The Pregnancy Chronicles
Disclaimer: No, no and more no. I own nothing except maybe minor characters. That is all.
August 6, 2005
Ginny's due date had come and gone and she was still pregnant. And it didn't look like Baby James planned on making an arrival anytime soon.
Ginny was done. Completely done with pregnancy. She was sore, utterly exhausted and she felt like a whale. Healer Morris had informed her that the baby was fully developed and it was just a matter of waiting until he was ready to come out.
In other words, Baby James was straight up freeloading.
She was now getting letters and people popping in daily to her house, wondering if she was in labor yet. The press was going wild in anticipation of the newest Potter and they were now camped out in front of her house. Well, they had been camped out until Molly Weasley came out in all her fury. Then they scattered. However, there was a brave soul or two that would come by in hopes to see Ginny and Harry running out of the house in a panic.
"You know, Jimmy," Ginny said as she sat up from the couch, groaning at how sore her back was. "You could just do us all a favor and get out. We all would like to meet you. I get it—it's probably very comfortable in there but I'm sure you're squished. Come out into the world. We have a lot of room."
"Talking to the baby again, Ginny?" Harry teased as he entered the room and helped his wife up.
"Yes," Ginny sighed. "I'm trying to persuade him that the outside world is better than the inside."
Harry laughed and loped an arm around her shoulders. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to work."
xxxxxx
August 7, 2005
It was Day Two of Baby Watch 2005 and there was still no baby.
She hated having to inform Harry whenever she gasped that no, she was not in labor. The baby decided to kick her in the damn ribs so that's why she gasped.
She hated seeing how disappointed he looked.
Harry had not taken time off work yet as he was waiting until Ginny was in actual labor before he would do that. He wanted as much time as possible with the baby and Ginny before he had to go back to work.
Her back was killing her, to be frankly honest, and it had been for a day or two. Her Braxton Hicks contractions were still a pain in the arse and now that the baby was head down, she had to pee more often. But, on the bright side, she could actually take deep breaths now!
Her mother was fussing over her daily, bringing over frozen food that could be easily heated up when the baby arrived. Even her father had shown up to have a chat with Harry about labor and delivery. When Arthur left, Harry had walked into the kitchen, his face white as he tried to digest what his father-in-law had told him.
"How are you doing, Ginny?" Hermione asked the redhead, surveying her over her teacup.
"Do you really want to know the answer to that?" Ginny asked.
"Not really," Hermione laughed.
"You know, I used to wish for the baby to be born on my birthday," Ginny said as she ate a cookie. "But I don't think I can wait a whole three days. I really just want him to come out now."
"I know," Hermione said sympathetically. "But it shouldn't be long now. What did the Healer say at your last appointment?"
"Healer Morris said that if I'm still pregnant by next Wednesday, she's going to induce me."
Hermione nodded. "So you really only have a week left before the Healers forcibly remove the baby."
"That's a week too long," Ginny protested. "You just wait until you're in the pudding club. A week seems like forever." She suddenly had the overwhelming urge to pee so she excused herself and left the kitchen to find Hermione and Ron's bathroom.
Once in the bathroom, she happily relieved herself on the loo. When she went to wipe herself, she saw a pinkish streak on her toilet paper. Wrinkling her nose, Ginny tossed it into the toilet and stood up. Turning towards the loo, she went to flush when she saw a dark red stringy mass in the toilet. "What the hell?" Ginny wondered to herself as she flushed. "That's disgusting. Stupid pregnancy and its weird effects."
xxxxxx
August 8, 2005 12.30 a.m.
She couldn't sleep. Her back was hurting too much.
Turning on the bedside lamp, Ginny struggled to sit up in bed, whimpering softly at the pain. She just needed a warm compress to put on her back.
"Ginny?" Harry turned over in bed, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"My back just hurts. It's nothing—go back to sleep."
But Harry wasn't going to go back to sleep knowing that his wife's back was hurting. He was sitting up in a second and he put on his glasses so he could see well. "Where does it hurt?"
"Right here," Ginny said as she gestured to her lower back, rubbing it gingerly.
"It's probably sore," Harry said. "I'll get you a compress." He grabbed his wand from his bedside table and Summoned a compress from the bathroom, warming it up with his wand. Placing it on her bare back, Harry turned off both of the lights. "Try and get some sleep, Ginny. Wake me up though if your back still hurts, alright?"
"Yeah," Ginny said, settling down in bed again as she hugged her pillow. Her back ached tremendously but she felt that the hot compress was helping.
2.17 a.m.
Her stomach was starting to hurt—almost as if the back pain was travelling from the back to the front.
