Bella
Edward is going away today so everyone has come to see him off at the airport. I'm getting pretty big now at seven and a half months pregnant and I'm glad that Esme and Carlisle offered to have me stay whilst Edward is in Helena. We'd said our goodbyes last night so I just kissed Edward and let him go through the departures gate where he turned and waved before heading off around the corner.
Slowly we all walked back to the car. The whole of Edward's family seemed to feel it if one person was missing and for the next few hours even Alice's spirits were dampened.
However Esme kept us all busy cooking dinner, as we sat at the kitchen table peeling potatoes and a plethora of other vegetables we chatted about the future.
The next day it was just Esme and I in the house. Everybody else had gone off somewhere together, I didn't mind as I didn't feel like doing much nowadays what with being the size of a whale and walking at the pace of a tortoise.
My bump was massive; it must have been making up for its non appearance in the early days of my pregnancy.
I was just headed up the stairs to the bathroom when I felt a sudden pang in the base of my stomach. Letting it pass I carried on to my destination where it happened again. I began to worry as for the third time my stomach clenched painfully. T
he pain was escalating. I called down to Esme. There must have been a note of panic in my voice as she came running up the stairs and headed straight for where I stood.
'What's wrong Bella?'She looked at me worriedly.
'My stomach keeps cramping, it's pretty regular.'
'Okay. Carlisle should be back in the next ten minutes, but come downstairs with me so I can watch you. You do look pretty pale but I'm sure it'll turn out to be nothing.'
Esme helped me down the stairs, pausing when the pain returned and sure enough just five minutes later we heard Carlisle's car draw up outside the front door. He walked into the kitchen humming but halted immediately when he saw our worried faces.
'Is anything wrong?' Esme replied for me,
'Bella keeps getting cramps at the bottom of her stomach. She's a bit worried because they are getting pretty regular.'
Immediately Carlisle went into his work mode and began asking me questions before whipping out his stethoscope and measuring my blood pressure. Finally he spoke:
'I don't think you are going into labour, you blood pressure would go up and yours is just normal. We should still go to the hospital and try to find out what is causing the cramps. I can see they're pretty strong form the way that you are wincing.'
At the hospital the fact that Carlisle was accompanying me meant we were quickly seen to where the doctor repeated all of Carlisle's tests. After waiting a further hour he finally returned to tell me the diagnosis.
'Okay. We think we know what you are experiencing. It is called Braxton Hicks contractions (Carlisle smiled) and are a way of your body preparing for the birth. They usually occur a few times a day and will usually disappear completely after a few weeks. There more of an inconvenience than a problem but you're baby will be fine. I'm sure that is all you wanted to know.'
After thanking the doctor we left quickly. As we arrived back at the house all of us realised that we had forgotten to tell the others and there they stood on the doorstep looking anxious.
Quickly we told them the story as I got embarrassed by being in the limelight and then headed inside where Esme quickly prepared dinner.
I had deliberately decided not to tell Edward until he got back as I knew that he wouldn't finish the course if he felt that I had any need of him. His family agreed. We all knew how irritating he would be when he knew he could have finished his degree. Anyway he would be back in ten days.