Thank you all so much for all of the reviews, favourites and follows on this story. This story has now reached the 200 review mark which is beyond anything I ever expected when I started writing this. I say this every time, but all of your lovely, kind reviews mean the world to me, I am so grateful! Thank you so much!
Here is chapter 15. Enjoy.
"Sheldon, I think you're doing it wrong" Amy didn't want to voice her opinion, knowing that it would only frustrate Sheldon who was already looking a little flustered at the prospect of assembling a changing table.
Reluctantly, Amy had been summoned to reading out the instructions, Sheldon refusing to let her lift a finger. Now at thirty weeks pregnant, Amy's bump was measuring 29cm and was pretty much getting in the way of most things. She learnt from the app that Sheldon had on his phone that their daughter was now the size of a bunch of broccoli and that her brain was advancing, holding more brain cells each day.
It excited her to know that her daughters brain was developing and growing. She could hardly wait until she was old enough and she could take her to her lab and show her various cells or have her contribute to an experiment. Of course, she wanted her to develop her own mind and interests, she wanted her to be strong, smart and kind but she was bursting at the prospect of sharing something she loved with her.
"Amy, I have two doctorates, I think I know what I'm doing" despite his snarky response, he didn't.
"Will you please let me help. I'm not completely incapable" she lowered herself to the floor, a task that she knew she would later regret when it was time to get back up. She laid out the instructions flat on the newly laid wooden floor so that Sheldon could see what he was doing wrong. "This is C, the side panel" Amy pointed it out lifting the panel Sheldon needed, he was quick to take it from her, an act of kindness rather than his attitude. "You need to connect this to F the top panel" Amy titled her head to one side as she tried to make out the detailed diagram.
"Why can't they just write step by step instructions, why do they have to make it so complicated with letters and diagrams of objects that all look the same" Sheldon ranted with a huff as he followed the instructions, Amy's instructions.
It was inevitable that piecing all the furniture together would be a mammoth task, with Sheldon refusing to admit that there was anything he couldn't do that also came with declining invitations of help from friends. The assembly of the crib had been a spur of the moment decision when Leonard and Penny were over helping them paint the nursery a few weeks ago, if anything it was Penny that carried out most of the work but the girls were happy to let the guys take the credit.
"I thought you were a genius" Amy gently laughed, a wicked smile upon her face.
"If you're trying to be funny, it's not working"
She smiled to herself and proceeded to lay out all the bits Sheldon would need, trying to follow the instructions to make sure that all the items were paired up to the ones they needed to be attached to. Once she was pleased with her work she sat back on her heels and admired the room.
Fresh white walls with beautiful woodland animals stencilled on and the wooden flooring were hallmark designs for the Scandinavian themed nursery that once Amy had discovered, she had her heart absolutely set on. The natural, neutral furnishings and the light coloured fabrics absolutely screamed Amy, it was her style down to a tee and to watch it all come together made her incredibly happy.
Casting her mind back to when she first moved into this apartment, the notion of having a second bedroom that wasn't occupied by anyone, occasionally left her feeling a little lonely. A reminder that not only was she single but her friends or lack of them had all also moved on.
She never once imagined that what had been her office, cluttered with various books on science and the brain would suddenly become her daughters nursery. Maybe that was because she had never envisaged having a baby here, she had always pictured her life to be very traditional: buy a house, a real family home, get married and then finally after a year or two settle down and start a family. It struck her now that she was kind of doing it all in reverse and what amazed her the most was that it really didn't bother her. Regardless of where it all fell in the timeline she had concocted in her head, she was having a baby, having a baby really soon and she couldn't be happier.
"Okay, is this right?" Amy was amazed that Sheldon was asking for opinion, normally he would assume he was of course right and go full steam ahead with anything. She looked at the base of the changing table that he had build whilst she was oblivious and lost in her own little world.
"I think so" she titled her head to one side, examining Sheldon's handy work and the instructions laid out before her. "It looks like it does on the pic...oww" Amy was suddenly cut off from finishing her sentence when a tight pain went through her stomach, her hand immediately went to her bump. The pain only lasted for a few seconds before it had disappeared but it was more than enough time for Amy to have gained Sheldon's attention.
