Chapter 3

Lydia's cravings for food continued getting stranger as she reached being 8 months pregnant. Her weirdest combination yet was white rice with melted cheese and ranch dressing. Although Aiden wouldn't go anywhere near that combination of foods, he made sure that he had at least a weeks worth to be on the safe side.

Lydia was 2 weeks into being 8 months pregnant when they threw the baby shower at their house. Lydia had asked mom if she wouldn't mind doing the cooking a week before the party and had asked Allison to help with the decorations when they were having a girl's day shopping for miscellaneous baby items. While they were out having fun shopping, Aiden was back at home with Ethan painting the nursery. Since Ethan was helping, Lydia had literally twisted his arm on the promise that he would not reveal the sex of the baby. At a few of the family dinners they almost let the sex of the baby slip when the conversation turned to their baby but they would catch themselves in time much to the disappointment of mom. Mom had been trying really hard for the last few months to make them slip and spill the beans.

Believe me, Aiden had been tempted to tell his mom the news because she had been a huge help to him and Lydia over the last few months. As Lydia continued to get bigger and bigger every month, she would fine one minute and then randomly start sobbing"That she looked like a beached whale."

Chalking it up to her hormones Aiden could only stand there helpless, thinking of ways to calm her down. Whenever Aiden would tell her that he thought Lydia was very beautiful and when his words would do nothing to stop the trail of tears down her cheeks he would demonstrate how beautiful he thought she was through displays of affection. When those didn't calm her down, he would end up calling his mom to come over with Lydia's favorite dessert that his mom made. At the end of each visit, Lydia would come out her funk with a huge dimpled smile on her face.

On the day of the baby shower, Lydia was grateful it was finally here so she could finally lie to rest all the questions. A week ago, she and Aiden had come up with a clever way to reveal their baby's gender that would be unveiled when it came time to cutting the cake. Because baby showers were typically a woman thing, Aiden had begged Ethan to come over the night before so they could escape to his man cave and watch sports on TV with cold beer, chips and dips. Ethan still hadn't shown up yet so Aiden was currently seated in the living room beside Lydia twiddling his thumbs as she opened baby shower gifts. To anyone who glanced at Aiden, they could easily see that he was utterly besotted with his wife by the way he stares at her. He could stare at her all day and never get bored. He loved seeing her face light up as she interacted with friends and family, her adorable laugh filling the room whenever someone said something funny. Where ever Lydia went Aiden wasn't too far behind and the overprotectiveness would annoy most wives but Lydia thought it was cute. To her it should how much he cared about her and their son. To observers of this act, they would leave thinking how adorable he was, a selfless man who cared about his wife's needs before his own. Before retreating to the man cave when his brother arrived, Aiden made sure Lydia had whatever she needed before leaving the room with a quick kiss as a goodbye. Looking around the room, Lydia couldn't help but be grateful for all the people she had in her life. The baby shower kicked with all the typical games and nonstop inquiries about the sex of the baby, her friends trying their hardest to get Lydia to spill the beans. Lydia of course remained mum. The baby shower ended with Lydia and Aiden getting all the gifts they had registered for which caused Lydia to tear up in relief that she didn't have to worry about getting the rest of the things they might have needed.

As they were nearing the end of the pregnancy with only a few more weeks remaining Aiden and Lydia still hadn't decided on a name for their unborn child. One night while they were laid out in bed flipping through a baby name book, jotting down possible names for their son and after disagreeing on a few they settled on two possible names.

Happy with the names, Lydia settled under the covers and had the deepest sleep she had had in quite a while.

As the baby's due date kept getting closer, Lydia began to get very excited at the thought that she would soon be able to hold her baby son in her arms. They only had one more week of waiting before the baby was due to arrive on July 4th.

Lydia had been in a nesting mood all throughout her pregnancy, constantly cleaning even when things didn't need to be cleaned and doing other miscellaneous things around the house. Because Lydia was such a small woman, her pregnancy weight gain only evident around her stomach, her doctor had told her that she should take it as easy as possible and rest continuously throughout the day. Aiden had tried many times to get Lydia to stop cleaning and rest but she wouldn't pay too much attention to his words. Cleaning is exactly what Aiden saw her doing the morning of the baby's due date and when he asked her "Babe why are you cleaning."

"I'm cleaning so that we don't have worry about it when we get back." She replied, wiping down the kitchen table "Besides I want to enjoy some family time, just us 3 without worrying about cleaning." She continued wiping the hair out of her eyes.

"Lydia, I think its time you rest." Aiden said approaching her side to guide her by the hand to the sofa. Wrapping a blanket around her, creating a warmth Lydia hadn't known she needed, he released her hand when she was seated on the sofa.

"No Aiden, I need to keep cleaning." Lydia protested, pouting from the sofa.

Glancing towards the kitchen Aiden couldn't see a speck of dust evident on a single surface. "Baby please stay on the couch, the kitchen is squeaky clean and you need your rest." He pleaded as she tried to push herself off the sofa.

"Okay I give up." She conceded flopping back on the sofa and closing her eyes. Shortly after her even breathing telling him she was asleep.

With every passing month Lydia continued to get bigger and bigger and would constantly cry about the simplest things at the drop of a hat. Knowing it was her hormones going haywire Aiden had learned early on to agree with Lydia and do whatever she needed from him. In his eyes Lydia was the most beautiful woman he had ever know and the glow she had gotten from the pregnancy gave her an angelic aura. Aiden never once complained when she sent him to the store in the middle of night for her latest craving. He figured he owed her this since she was the one doing all the hard work of carrying their baby. Aiden himself couldn't go a day without keeping his hands off her stomach and found him-self constantly wanting to jump her bones. Aiden always had a look of amazement on his face whenever he felt the son move under his hands as he would talk to her stomach.

At 9 months pregnant Lydia had woken up in a chipper mood on the morning of her due date. As she began to get ready for the day she had felt slight twinges in her stomach but had thought nothing about it and had gone downstairs, suddenly in the mood to start cleaning. A while later Lydia was jolted awake from her nap on the sofa to the feeling on wetness on her thighs and tightness in her stomach. Lydia put the clues together when another contraction hit her causing her to inhale sharply. Looking around the room for her husband, her eyes landed on his sleeping form lounging in the recliner. Getting up from the sofa, she approached his side to shake him awake.

"Aiden… Aiden, wake up, we need to go the hospital." Lydia leaned over and shouted in his ear. Startled from his sleep, he jumps up from the recliner, nearly knocking Lydia to the floor.

"Its time?" Aiden asked as a whole mix of emotions splashed across his face.

"Yes it's time, we're going to have a baby." She replied causing Aiden to start rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off. Lydia seated herself back on the sofa as Aiden went to find the hospital bag she had luckily packed the night before. With hospital bag in hand, Aiden flew down the stairs and out the door to the garage.

"Aiden aren't you forgetting something?" Lydia shouted to his retreating form, but he was already out the door and halfway down the street in the car when he suddenly remembered he had forgotten Lydia. Turning around he sped back to the house.

"Sorry baby." Aiden said an apologetic look on his face as he entered the house, the car left idling in the garage.

"The only way I'll forgive you is you change the baby's first dirty diaper." Lydia replied, holding out her hand for him to shake on the deal.

"Deal." Aiden said relieved as he shook her hand, helped her from the sofa and deposited her in the car. On their way to the hospital Aiden was glad a cop didn't pull them over due to his speeding.