Jonathan went and got a towel, and cleaned up the floor under the massage table, while Jennifer went upstairs.
She took a quick shower, and then got dressed and started packing her bag really quickly. She had made a list, so that was helping her go faster.
She packed a bag for herself and a bag for the baby.
As soon as Jonathan got upstairs, she started to head downstairs.
He quickly changed clothes, and packed himself a bag, and then headed downstairs. She was in the kitchen packing a snack and filling her water bottle.
They arrived at the hospital about 15 minutes later. He dropped her off out front, and then parked the car. She was inside, in a wheelchair doing paperwork when he came inside with their bags.
They put her in a room and paged Dr. Perkins.
The nurses were putting the blood pressure monitor on her and taking her vitals. They did a pelvic exam.
"She's not dilated, but her blood pressure is elevated."
"Mrs. Hart, do you have any other symptoms?"
"Well, I woke up in the night with heartburn and a headache. And my back was hurting a little bit ago".
The nurse examined her hands.
"Where was your back hurting?"
Jennifer leaned forward and Jonathan showed them where the spots were.
"Ok, we are going to have you put this gown on, and take your underwear off, you can leave your socks on if you want, and then get back in the bed. The doctor will be in shortly. No food or drink until you see the doctor".
She got up and put the gown on, and then got back in bed.
She made a list of things she wanted to talk to the doctor about, such as ordering Jonathan a bed, and speaking with a lactation consult.
"Honey, we forgot to bring the baby bag".
"No, we didn't. It's right over there".
"Oh."
He pulled the chair up to her and grabbed her hand.
"It's going to be okay, darling. We got this. We are in good hands".
She nodded.
All of a sudden, her stomach felt like it was on fire. She started her Lamaze breathing, and she started pointing to the door, trying to tell him to get a nurse.
He ran to get one and came right back.
She was breathing a little better then.
They hooked her up to a fetal monitor.
"The dr. should be in shortly".
She labored a long for a little bit, with them monitoring her closely. After about 5 hours, nothing had really happened. She was starting to dilate some, but she was growing impatient.
The nurse had brought another bed in for Jonathan, and they had called her dad. He was taking the next flight out. Jennifer managed to get some rest for a few hours, but woke up around 2 with strong contractions. He hit the button for the nurse, and they did another pelvic exam.
"You are at 5 cm, Mrs. Hart."
"Epidural, please".
"We will call them right away".
They let her have some ice chips, but no food.
Jonathan laced his hands through hers and kissed the back of her hand.
He could tell she was worn out.
They rested again for about an hour and then the anesthesiologist came by and gave her the epidural. Jonathan held her hand and she squeezed it hard, but it wasn't too bad of a stick.
About 10 minutes later, she started to feel some relief.
Dr. Perkins still hadn't come in. The nurse paged her again.
About 20 minutes later, the nurse came in to check her and said that she was now at 7.
"Dr. Perkins is in surgery, so the on-call OB will have to deliver your baby. I paged them, and they will be here soon".
She laid back and tried to rest, but it was no use.
She was hot, and her headache was getting worse.
They came in and gave her a shot in her IV for the headache.
Just as she was about to push the button again, the dr. walked in. It was Susan Kendall.
"HI. I know that you asked me to be removed from your case, and I respect that. However, I'm the on-call OB, so until your doctor gets out of surgery, I will be the one delivering your baby".
Jennifer nodded.
Susan did an exam, and then looked at the fetal monitor print out.
She took Jennifer's blood pressure, and it had spiked way up.
"Ok, I am going to give you a small dose of Pitocin to get you all the way dilated, and then we are going to meet your daughter. Jonathan, I need to move your bed over, and the nurses are going to come in and prepare Jennifer's bed".
He got up and they moved the bed out of the way, as the nurses layered her bed with sheets and towels.
About 20 minutes later, she felt like her stomach was about to explode.
Susan walked in, and checked her.
"Ok, Jennifer, this is it. Jonathan, hold her hand. We are going to put your legs up into the stirrups, and then we are going to start pushing".
They got her into position, and helped her count to ten as she pushed.
She was giving all of her energy every single time, and feeling like she wasn't getting anywhere.
After about 15 minutes of pushing, she laid back and looked at Jonathan.
