Tripp dragged a cool washcloth over my forehead before pressing a kiss to my temple. “You’re doing amazing. I’m so proud of you.”
From between my open thighs, Felicity offered her encouragement. “You’re almost there. I can see the head. A few more pushes, and he’ll be out.”
My belly began to tense as the next contraction ramped up, the pressure it caused down below nearly unbearable.
“Need to push,” I moaned.
“Go with what your body’s telling you,” Felicity coached.
When I began to bear down, a nurse and Tripp held my legs back. With my eyes sealed shut, all my concentration went into getting this baby out of me.
“Oh my God, Lucky. I can see him!” Tripp’s excited voice had me releasing the breath I’d been holding.
“Really?” I was too afraid to look myself, having earlier declined the offer of a mirror.
“Our boy’s almost here.” Emotion leaked into his voice.
The pressure was back in full force, and I was pushing again, grunting through the pain. The drugs were enough to dull it but not enough to eliminate the feeling of being split nearly in two.
“The head is out!” Felicity exclaimed, and my eyes opened wide in shock. “One more big push should do it, Penny.”
The finish line was in sight, and that gave me a burst of strength I didn’t think I still had in the tank after twelve hours of labor and an additional two of pushing. Surrendering to my body’s demands, I gave it everything I had to bring our son into the world.
A shrill cry split the air, and before I could even process that he was out, a slimy, screaming baby boy was placed onto my chest.
Tears of both relief and joy blurred my vision as my trembling hands came to rest on his warm little body. It was surreal that, less than a minute ago, he’d fit inside me.
No wonder it had hurt so badly. He was huge!
“He’s perfect. You were perfect,” Tripp breathed.
It took effort, but I managed to tear my gaze away from the beautiful baby—now rooting around on my chest, searching for milk—to my husband. Tripp’s gaze was full of so much love, and he didn’t bother to hide the fact that he was crying, the same as me.
A sob broke free from my chest. “We did it.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You did it.” Gripping the side rail, he bent down to brush a kiss over my lips. “You’ve always been fearless, and today was no exception. I’m in awe of your strength.”
“Mind if we borrow this little guy to get weighed and measured?” Gloria, the nurse, asked from the opposite side of the bed. “I promise to bring him right back.”
When I gave a nod, she instructed Tripp on how to cut the cord before scooping the baby up and carrying him across the room to a warmer set up along the far wall.
“Don’t know how you managed to pull it off, but you might walk away from this without stitches,” Felicity remarked.
Though it was a relief to hear I’d pulled through without tearing, I had a feeling I would be walking around bow-legged for days, if not weeks. The size of that kid’s head was something else.
I groaned when Felicity put firm pressure on my now-deflated belly.
“Sorry, Penny. I know this part is uncomfortable, but it’ll be over soon, I promise.”
“You’re a champ, mama,” Gloria called out from the warmer. “He’s nine pounds, four ounces.”
I huffed out a wry laugh. “He felt more like twenty in those final weeks.”
“For such a tiny thing yourself, it’s a wonder you didn’t topple over,” she teased back.
From behind the privacy curtain, I heard the door being unlatched. Expecting another nurse, I jolted when I recognized the first face that came into view.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tripp barked so loudly it startled the baby, and he began to cry.
