Summer nodded her head. She didn’t care if he used a tub of Crisco as long as he got this darn baby out of her. Placing a hand on her belly, Dr. Neil instructed, “Summer, with the next contraction you can push.”
No sooner than the doctor gave the command, a contraction reared its ugly head prompting Summer to grab Nick’s hand as he stood at her side.
Taking a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut, Summer pushed. “Ahhhhhhhhh.”
“Come on that’s it, push… push…push.” Starr coached until the contraction ended. “Okay Summer, relax and breathe.”
This cycle went on for thirty minutes until Dr. Neil told Summer to stop pushing.
“Summer, the baby’s head is beginning to crown. I’m going to inject a little lidocaine into your perineum just in case you do tear you won’t feel a thing.”
Summer winced as she felt the prick of the needle and burning from the medication. Relief washed over her as the burning quickly faded into a numbing sensation. “With the next contraction, I want you to give a big push, okay?”
Summer gave a weak nod. Never again, never again, is what she chanted in her head as she waited for the next contraction. Upon the decent of the contraction, Summer squeezed her eyes shut and pushed with all her might. “Ahhhhhhhh! Come on bayybee!”
The excitement and exhilaration of delivering a baby came in waves over Dr. Neil. Every time he assisted in bringing a new life into the world it was just as thrilling as his first delivery twenty-five years ago as a young intern. He excitedly cheered her on. “Come on, Summer… Push! …Push! …That’s it! …That’s it! …Push! …Push! This baby has wide shoulders. Push!. . . Push!”
Summer pushed to the point of exhaustion. Relief came with a final push as the warm solid mass slipped from her body.
“It’s a boy! You have a baby boy! Congratulations!” Dr. Neil sang as he guided the tiny, squirming infant from its mother’s birth canal.
Summer eagerly reached for her baby before the doctor could fully wrap, let alone wipe off the birthing residue and clamp the umbilical cord. Once the baby was within her embrace Summer collapsed against the pillows. His tiny body felt so warm as she hugged him close. Summer didn’t want to give her son up to the pediatrician to perform his examination of the infant. She hadn’t held him long enough and missed him as soon as the nurse removed him from her arms. Summer patiently waited for her son as Dr. Neil delivered the placenta and sutured her lacerations.
Nick glimpsed at the clock on the wall in the birthing suite. It was 1:45 am, February 14. The entire experience for Nick was surreal from the moment he stepped into the birthing suite. Though he and Summer had issues to resolve, he gained a newfound respect and admiration for her. She was determined to take this journey alone if necessary. The desire to work things out between Summer and himself became a burning obsession as he watched mother and son.
After the pediatrician examined the baby, the nurse thoroughly cleaned, weighed and dressed him. Starr used this time to say her goodbyes so that mother, father and baby could have their privacy. Wrapping the baby in a receiving blanket the nurse placed the tiny bundle in Summer’s arms. “If you want you can nurse him now.”
“Okay, I will. I just want to look at him first.”
A mixture of excitement and exhaustion plagued Summer when the baby was placed on her abdomen directly after delivery. His features were barely noticeable as he was covered in birthing residue and slightly purple from making the exchange from maternal oxygenation to breathing on his own.
Laying the infant on her lap she slowly loosened the snug blanket from his tiny body. Summer studied his tiny face. He must have known his mommy was looking at him as he stretched with tiny fist balled up, yawned, then gradually opened a pair of tiny eyes that immediately locked with hers. Summer’s breath caught, the tiny pair of eyes was identical to his father’s. A faint smile curved her lips as she further inspected his little face. He had the cutest nose and lips. Lifting her hand she caressed the locks of silky dark curls. With care, rubbing the silky strains between her fingers she noted the texture was like hers. Delicately as if he was a porcelain doll she touched his hands and his feet making sure there were ten fingers and ten toes.
In slow motion she brought her head down as she lifted a tiny foot kissing its sole. The baby was light in complexion. However, closer inspection revealed ears that were the same rich chestnut coloring as Nick’s complexion.
Perfect. Her baby was perfect. Wrapping the infant up she was so happy she hadn’t succumbed to the aid of pain medication. The infant was alert and wide awake. Summer was so caught up in her bundle of joy she’d almost forgot Nick was in the room. Looking at him for the first time in days their eyes locked and held. She hadn’t expected to see tenderness in his gaze.