Ginny opened her eyes and saw that it was still dark outside. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was still very, very late.
The hot compress was lukewarm now so Ginny placed it on her nightstand and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
It was weird—these stomach cramps. They almost felt like menstrual cramps and that was a pain that Ginny hadn't felt in many, many months.
Placing her hands on her stomach, Ginny was surprised to feel that her stomach was rock hard. Turning on the lamp again, Ginny pressed on her stomach until she felt it grow soft again. "Interesting," she muttered to herself.
Turning on her side again, Ginny closed her eyes and tried to sleep again. She was close to succumbing to sleep when her stomach started to cramp again and her eyes opened.
Maybe I ate something that didn't agree with me, Ginny thought to herself. The pain wasn't so bad so she closed her eyes again and fell asleep.
3.45 a.m.
She had to pee. Right this moment. She knew that if she didn't get up at this exact second she would pee on herself.
Groaning softly at her abdominal pain (which was becoming stronger), Ginny got out of bed and started to walk to the bathroom.
"Ginny? Are you okay?" Harry asked as he sat up in bed, his glasses askew.
"Yeah, I just have to pee," Ginny said as she took another step forward. However, before she could continue moving towards the bathroom, she suddenly felt an enormous pressure and then heard a small 'pop'—almost as if someone had cracked a knuckle. The next thing she knew was that there was a huge rush and a pool of liquid was running down her legs and onto the floor.
Did I just wet myself? Ginny thought, panic setting in as she felt more liquid gush down her legs. "I think I just peed myself."
"What?" Harry straightened his glasses and turned on the lights. With the light on, Ginny looked down to see her pajama shorts soaking wet and some liquid on the floor.
"I think I just peed myself," Ginny said, mortification setting in, feeling more liquid trickle down her legs. "But it won't stop."
Harry got out of bed and moved quickly towards his wife. He stared at the liquid on the hardwood floors and looked up at Ginny, his face slowly losing color.
"Harry," Ginny said, eerily calm. "I do think I am in labor."
xxxxxx
7.14 a.m.
So far, the pain was nothing Ginny couldn't handle. She was a Quidditch player, dammit. She had a high pain tolerance because of her job and because she survived the Second War. Some stomach cramps were nothing compared to the Cruciatus Curse.
She was at the hospital too, having arrived not even half an hour ago. Harry had wanted to take her the minute her water broke but Ginny decided to wait it out. She had Harry fetch her mother while her father rounded the entire Weasley gang up.
Her mother had timed her contractions for her while Harry was gone and it wasn't until her contractions were three to five minutes apart for an hour that her mother informed Harry and Ginny that they needed to get to the hospital.
Sure, the contractions were getting stronger but Ginny could still talk through them with nobody really knowing that she was in pain unless she grimaced slightly.
Healer Morris had arrived and checked on Ginny, saying that she was about three centimeters dilated. Ginny had been thrilled to hear that she was already that far along until she realized she had another seven to go and it might take a while.
So, she walked the length of her hospital room, talking to Harry and her mother.
"Can we bring in Angelina and Hermione? Oh, and why not Fleur too. She's been through this before. She might have something useful to say." Ginny said, wanting more company.
Molly left the room to get the three women, leaving Harry and Ginny behind.
"You alright?" Ginny asked Harry, counting her steps as she walked the length of the room again. She refused to lie down until it was absolutely necessary. Besides, she heard that walking around and standing upright would help speed up delivery.
"I'm alright," Harry said, his voice wavering slightly. "I'm not looking forward to seeing you in pain though."
"I'm already at three centimeters with barely any pain," Ginny protested, feeling very smug about this also. "Watch, they won't get that bad."
11.55 a.m.
I need to keep my ruddy mouth SHUT, Ginny thought to herself miserably as she fought a whimper as another contraction wracked through her.
She was lying on her bed, curled in a fetal position and batting anyone away who tried to touch her. The pain started to increase at about eight thirty when Healer Morris came in to check on her. Ginny was disheartened to hear that she was still three centimeters dilated. She thought she would have progressed more. She waved away the Healer's offer of pain medication. She didn't need it yet. She was still not in too much pain.
But then the contractions started picking up in intensity and it got to a point where Ginny couldn't talk whenever one started. The pain was worse than she could ever imagine. She would rather get hit with the Cruciatus Curse than go through labor.
"Ginny, do you want us to ring for some pain medication?" Angelina asked Ginny gently, watching her sister-in-law with sympathetic eyes.
Ginny shook her head quickly, her whole body relaxing when the contraction passed. "No, I don't need it."