"Is she kicking you in the ribs again?" Sheldon asked, the rib kicking had become quite a daily occurrence and despite growing accustomed to the sharp jolts it always took Amy by surprise.
"No" Amy shook her head.
"You're not having contractions, are you?" Sheldon asked his voice rising in pitch as he suddenly stopped what he was doing. Amy suddenly regretted being honest, she should have just gone along with the baby kicking her, now she was going to have to admit what was really going on.
"No" she waved her hand, quickly dismissing his question. "I think they're Braxton hicks, I've been having them all morning." They had started over breakfast and had been on and off for the majority of the morning, they were irregular and not getting any stronger in intensity. Amy hoped by letting Sheldon know that she had been experiencing them all morning it would help ease his worries. She was wrong.
"All morning?!" he exclaimed. "Amy, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it isn't anything to worry about and I know exactly what you're like" she gestured towards him, clearly indicating that his current state was the reason why she never mentioned anything.
He could see her point, his heart was racing and his mind was already going into overdrive. In typical Sheldon style, he was already planning the mad dash that he was about to do to the hospital. Trying to figure out ways in which he could support Amy even though they hadn't even attend their first class.
"Fine" he took a deep breath, willing to calm himself down. "Can you please just rest and take it easy?" he asked, she wanted to protest that she was absolutely fine, that sitting on the floor and organising various planks of wood was no great effort but his blue eyes that bore into her, pleading with her to follow his instructions, were far too cute to resist.
"If you want me to move, you're going to have to help me up" she laughed as she outstretched her arms up to him. He took hold of her hands and with an over the top haul, pulled her up to her feet. She trudged across the room and perched herself down on the rocking chair that was nestled in the corner.
Even though the room wasn't finished she would occasionally come and sit in this rocking chair when she was home alone, it was a peaceful little corner of the room, of her whole apartment. She would picture what it would be like sitting here at 3am when the rest of the world was asleep, she would have a tiny baby nuzzled against her chest fighting the urge to sleep as her very own eyes refused to stay open.
As she rocked back and forth, her eyes landed upon Sheldon who was stood in the centre of the room, holding a plank of wood and examining the diagram with a look of wonder and confusion. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she watched his eyes narrow and his mouth pull to the side. He really didn't have a clue but he was trying, he was trying so hard.
Without meaning to, her mind wandered to far how they had come together. Despite the break up, regardless of their relationship status or whatever was going on in their heads with their own feelings, they had managed to push all of that aside for the sake of their daughter. They were getting along, making it work, maybe it wasn't ideal for everyone, Amy didn't exactly know of exes that were as close as her and Sheldon but for them it was their thing. It worked.
—
Sitting in the large hall, the first traces of spring were starting to make their appearance, the sun bursting through the tiny cracks in the blinds that had been drawn, the breeze that swept through Amy's hair on the short walk from the car park, slightly warmer than previous months.
"You don't think we're going to have to sit on the floor, do you?" Sheldon whispered as he leaned closer to Amy. Today, they were attending their first and only birthing class, they had opted for what was called a blast class. A full day of everything covered instead of week by week classes. Currently, sat on some uncomfortable plastic chairs, Sheldon's gaze had wandered to the not so spotlessly clean floor.
"I imagine so. Surely we're going to have to get into some positions" Amy replied, the thought of all of this made her want to giggle.
Before Sheldon could reply, the petite middle aged woman at the front of the room began to speak. She introduced herself as Maria, a 54 year old mother of 5 that had been a midwife and instructor for the past 33 years. She spoke fondly about her children and career, her voice so calm and soothing her words very delicately placed.
After she had introduced herself, it was now down to the six other couples in the room, they went round stating their name, how many weeks pregnant they were and what number baby this was. The woman to Amy's left who had just revealed this was third gave her a warm, reassuring smile when she revealed this was her first.
