

307. Go Canoeing

308. Play a game of chess

309. Play laser tag

310. Have a girls night

311. Go to a drop in class at the Art Gallery of Alberta

312. Send out Christmas cards

313. Reach level 40 of Pokemon Go

314. Visit the Reynolds-Alberta Museum

315. Go on a Canmore Cave Tour

316. Get a couples massage

317. Have a game night at Table Top Café

318. See a live show at the Roxy

319. Shoot a Gun

320. Juggle 3 balls

321. Pick a door lock

322. See a Rapidfire Theater show

323. Dance on my balcony with Daniel as it gently rains

324. Go to a driving range

325. Write a love letter

326. Go to a U of A varsity game

327. Complete Pocket Posh Logic book

328. Go to a hockey game

329. Go to a football game

330. See the Nutcracker Ballet

331. Play at Breakout Edmonton

332. Complete a coloring book

333. Go peddle boating

334. Visit the Alberta Aviation Museum

335. Visit the Jurassic Forest

336. Play slots at a casino

337. Go skating

338. Try to escape The Cabin at Escape City

339. Complete my Sims challenge

340. Get a BBQ and have a BBQ with friends

341. Tube down the Pembina river

342. Get a facial

343. Take a class at Purdy’s Chocolates

344. Hold Crow Pose (Yoga)

345. Complete 12 months to a healthier you challenge

346. Fit size 6 pants

347. Do 100 consecutive push ups

348. Hold Kala Bhairavasana (yoga)

349. Hold Sirsasana (Yoga)

350. Do 100 Consecutive Sit Ups

351. Reach goal weight of 120 lb

352. Walk 20 000 steps for 3 consecutive days

353. Attend a drop in spin class

354. Attend a drop in yoga class

355. Try Hot Yoga

356. See a movie and have dinner at the VIP Theatre

357. Watch the top 100 movies of 2017

358. See a movie at Princess Theatre

359. Go to the Edmonton Film Fest

360. Watch an outdoor movie

361. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Musical & Art Movies

362. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Movies of 2016

363. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Horror Movies

364. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Documentary films

365. Watch Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Comedy Movies

[joyeveryday]

Nolan’s Birth Story

We arrived at the hospital at 5am. I had to sign a few insurance papers at registration and then went to labor and delivery. There I got into my gown, started the iv, and answered questions / filled out delivery related paperwork.

They started me at a low dose (2) of pitocin around 6am. I had a few contractions here and there but nothing painful. At 7:30 my dr came in and broke my water, it took less than 5 minutes and it wasn’t much more painful than a regular cervical check. They monitored me in bed for about 30 minutes then upped my pitocin at 8:00. My plan was to walk around afterwards but I stood by my bed for awhile moving around and the contractions got significantly worse and closer together. I knew it would take over an hour to get my epidural so at 8:45 I asked for some pain medication and to call the anesthesiologist.

The medicine helped me relax and get some sleep. At 10:00, I received my epidural and they did a check, I was dilated to a 5. I started having lots of pressure so they went ahead and checked me again, I had went from 5 to 7 in 10 minutes. The epidural was great because I could still use my legs but it helped significantly with not feeling contraction pain. I did feel every contraction in my pelvic area though because of the baby being so low. About an hour later (11:00) I was dilated to an 8 and then before noon, I was a 9.

Everything had gone so quickly we thought it’d be any time. But shortly after, baby started not tolerating the pitocin very well so they had to turn it off. That stalled labor for a long time. We tried numerous positions and using the peanut ball but couldn’t get past that little bit of cervix. Thankfully I was able to rest quite a bit. At 4:30, we tried turning the pitocin back on to the lowest dose and I got on my hands and knees. When I’d feel a contraction, I’d really move my hips back and forth. This was extremely painful but very beneficial. At 6:00 I started pushing. With Peyton and Logan, I pushed for over 3 hours and that was one of my biggest fears this time. But thankfully, baby came down awesome and I did 3 sets of pushes then they called the doctor. I could feel and see his head and pushing was going great then he just stalled there with his head partly out. lol The doctor said he thought if I did the episiotomy I’d only do one more set of pushes so I had him do it. He numbed the area, did a cut, I pushed twice and with the third push he was out.

Wyatt cut the cord and they handed him to me for skin to skin. Wyatt and I both cried like crazy and just looked at each other like we couldn’t believe he was ours. Our little family is complete.

I pushed 2 or 3 times and the placenta came out, people started making their way out of the room and the dr finished up with the stitches. Even though it was discouraging towards the end, everything went smoothly and I had a successful 2nd VBAC! Also, my biggest baby and shortest birth yet.