Page 21 of That Baby (That Boy 3)
"Okay, take my picture."
I forward it to him.
"Maybe you should talk to him," I suggest. "It might make you feel better."
"I really don't want to talk to him," she says, almost spitting at me. "This is his own damn fault. I begged him not to travel when I'm this far along, but he said we had plenty of time. Obviously, he was wrong and now I'm probably going to have this baby all by myself."
She's mad but there are tears in her eyes.
"Are you scared?" I ask her.
"Of course, I'm scared. I didn't intend on doing this alone."
"You're not alone," I say, giving her hand a squeeze as the doctor comes into the room.
Danny: Holy shit!! Is she pissed at me? Fuck! I told her nothing would happen. What if she has the baby without me? I'm so dumb. She was right. Nothing is more important than being there. I land in an hour and a half. Tell her to message me.
Me: Um, she said she didn't want to talk to you. But then she started crying. She's scared, Danny. And honestly, so am I.
Danny: What did the doctor say?
Me: He just got here.
The doctor looks at Lori's chart and then smiles at her. "So these aren't Braxton Hicks contractions. You're definitely in labor." Lori wipes tears from her face and nods, bracing for the worst.
The doctor sits down next to her. "Where's Danny?"
"He's on a plane home from LA," she says. "Even though I'm mad at him, I don't want to have the baby until he gets here."
"I'm thinking it's a little early to have the baby, but let's take a look." He examines her, studies the monitor, and consults her chart again. "You're having what we call preterm labor. There's no bleeding, which is good. There's no sugar in your urine, which is good. You don't have a urinary tract infection. You're dehydrated though, so I want to get you started on an IV. We're going to do an ultrasound and then I suspect we'll give you a shot to stop your labor."
"Stop it?"
"Yes, it will relax your uterus. We want to keep your baby inside for as long as we can."
"Will I have to stay here or will I get to go home?"
"I suspect you'll get to go home later today, but I can't say for sure."
"Did I do something wrong?" she asks.
"No, you didn't. About ten percent of women suffer from preterm labor. No one knows for sure what causes it. They suspect that dehydration, infections, stress, and gum disease are possibly related. You're a little dehydrated, so we'll give you the IV just in case that triggered it." He smiles at us. "Now, for the big question. We're going to do an ultrasound next. Do you want to find out the sex?"
"I don't know!" Lori exclaims.
"Why don't you think about it, and you can let me know when I get back."
Lori turns to me. "What would you do?"
"I wouldn't find out."
"But I want to find out."
"But you and Danny decided you wanted to be surprised."
"I know we did. But if he wouldn't have been stupid and left me, he would be here finding out."
"Could you keep it a secret or would you tell him?"
"Lots of people are doing those cool gender reveal parties and announcements. That might be fun."
I nod.
"But I don't think I could keep it a secret. I'd start buying clothes. No. No. I don't want to know. We agreed."
"I think that's a good decision."
"Are you going to find out what you're having when you can?" she asks me.
"I know finding out is more practical, but we want to be surprised."
Phillip: Do you know anything? Danny just messaged me and asked.
Me: The doctor was just here. He's going to do an ultrasound and give her an IV, but it sounds like they might be able to give her something to stop the contractions. She'll probably be able to go home later today.
Phillip: That's good news. I love you.
Me: I love you too. They are getting ready to do the ultrasound.
Danny: What did the doctor say?
Me: We're getting ready to do an ultrasound. We'll know more then, but she's fine, Danny. The baby's heartbeat is good. They think they can stop the labor with some medicine. Everything is fine.
Danny: Everything is not fine, because I'm not there. I'm an idiot.
Me: Danny, it's well over a month before she's due. You couldn't have known this would happen.
Danny: Still . . .
The doctor does the ultrasound and we get to see the baby. This ultrasound looks so different from mine. The baby is big.
"Oh, my gosh," Lori says, "its sucking its thumb."
"That's so adorable," I say.
"Did you decide if you want to know the sex?" the doctor asks.
"I don't," she says confidently.
And even though she says she doesn't want to know, I do. So I'm scanning the screen to see if I can see any boy or girl parts. But just when I think I may have seen a little boy part, the baby flips over and all we can see is its butt. So much for getting an advantage in the pool that I'm sure our friends will have to guess the sex and birthdate.
The doctor tells us everything looks good.
Lori gets an IV and a shot to stop the contractions and a couple hours later, Danny arrives.
He's got a big bouquet of flowers and a tentative look on his face. He's expecting her to be mad at him, but instead she just bursts into tears.
I give them both a hug and tell them to call me when they're on their way home.
The roads aren't as slick as they were this morning, so I stop at the store on the way home and get the ingredients to make lasagna. I figure the least I can do is have something ready for when they come home.
When Lori and Danny get back from the hospital, I take the food over to them on a tray and they eat dinner together in bed.
"Do you have to be on bed rest?" I ask her.
"No. I don't have any restrictions other than to take the medicine they gave me. They expect I will carry the baby full-term now."
I brighten. "That's such good news!"
"We thought so too," Danny says, squeezing Lori's hand. "But I made her get in bed when we got home. She's exhausted. And I'm going to make sure she stays hydrated going forward. In fact, while you're here, Jay, I'm going to run to the pharmacy. We dropped off the prescription on the way home and I just got a text saying it's ready."
After he leaves, I ask Lori. "Are you still going to be able to travel up to Omaha for your baby shower?"
"Yeah, the doctor said it was fine."
"Awesome. I think a girl's weekend is just what you need."
"I think you're
right," she says with a sigh.
"Are things okay with you two?"
"Yeah, Danny felt really bad. And then I felt really bad for being mad at him."
"You were just scared," I tell her.
"I was so afraid I was going to have the baby alone. I was equally afraid that he'd miss his baby's birth. Thank you for being there for me, Jade. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."
"I think I'm the lucky one," I tell her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Dear Baby Mac,
You are now the size of a peach, and you have your very own fingerprints.
Lori gave me some stretch mark cream to rub on my stomach so you don't ruin me for a swimsuit.
I keep looking at the ultrasound photo and touching my stomach. Honestly, it's hard to even believe I have a baby growing inside me. Like it's totally surreal.
Your daddy is telling everyone he knows--and even everyone we don't--that we are expecting. He is so excited.
Even though I saw you in the ultrasound, I'm hoping I'll feel you kick soon. Then I think it will seem more real.
March 27th
Dripping wet.
I wake up early and stretch my arms out. I feel good. I'm super excited to say that I think--hope/pray--that my morning sickness is officially over. I haven't dared say it to anyone who asks how I'm feeling for fear I'll jinx myself and it will come back.
I hear that Phillip is taking a shower, so I decide to surprise him by getting up and making him breakfast.
I open the pantry to get the pancake mix out.
"Ahh!" I say.
Okay, maybe I screamed really loud because Phillip comes rushing out, towel wrapped around his waist and dripping wet.
"What's wrong?"