"I can't. I'm done. I just can't".
"Come on, darling. You can do this. I'm right here with you and we have a little girl to meet, right? One more push, and then we will take a breather".
She nodded and he helped her sit up again. They counted for her as she pushed.
"I can see the head, Jennifer. You are doing great, we are so close".
She pushed again, and then finally, at 6:14 a.m., their daughter was born.
Jonathan cut the cord, and then they held up the baby so Jennifer could see her.
Jennifer started crying, and Jonathan came over and kissed her.
"She's beautiful, just like you".
"I want to see her".
"We are cleaning her up, and then you can hold her".
She hadn't even noticed that she delivered the placenta while they were talking.
She was screaming, and it was the sweetest little cry. They brought the baby to Jennifer so she could see her better.
"Is she ok?"
"She's fine. She's going to have to spend some time in the NICU, as a precaution, but as soon as the doctor observes her for a little bit, she might graduate from the NICU, and get to come to your room in an isolette or be in the nursery. We will keep you updated".
They helped Jennifer with the recovery process, and then as soon as the baby was cleaned off and ready, they brought her to Jennifer so that she could hold her and let her sit up some.
"Hi there. You are so pretty angel. Yes, you are. Daddy says you look like me. But you know what, you have his nose. And you know who else you look like? Your grandma Suzanne. You have her lips. You won't get to meet her though, because she's in heaven. However, you will get to meet Grandpa Stephen, as soon as he gets here".
Jonathan sat back and just watched Jennifer talk to the baby.
She let Jonathan hold her for a little bit, when the nurse came in to do the paperwork on the baby.
"Darling, are we sure about her name?"
"I think so. Whatever mommy wants to name you is fine with me".
"Jillian Paige Edwards Hart, or Jillian Paige Suzanne Hart? Which one do you like?"
"Well, you have Suzanne as your middle name. And that was your mom's name, so I think we should go with that one".
"Perfect".
She looked at the nurse.
"Jillian Paige Suzanne Hart".
"Got it, Ma'am."
"How much did she weigh?"
"5 pounds, 6 ounces. And she was 21 ½ inches long".
They did her handprint and her footprint, and Jillian slept through the whole thing.
They let Jennifer have some water and crackers, and then the nurse took Jillian to the NICU to monitor her.
They were moving Jennifer to a different room as well.
After they got her settled into a new room, Jonathan went into the bathroom to shower and change clothes.
When he got out of the shower, he heard this beeping noise. He quickly put his clothes on, and opened the door.
Jennifer was in the bed, and she had grabbed the bedpan to throw up in.
He hit the button for the nurse and then yelled for one down the hall.
He went and sat by her, and held her hand.
They came in and took her blood pressure, and found that it had spiked. They gave her a dose of anti-nausea meds and blood pressure meds, and had her lay back. .
"I need to see the lactation consultant. I want to breastfeed".
She looked over at Jonathan.
"Darling, will you go check on Jillian?"
"Sure, if you are sure you will be ok".
"I'm fine. I just don't want her to be alone".
He kissed her forehead and headed to the NICU.
The nurses helped her shower then, and they let her put her regular pajamas on. She was starting to get feeling back in her legs.
Jonathan came back a little bit later, and showed her some pictures he had taken of the baby.
"They are feeding her and if she does well, she will get to come visit in a little bit. None of the nurses think that she will have to stay in the NICU very long".
He sat down next to the bed.
"Darling, are you hungry? I can run get us something, if you are".
"I'm starved. How about some breakfast, maybe from CJ's?"
"Perfect. I'll be right back. I love you".
"I love you, too." She kissed him a few times.
Just before he got back, the nurse brought Jillian to her, and said that she had graduated out of the NICU, and was hungry.
Jennifer decided to try breastfeeding, and the nurse helped her get started.
"There you go, that's it. Such a good girl".
The nurse was helping to make sure she was getting the hang of it.
"How do I know how much she eats?"
"You don't. As long as she has wet diapers and poops, and is gaining weight at her doctor's appointments, everything is ok. If you really want to measure it, you can always pump and then bottle feed her."
"That might be easiest. That way Daddy can help feed you also".
"I will send the lactation consultant in to see you, she can answer all your questions".
"Thank you".
