Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“It’s the head!” Dr. Saunders confirms. “Lots of dark hair. One more big push and we’ll get the airways clear. Get the suction ready, Kayla.”
The next contraction comes fast and the pressure is suddenly incredible, burning and stretching beyond anything I could have imagined. I grit out a primal battle cry and bear down with everything in me.
I’m so focused, so locked in on the task at hand that I’m completely oblivious to Maya’s arrival. I don’t realize she’s there until the contraction fades, and I look up to see her in scrubs on my other side, practically vibrating with excitement. “Hey badass, look at you. You’re a warrior. I’m so sorry I’m late. We hit traffic on the way into town.”
“I’m just glad you’re here now,” I say, taking her hand. “Baby A is almost here.”
“She is,” Dr. Saunders confirms. “One more big push, Elaina. The contraction’s coming, get ready.”
Marveling that her monitor knows things about my body before I do, I take a deep breath and get ready to face the next wave. It comes on fast, and again, my body demands I obey its primal need, pushing the way my ancestors did before me.
For a moment, I feel that connection, that line of strong women braving the storm to bring our babies into the world. I feel the miracle of it, the sacredness of it… And then…
The pressure releases in a rush, and there’s a cry—high, pissed off, and perfect.
“It’s a girl!” Dr. Saunders holds up a squirming, gore-coated body, tiny but clearly tough and ready to take her place in our line of badass women. “Dad, do you want to cut the cord?”
Hunter casts a teary glance my way, making it clear the miracle of it all isn’t lost on him.
“Go ahead,” I encourage, swallowing as I catch my breath. “You’ve got this, Dad.”
I watch through tears as he cuts the cord with shaking hands, his movements careful and reverent. A nurse whisks our daughter away to be cleaned and checked, but before I can ask to hold her—I read it was important for the baby to touch skin with her mother after birth—another contraction reminds me we’re only halfway done.
“Holy shit,” I mutter, clinging to Maya’s hand.
“Ready for round two?” Dr. Saunders asks with a grin.
“You’re a sadist,” I mutter, making Maya and the doctor laugh.
“But fun,” Maya says. “My doctor was wonderful, but so serious all the time. It made the C-section so much more stressful.”
“Fun?” I grunt as the pain builds again. “Why do people keep throwing that word around? There is no fun here.”
And there isn’t, but there is excitement and gratitude and an exhilarating rush as my second daughter slides into place and follows her sister into the world.
Just four minutes and five pushes later, Baby B’s cry cuts through the air, more plaintive and confused-sounding than her sister’s, but every bit as strong.
“Another beautiful girl!” Dr. Saunders coos at the slightly smaller pink miracle gazing wide-eyed around her, as if shocked to find herself back in a place she was sure she’d left behind.
“Oh, baby, welcome home. I love you so much.” This time, the doctor places my daughter on my chest, sending love washing through my every cell. She’s tiny and gorgeous and perfect, with the same shock of dark hair as her sister and blue eyes the color of a summer sky. “Oh, she’s so beautiful.” I look up, happy tears streaming down my face. “Where’s my other girl? I don’t want her to feel left out.”
“She’s right here,” the blonde nurse says, a swaddled bundle in her arms. Maya moves back so the nurse can scoot close, revealing the sleepy-looking pumpkin in her arms.
“Oh, she’s perfect,” I coo, my love cup overflowing. I suck in a soft breath as her eyes widen, and she shifts toward my voice. “They’re green, Hunter. Her eyes are green. Like yours. They’re not identical.” A closer look reveals slight differences in the girls’ noses and mouth shape, as well. “We thought they were fraternal from the ultrasound, but now we know for sure.”
“They’re both beautiful,” Hunter whispers, his voice thick with emotion. “The most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”
And they are.
And already showing signs of being two unique, determined, talented young ladies who latch on to my nipples with an ease Maya assures me is crazy awesome.
“It took days for Mario to figure out how to latch on,” she says, beaming as I lie in bed in my room later, one baby tucked under each arm as they go at my chest like old pros. “You’re so lucky.”
I arch a brow. “Maybe the universe was just having a little mercy on me. Seeing as I have two of them to feed instead of one.”
Maya grins. “Good point. So? Have they revealed their names to you yet?”