Hermione made a frustrated noise, her bushy hair even wilder from all the times she ran her fingers through it. "We won't look at you differently if you take the potion."
"Zat is true," Fleur chimed in, her stomach now sporting the telltale signs of a small bump. "With Victoire, I did not want any potions. 'Owever, zee pain wuzz so bad I changed my mind."
"No," Ginny said, curling up into a tighter ball as another contraction hit her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as a wave of pain overcame her. Try as she might, she couldn't fight the whimper that escaped her lips.
Harry was by her side in a flash, his face pale. Ginny knew that Harry hated to see her in pain and she knew it was killing him inside that he couldn't stop it.
"Here, Harry," Angelina stood up and pressed a small, yellow furry ball into his hand. "I'm sure you know what this is."
"A tennis ball."
"Yeah, that. If you want to try and help Ginny, roll the tennis ball on her lower back. Make sure you're pressing the ball into her back in small counter-clockwise circles to help alleviate the pressure. George did that with me and it really did help. Ginny," Angelina turned to the redhead and showed her the ball. "Do you want Harry to try that?"
Ginny nodded, wanting some relief. She didn't know why she was being so stubborn about the pain medication. She just didn't want to take it yet.
2.03 p.m.
She was now five centimeters dilated. "You're halfway there," Healer Morris said cheerfully after she had examined the redhead. Ginny wanted to hex that stupid smile off the Healer's face.
She had been in labor for almost twelve hours. Or maybe it was even earlier. She didn't even know anymore.
The pain was awful, completely awful. She had broken down and cried already, sobbing that she wanted her mummy. Molly had immediately comforted her daughter, whispering soothing things into her ear as she smoothed her hair.
Ginny felt like a little girl again as her mother cradled her and for a second she was transported to innocent, carefree times when she would cry to her Mum whenever she scraped her knee. A kiss and a band-aid always made things better.
However, the only thing that would make her better was childbirth. And after the past twelve hours, Ginny was scared shitless of what was to come.
Fleur had left over an hour ago, as she needed to feed Victoire. The entire family had come to St. Mungo's but upon hearing that Ginny's labor would be long, left until they were summoned again when the birth was near.
Angelina and Hermione stayed, though. They refused to leave Ginny's side until Ginny gave birth.
Harry was a right, old mess. His hair was even messier than normal and his clothes were rumpled. His face was pale and drawn and his eyes kept darting towards Ginny every few seconds, wincing whenever he saw her in pain.
Ginny was still refusing any pain medication, much to everyone's astonishment. They hadn't expected Ginny to last this long without a pain potion but they grudgingly accepted the redhead's reasoning that she felt she didn't need it yet.
Ginny knew she would eventually need it. The question was—when would she finally consent to the potion.
4.20 p.m.
Anger was starting to set in. She was only six centimeters. She nearly screamed in frustration when she was checked and had received the news.
"This is your first baby, Ginny," Molly said gently after Healer Morris left. "Labor won't progress quickly. It takes time. You need to be patient."
"Bollocks on patience!" Ginny snapped. "I'm so tired of waiting. I want this damn baby—" she had to stop talking as another contraction went through her. She gritted her teeth and breathed through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to think of anything else except the excruciating pain. As she progressed through her labor, Ginny noticed that she could tell exactly when a contraction was about to start and when it would end. The contraction built slowly until it peaked. When it peaked, Ginny was in the worst pain imaginable and her entire body was tense and on fire. However, the contraction would slowly start to lose its fire and slowly die away.
Ginny looked forward to when the contractions would end. It meant she had time to breathe again and collect her bearings for the next contraction.
"Ginny? Do you want me to massage your back with the tennis ball again?" Harry was standing by her bedside, holding the tennis ball up.
White-hot anger coursed through Ginny as she glared at the person who got her into this mess. "This is all your fault," she hissed.
Harry took a step back, his eyebrows knit in confusion. Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth while Angelina let loose a nervous giggle.
"What?"
"You heard me. This is all your ruddy fault that I'm in so much bloody pain." Ginny just wanted to punch him in his face. She knew it would make her feel better.
"How is it my fault?" Harry asked dubiously. "If I recall, you weren't saying no that night."
Hermione's face turned scarlet and Angelina hid her face so Ginny couldn't see her laughter. Molly, on the other hand, watched the interaction calmly, almost as if she had seen this before.
Ginny's eyes flashed and her fingers itched for her wand. "When I get my wand back," she said slowly. "I'm going to hex your bits off so you can't touch me ever again. You're officially celibate after today."
Harry opened his mouth to retort but Molly was up and tugging Harry back to his seat, away from Ginny's wrath.