"Here's a blanket in case you want to cover up if someone comes in. And if you need something, just push the button. She will stop when she's full".
"Thank you".
Jennifer leaned back and tried to relax while Jillian ate, but she was feeling so out of her element. Before she knew it, the tears were flowing fast and hard.
"I hope I am doing the right things with you. I don't know what I'm doing, I hope I learn it as I go".
She sat there, crying and feeding Jillian, until Dr. Perkins came in.
"Jennifer, hi. I'm sorry, I was in surgery. How are you?"
"I….don't….know…."
"Ok, let's take a look. She is eating good, so you are doing it right. Is it painful?"
"No."
"I think you are having some postpartum symptoms. Your hormones are having to regulate themselves. This is totally normal. But, if you start to have unusual thoughts, that are even the slightest bit negative, I want you to call me right away, ok?"
She nodded.
She looked over her chart.
"Seems like you had a good delivery."
"I just don't understand why she came so early. I mean, I'm glad she's here, but I was only 32 weeks".
"what were you doing when your water broke?"
"Well, my back was really hurting, so Jonathan was rubbing my back and he found these two spots and really rubbed them deep tissue like for about 20 minutes. And massages get me really relaxed and sleepy like, so I was about to fall asleep. I felt really weird and almost didn't know how to tell him, and then my water broke".
"Jennifer, lean forward."
Jennifer gingerly leaned forward, and adjusted Jillian, and Dr. Perkins got up and went behind her.
She placed her hands just above Jennifer's lower back.
"Am I near the points?"
"Yes, that's them, exactly".
Dr. Perkins smiled.
"Those are pressure points. There's an old wives' tale that says if you massage those points for a long time, you can induce labor. Guess it worked".
She leaned back again, and Jillian finished eating.
"Well, I guess she's done".
"How long were you feeding her?"
"About 10 minutes before you came in".
She handed Jillian to Dr. Perkins, and she examined her some. Jennifer fixed herself and leaned back against the bed.
"I do believe you have given birth to the most perfect baby."
"I think so too".
"She has your lips".
"Those are my mother's lips. She has Jonathan's nose though. And I hope that she opens her eyes soon, and they are the same deep blue that he has".
"How are you feeling, otherwise?"
"I was a little nauseous earlier, but it seems to have passed. The nurse gave me something".
"That was probably a side effect of the epidural, and your hormones being all wonky from delivery".
Jonathan got back then, with a dozen pink and purple roses for Jennifer, plus breakfast for the both of them.
"Well, I am going to let you two eat, and spend some time with your beautiful daughter. I am graduating her out of the NICU, and clearing her to stay in here with you. I will be back later this afternoon to check on you again. Congratulations, you are parents to a beautiful baby".
"Thank you, Dr. Perkins".
Jonathan set the roses down on the bedside table, and then set their food down.
He came over and picked up Jillian.
"Hi there. Were you a good girl for your mommy?"
"She was a perfect angel. She breastfed like a pro".
"I'm glad you were good. You don't want to get on her bad side, trust me. It's not pretty".
"Jonathan!"
"See? Trust me, we want to keep her happy".
Jennifer was laughing.
"Stop telling our child that I'm mean."
"I never said that, honest."
He gave her a couple of kisses and then set her in the middle of the bed.
He went and moved the isolette closer, and then picked her up and got her settled in that.
He moved it to Jennifer's side of the bed and then came back and got out their breakfast.
He had ordered Jennifer Steak and Eggs, and sliced fruit.
He had ordered himself two Huevos Rancheros and an egg in the hole sandwich.
As soon as they were done eating, Jonathan took the trash, and then came back and washed his hands, and handed the baby to Jennifer.
"Hi angel."
She gave her a kiss and settled her on her chest.
"How are you feeling, darling?"
"Good. I was crying earlier, and Dr. Perkins said it was postpartum. But I'm fine now".
She kissed the top of Jillian's head.
"We are going to get you some sparkly outfits and some princess bows and the cutest little blankets ever. And you have the most gorgeous nursery ever. Mommy can't wait till you see it. And your grandpa is coming today, yes, he is. He is going to fall in love with you, so hard. You are going to be his favorite person ever, you know that?"
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Hi, can I come in?"
It was Dr. Kendall.