Bumi was a bit of a surprise in that, well, they weren't trying, necessarily, but they weren't really taking any precautions either. When she missed her first cycle, her stomach dropped. Were they really ready? They had talked about raising a family plenty of times before, but now there was no going back…she smiled and felt tears start to well in her eyes. She didn't want to go back.
She found Aang outside of their home on Air Temple Island, floating about, brushing Appa's shedding fur with a large brush. He was telling the giant sky bison some joke, and Appa groaned in response. Aang fell onto Appa's back, clutching his belly and laughing like a kid. She smiled at scene in front of her; no matter how old he got, Aang would always have this sort of child-like wonder. Sure, it could be irritating at times, but she loved that about him. It was one of the many quirks of his that brought a smile to her face.
She gently placed a hand over her midsection, marveling silently to herself how there could be a little human being growing inside her.
Aang finally spotted his wife and whooshed down off of his bison's back.
"Good morning, sweetie," he said as he landed in front of her, placing a kiss on her forehead and interrupting her thoughts. "What are you so smiley about today?"
She could barely contain a grin as she met her husband's eyes. She felt the tears welling up again.
"Everything okay?" he asked, growing concerned as he watched the seemingly conflicting emotions play on her face.
She nodded, swallowing and trying to find the right words to give him the news.
"Your tummy hurt? It's about that time, isn't it?" he ventured, assuming the reason why she was cradling her belly was 'time of the month' related.
She shook her head no, letting a giggle escape her.
"Then what?" he asked, poking her in the stomach in an attempt to prod an answer out of her.
"Hey, watch the baby!"
Her eyes widened at the words she just let slip out of her mouth. That wasn't how he was supposed to find out!
"B-baby…?" Aang asked, eyes wide with shock. "Did…did you say-"
She nodded her head up and down, face cracking into a grin. "Mhmm!" she confirmed.
"A…a baby! A baby! You're pregnant! With a baby?!" he asked again, disbelief in his voice but joy in his eyes.
"Yes, with a baby," she chuckled.
"Katara, that's amazing! This is wonderful! A baby!" he picked her up, her arms enclosing around his neck as he started spinning her around. "A baby a baby a baby!"
"Put me down!" she squealed with laughter.
"Oh, right, there's a baby on board!"
He put her down softly, grinning at her from ear to ear. He leaned in close, head angled down towards her. He rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh. Then he opened his eyes once more, but didn't pull away. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, smiling and basking in their happiness.
"A baby?" he whispered.
"A baby."
With Kya, she took a slightly different approach. When her cycle was late, she had a gut feeling that immediately told her she was pregnant again. But, she waited to be sure, just in case she was slightly off on her schedule.
When a month passed and it was time for her next cycle, she calmly waited to see for sure if she was right. After a few days of nothing, she was certain she was with child once more.
As she learned over the years, from other healers and in her personal experience as a healer, it's best to wait before announcing to the entire world that you're pregnant, "just in case". No one wants to think about this scenario, where your child doesn't make it through and you're left with the task of telling your friends, family, coworkers…everyone, really, that you are no longer pregnant.
But she just couldn't take it anymore. She knew she was pregnant, and she had to tell somebody!
She scooped up her son, who was playing with wooden ships and making them fly through the air, and told him they were gonna bake something together.
He whined a little, slightly irritated at being interrupted, but understanding that by the end of this chore he would have some sugary snacks, so he didn't complain further.
Together they mixed the ingredients in a large bowl, and she giggled when she saw that Bumi got flour all over his face and in his hair. Her child was always one to make a mess.
They stirred up the cookie batter, having fun scooping it out of the bowl and plopping clumps of it onto a baking sheet. They placed the sheet into the oven, and sat down at the kitchen table for a break.
"Mama," Bumi started with a sigh, "this is a lot of work." He put his head down on the table, arms crossed.
She smiled to herself. Nothing exhausted her son more than helping his mom in the kitchen.
"Well, what if I told you I could make it easier when you help me bake?"
Bumi raised his head and quirked a skeptical eyebrow at her. She tried to hold back a laugh at how expressive her young boy was.
"Go on…" he said, encouraging his mother for the details.
"You see…I figure it would be easier if we divide up the work," she explained. "You know, got more hands in the kitchen."
Bumi began scratching his chin while he pondered this. "Yes…yes that could work…"
He stopped and turned toward his mother. "But how can we train flying lemurs to break eggs?"