"Don't listen to her, dear," she said to her son-in-law. "Heaven knows I said almost the exact same thing to Arthur when I was in labor. She doesn't mean it."
"Yes, I do," Ginny said, overhearing every bit of the conversation. She folded her arms and glared at Harry. "By the way, your bed is the couch now."
6.45 p.m.
Nine. She was nine centimeters dilated.
Just one more to go. She could do it.
She had finally taken the pain potion when she was seven centimeters. The pain and contractions had moved up a thousand notches and the contractions were coming so fast that she couldn't catch her breath.
The pain had been so bad that she was nauseous and spent time huddled by the loo dry heaving.
To the relief of everyone in the room, she had requested the pain medication and downed it immediately. Not even ten minutes later, she had morphed into a nicer version of herself. She could feel pressure but no pain and she was very happy about that.
The whole family had returned to the waiting room, now that Ginny was almost ready to push. Angelina and Hermione were still in the room, offering support and encouragement.
"I would use the loo if I were you," Angelina said. "It didn't happen to me but my mum said that some pregnant ladies poop when they are pushing the baby out."
Ginny stared at Angelina in horror, with Harry's face screwed up in disgust. Hermione looked faintly revolted while Molly looked nonplussed.
"It isn't like the Healers haven't seen it before," Molly pointed out. "And they won't tell you that you did pooped on the table."
"That's disgusting," Ginny said, struggling to get out of bed so she could use the loo. "No, I'm going to use the bathroom. I would really not like to poop while giving birth, thank you very much."
7.22 p.m.
"Ten centimeters!" Healer Morris proclaimed. "You're ready to push, Ginny."
This was the moment she had been waiting nearly fifteen hours for. Nurses started to come into the room too and Ginny felt a twinge of fear. What if things went wrong during delivery? What if the baby got stuck? What if the baby died? What if she was doing it wrong?
Hermione, Angelina and her mother left soon after, hugging and kissing the Potters for good luck.
"You can do it, my Ginbug," Molly said, her eyes filling with tears. She pressed one final kiss to Ginny's head before she left the room with her daughter-in-laws.
"You ready?" Ginny asked Harry softly as he sidled up next to her, taking her hand.
Harry swallowed nervously but nodded. "Yes. I can't wait to meet him."
"Me neither," Ginny said, squeezing Harry's hand as tight as she could.
"Alright, Ginny," Healer Morris said as she situated herself between Ginny's legs. "You ready? Harry, can you grab one of her legs and keep it open? Perfect, just like that."
"Hi, Ginny," a pretty, blonde nurse smiled at the redhead and held her leg. "When you feel a contraction, don't fight it. You're going to bear down and push for ten seconds. Almost as if you're trying to use the toilet. Got it?"
Ginny nodded, her heart in her throat. She was scared out of her mind but she was not going to show it. She was going to be brave and deliver her baby.
Ginny could feel the pressure of a contraction starting and she gritted her teeth and bore down, pushing as if she had to use the restroom. Harry was squeezing her hand and encouraging her, counting with the nurse as she pushed for ten seconds.
"Ten!" The nurse said as Ginny flopped her head back onto the pillow, feeling exhausted. "Take a quick breath and push again."
Ginny took in a gulp of air and lifted her head up so that her chin was pressed against her chest. She pushed with all her might, hoping that her pushes were effective.
Faintly, she could hear Harry and the nurse encouraging and praising her and those words kept her going. The world seemed to slow down as Ginny pushed and cried out, her entire body shaking. Her hair was matted to her forehead and neck but she kept going, listening only to what her husband, the nurse and the doctor were saying.
"You're doing great, Ginny!" Healer Morris said after what seemed like an eternity. "I can almost see the baby's head!"
The Healer's statement thrilled Ginny and that redoubled her motivation to push as effectively as she could. She was dying to see her baby.
So she pushed and pushed and pushed, grunting and shaking the entire time. She was so tired and she wanted to rest. Her heart was racing and she was having a hard time getting deep breaths in.
"One more big push," the nurse said. "C'mon Ginny. Push, push, push. You got it."
Ginny grunted and pushed again, her entire face growing red with the amount of force she was putting into it.
Suddenly, Harry's soothing tones turned into one of excitement. "He has hair, Ginny! I saw his hair!"
"One big push," Healer Morris said. "And his head will come out. Just one big push, you got it."
"Take a quick breath," the nurse said. "Now push!"
Ginny did just that. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed with all her might, crying out as she did so. She heard Harry become more animated as the baby's head slowly slid out and she knew she was almost done.
"One more big push!" Healer Morris said. "You got it, Ginny! Don't you want to meet your baby?"
