My Bundle Of Joy: Part Fourteen

~ beetleypete

This is the fourteenth part of a fiction serial, in 748 words.

Some of the reading I had done told me what was going to happen next. Leah would be handed to me, put to my breast to suckle, and that would help expel the placenta naturally. Through watery eyes, I felt myself smiling, and opened my arms, reaching out to receive her, just as I had imagined I would.

But that didn’t happen.

What did happen was that a worried-looking Tanya walked away into the corner of the room, followed by both doctors. They placed Leah inside a plastic box that was on a trolley, and then turned their backs to me as they started to do stuff. Elizabetta came and held my hand. “Just checking the little one, dear. You will hold her soon”. Despite her reassuring smile, I sensed she wasn’t telling me everything.

Whe Tanya came over to connect a drip to the needle in my arm, she managed a grin that was completely unconvincing. I could hear the sound of air rushing fast, and knew they were giving Leah oxygen. Then Tanya stuck a needle in my thigh, and said, “Just something to help you expel the placenta, Angela”. I asked her what was going on with Leah, and she glossed over that. “The doctors are just checking her over. Won’t be long. I am going to give you a few stitches down below before the anaesthetic wears off, okay?”

It seemed to take forever until they had stopped fiddling around in the corner, though it might have only been ten minutes, for all I knew. Olly started to feel dizzy, and said he had to go outside for a while. The poor man hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday’s lunch, and only one bottle of water to drink since he had arrived. He checked his phone. “It’s almost three forty-five, I won’t text your parents or my sister just yet, far too early in the morning”.

When Elizabetta brought Leah to me, cleaned up a little, and wrapped in something soft, she looked relieved. “Here she is, your bundle of joy. Be happy, mama”.

That was the moment that everyone talked about. That strange rush of emotion when I suddenly felt undying love for that funny-looking baby in my arms. I ignored the strange shape of her head, which looked like the hats worn by garden gnomes. I ignored her screwed up face, sparse hair, and the mucky white stuff still stuck around her tiny neck. I loved her more than I ever thought it possible to love anything. I would have willingly jumped to my death from the roof of that hospital if it meant she would be alright.

Tanya came over with a small hat that she placed on Leah’s head. “Dont worry about the shape of her head, Angela. That was caused by the vacuum device, and it will go back to normal soon. Get her on your skin, and let her feel your heartbeat”. I pulled up the gown and pressed her to my breast, but she didn’t seem to want to suckle. She was just lying there, tiny green eyes not focusing on anything. In case Tanya decided to disappear, I asked her my questions while I could still think of them. What had they been doing in the corner? Why wasn’t Leah crying? Could someone go and find Olly so he can see his daughter?

“The umbilical cord was tight around her neck, Angela. Don’t worry, that’s not at all unusual. But we gave her some oxygen to help with her breathing, and as you can see, her colour is getting better already. As for crying, some babies just don’t cry. I should know, shouldn’t I?” I didn’t believe her about the crying, but wasn’t in the mood to argue. I couldn’t stop looking at Leah, and finding it hard to believe she had just come out from inside of me.

Olly came back, still crying. Lack of sleep and food had made him more emotional than ever, and when I told him to hold his daughter, he cried even more. Not bad, for a man who had never said he wanted children. They fussed around me some more, and Elizabetta took away a bowl containing the placenta. Then they cleared up all the swabs and dressings, before leaving us alone with Leah.

I stared lovingly at my baby, watching every twitch, and the slight movement of her head.

But I so wanted her to cry.

30 thoughts on “My Bundle Of Joy: Part Fourteen”

  7. (1) Overheard:
    Angela, rubbing her belly, and singing to Leah:
    ♬ Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
    ♬ Little darling, it seems like years since you’ve been here
    Elizabetta, mistaking the newborn’s sex during delivery:
    ♬ Here comes the son doo da doo doo
    ♬ Here comes the son
    ♬ And I say it’s all right
    (2) A few hours before boxing Leah, the doctor had been boxing Helena.
    (3) “Then Tanya stuck a needle in my thigh.” Angela later found out that Tanya had practiced on a haystack.
    (4) Bad citation: “It seemed to take forever until they had stopped fiddling on the roof.”
    (5) Angela had a strange rush of emotion when she received her bundle of Joy. She had only ever used Dawn, Ajax, Gain, and Palmolive.
    (6) Angela had given birth to a Conehead who would grow up to claim she was from France.
    (7) Overheard:
    Angela: “I’m worried about Leah. Will she be alright?”
    Doctor: “That depends on whether you’re willing to jump to your death from the roof of the hospital.”
    (8) The noose was tight around Blondie’s neck. That looks bad, but the good news is that it won’t get ugly. He’s the hero of this Western.
    (9) Overheard:
    Angela: “But I so want her to cry.”
    Elizabetta: “I’ll make you a voodoo doll.”

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