Katara laughed, unable to keep a serious face at the thought of her son training lemurs to bake.
"No, no, not lemurs…" She walked over to him, kneeling down so that they were face to face. "What if I told you that you're going to be a big brother?"
His eyes widened at the idea. "A big brother?"
"Yup! And you get to teach your brother or sister how to bake, and how to play Water Tribe Navy Learns Airbending, and all that fun stuff…"
Bumi started rubbing his chin once more, contemplating. He looked at her and smiled. "You're a genius, mom."
She laughed and told him to go tell his father the news. Bumi ran off, hair sticking up like a madman, face covered in flour, screeching "I'm gonna be a big brother, I'm gonna be a big brother!"
This had never happened before.
At least, not to her. She'd heard about it countless times, comforted grieving mothers-to-be, sometimes even after giving them the news herself as a healer. She couldn't fathom the pain that they were in, the loss they felt, and she knew it.
But now she knew.
She lay down on her bed, curled up in a ball, letting her tears flow. How could her body betray her like this? She was meant to help create, nurture, protect, and love her children, and she couldn't even keep hers alive.
She choked back a sob, trying not to wake up Kya in her crib at the foot of the bed. Kya wasn't old enough to understand what was going on, but she still didn't want her to see her mother so distressed.
She felt guilty for losing the baby. It was her fault that her child, a product of her and Aang's love, no longer had a chance. She had been so hopeful, so ready for another member of their family to join them. Now she wanted to give up.
She had felt off one day; her cramping was out of control and she was bleeding. Neither of those things necessarily means disaster, she had even bled when she was pregnant with Bumi, but those symptoms together told her something was wrong. She went to a healer she trusted for a second opinion. The young bender apologized and told her that she was no longer with child.
She came home to Aang, unable to control her tears, and told him the news. He cradled her, caressed her hair, told her it wasn't her fault and that he was so sorry. But nothing really helped.
About a week had passed and she still wasn't feeling right. She let Aang tell Bumi the bad news; she couldn't be there to see the disappointment and sadness on his face. And that made her feel guilty too.
She knew so many women who were trying to start families, who were unable to have children of their own, and here she was crying when she had two beautiful, healthy children. She knew many women who had nothing but miscarriages and stillborns, and here she was, letting herself wallow in her sadness that meant nothing compared to others'.
At that moment, more than anything, she missed her mother. Over time she grew to accept her mother's death, and she knew that her mother would never get to see her walk down the aisle, would never see her beautiful children, and could never join her for the big moments in her life. But right then, when she was at her lowest, she really needed her mom.
She sat up when she heard a light tapping on the door.
"Mom?" Bumi called softly.
She quickly wiped away her tears, hoping her face wasn't too red and puffy, and told him to come in.
"I, uh…I brought you these," he said, stiffly handing her a cluster of water lilies.
"Aww, thank you, Bumi, that's very sweet," she said with a smile, taking them from her son. She looked at him and saw he wasn't meeting her eye. "You okay?" she asked.
He looked down at his feet, arms behind his back. He rocked back and forth awkwardly. "Ijstwntedtosayiluvyew," he mumbled quickly.
"Er, sorry, what was that?" she asked him, not understanding a word he had said.
He sighed. "I just wanted to…to say that I love you."
She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, but this time for a different reason. She dropped the flowers onto her pillow and pulled her eldest in for a big hug.
"Thank you, Bumi," she whispered, gripping him tightly.
"Yeah, yeah," he responded sheepishly, blushing.
She took a deep breath, trying to strengthen her resolve. It was time to tell them.
She had missed three of her cycles and was relatively certain that she was beginning to show.
As her family sat down at the dinner table, Bumi to the left of his father and Kya in a little booster seat, she told them all she that had an announcement to make.
"Bumi, Kya…it looks like you guys are going to have a little brother or sister on the way," she told them, smiling.
"Alright, I hope I get a brother!" Bumi said, fist in the air.
"I want a sister," Kya pouted.
"Maybe that little guy or gal will be an airbender," Aang said wistfully, staring off.
Katara frowned. "I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl or even a metalbender!"
Everyone looked up at her, and she went a little red.
"What I mean to say is…as long as this baby is healthy, we should all be happy."
They nodded at her and excitedly began talking about baby names. She smiled and began dishing food onto her children's plates, nervous but finally ready to add one more to her family.