Of course she wanted to meet her baby, what kind of stupid question was that?
But she pushed anyway, wanting to make this push her best and last one. The noise level in the room increased as the rest of the baby's body slid out and into Healer Morris' hands.
And then she heard it. The most beautiful sound in the world.
The sound of her baby crying for the first time.
The very sound of her child—her child—crying made Ginny burst into tears. Healer Morris held the slimy, blood covered, crying baby in the air so that Harry and Ginny could get their first look at him. "It's a boy!" She cried out as she laid the baby across Ginny's chest and stomach. The nurses sprung into action as they quickly toweled the baby off, removing some of the blood.
Ginny had never seen anyone more beautiful and perfect than her own child.
"Hi James," Harry said, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. "We're so happy to meet you."
"He's beautiful," Ginny cried as she stared at the infant, unable to stop drinking in the sight of her squirming, squalling baby. "He's so perfect."
10.30 p.m.
Normally, newly born babies would spend their first night in the hospital nursery but the Potters had swiftly knocked that idea down. They wanted their son near them.
Ginny still couldn't believe that they had a baby. She couldn't believe she was a mother.
James Sirius Potter had been born at 8.42 p.m. on August 8 and weighed a healthy eight pounds two ounces and measured in at twenty-one inches.
Ginny couldn't believe that she had pushed for over an hour. It had felt a lot shorter than that. But, looking back, the details were quite hazy.
The whole family had met James within an hour of his birth. The youngest Potter had been passed around the Weasley clan (with minor arguments due to Molly's reluctance to pass the baby on) and everyone said that he was perfect and beautiful.
But you didn't need to tell Ginny that. She already knew that her baby was perfect and beautiful.
Teddy had been incredibly shy when it was his turn to hold the baby and Andromeda sat him on a chair and watched carefully as her grandson held James.
"He's really small," Teddy said seriously. "How can we play Quidditch?"
Harry laughed and rumpled Teddy's blue hair, smiling at the boy. "He'll grow up, Teddy. Just give him some time."
Teddy nodded and looked at James again. "Watch out for Victoire," he whispered to the baby. "She likes to kiss boys."
Eventually, everyone started to leave around nine thirty except for Ron and Hermione as the Potters asked them to stay behind so they could talk.
"How are you feeling, Ginny?" Ron asked, still holding Baby James.
"Better now that I'm not in labor." Ginny said, taking a drink from her cup of water. She hadn't been allowed to drink or eat anything during labor so she was definitely making up for lost time.
"Why did you ask us to stay?" Hermione asked from her spot next to Ginny's bed. She had cried when she saw James for the first time and then she broke down into fresh tears again when she saw Ron hold James.
Ginny looked at her husband, who nodded. "We have something to ask you two," Ginny said.
Even Ron looked up at that statement, his curiosity piqued.
"Ginny and I were wondering," Harry started. "If you two would like to be James' godparents."
There was a stunned silence before Hermione burst into tears again and Ron's face turned red.
Ginny and Harry both looked bewildered at this odd display of emotion and for a moment, Ginny wondered if they didn't want to be the baby's godparents.
But then, Hermione started nodding through her tears and Ron cleared his throat, his face still rosy. "We would be honored to be his godparents," Ron said as he looked down at his godson.
"There's a catch though," Ginny said, a small smirk playing at her lips.
Even Harry looked confused.
"As James' godfather, you're not allowed to indoctrinate him into the Cannons craziness."
Ron snorted and held the baby protectively to his chest. "Fat chance I'll ever agree to that."
Ron and Hermione had left soon after that as they both had work in the morning, leaving the new family of three to themselves.
Harry had fallen asleep not too long ago and was snoring softly on the couch, a light blanket thrown over him. James lay in his hospital bassinet near Ginny's bed, sleeping soundly.
Ginny reached over towards the bassinet, trailing her index finger over her baby's button nose. "Welcome to the craziness, Jimmy," Ginny whispered, her heart swelling with love at the sight of her child. "I promise we won't corrupt you too much. You are part Weasley, after all."
xxxxxx
Aren't you readers lucky? I was SO happy with all your amazing reviews that I decided to give you guys another chapter. I couldn't help myself—this story is so much fun.
I hope I did the whole labor and delivery sequence justice and if not, whoops. Well, I tried. I researched as much as I could (and got many pictures that I also didn't want to see, ugh).
There's one more chapter after this and then this story is done. But do not fret, my dear readers, I actually have another story in mind that should be up in a week or two.
And one final note: no, I will not be writing any pregnancy stories dealing with Albus or Lily.
Review, you awesome people!