The class started with looking at the baby's development so far. Seeing how much it had changed in really quite a short space of time amazed Amy, to know all that was going on inside of her was mind blowing. Sheldon couldn't quite comprehend what Amy's body was going through, watching the short video as the baby grew and more and more organs seemed to be getting squished, it all looked very uncomfortable, Amy hadn't complained once.
They then went on to discuss birth plans (Amy wasn't entirely sure she wanted to make one), signs of labour (that Sheldon believed to be very similar to the Braxton hicks Amy was experiencing yesterday) and the pain relief options available.
After lunch was when they started to discuss breathing techniques and the various positions that were said to ease the pains of labor and help make pushing more effective. Sheldon was pleased to see that whilst they were away for lunch, gym mats had been laid out, covering the horrors of the floor underneath.
"When your contractions begin, one of the first things you need to do is time them" Maria explained once all the couples were situated on the mats. "You can sometimes get quite caught up in the excitement or panic of it all happening that this is something that can be easily forgotten. You need to time them from the start of the contraction to the end, as well as the space in between to gage an idea of how far apart they are"
"I knew my stopwatch collection would come in handy for something" Sheldon spoke quietly.
"Sshh" Amy smiled. "You're supposed to be listening, this job is all on you"
"When the contractions begin we need to start breathing through them. Taking a deep controlled breath will help supply a good amount oxygen to muscles that are working hard. We are going to take a deep breath in through the nose for four seconds and exhale through the mouth for eight seconds. Birth partners, it's your job to count" Maria explained as she walked around the room, circling around each couple. "Breath in through the nose" Amy followed her instructions, closing her eyes to focus more, she breathed in deeply.
"1, 2, 3, 4" she could hear Sheldon counting at the side of her, right now, she found the whole thing incredibly cute, she wasn't sure whether that would be the case once she was in full blown labour.
"Exhale for 8. Really focus on the out breath, you're going to want to blow all of that pain away"
Just like with before, Amy could hear Sheldon counting at her side. She found this whole thing surprisingly relaxing, this was easy to do now, without the contractions. The pattern of breathing through the non existent contractions continued for a little while longer until it suddenly seemed like the natural thing to do, Amy was hoping that would be the case once things really got started.
As the class went on Maria rolled a birthing ball towards each couple in order to practise positions. Amy's favourite was one of the first ones which involved her being up on her knees, leaning forward with her body draped over the ball. Sheldon's hand was placed on the bottom of her back where he was encouraged to massage.
"You're really good at this" Amy commented as she used the ball to rock herself back and forth as Sheldon's hand massaged her lower back.
"I think you're enjoying this a little too much" he used his palm to rub Amy's back, digging a little deeper. Enthusiastically, he smiled when Maria told him he was doing a very good job. What he thought would be something where he would feel very much out of his depth, he actually felt rather confident in.
—
"I know I wasn't all that keen but I'm really glad we did today, thank you" until Sheldon broached the subject of attending a class a few weeks ago, it hadn't really been something Amy had given much thought. If anything, she was a little sceptical, but today had proven her wrong.
"Good. I'm glad too" he nodded as he focused on the drive back home. Despite it being his idea, the class had left him with more worries and anxieties than he had anticipated. Although he was so excited to meet his daughter, the sudden responsibility was weighing heavy on his shoulders, they were going to be in charge of someone's life. Responsible for a whole, tiny, little person. He wasn't sure how good he was at taking care of himself, let alone someone else, he would never admit it but for the past eight years, Leonard had really been the one to take care of him.
Then there was the birth. Everything that Amy was going to have to go through, everything he was going to have to watch her go through, well that made him more nervous than anything. When they reached a set of traffic lights and the car stopped, he glanced over at Amy. Considering, she was the person going to be going through all of this, she seemed so relaxed and calm. Maybe he was overthinking everything far too much.
"I feel ready to meet her now, don't you?" Amy asked, the class had made everything click into place and left her feeling very excited about motherhood.
"A little" he didn't want to admit how he was feeling to Amy, she seemed so relaxed and happy about everything he didn't want to ruin that for her.
"That doesn't mean you can come out just yet though" Amy spoke to her bump, both her hands resting upon it. "You still have lots of growing left to do" Amy smiled as she felt the wriggles beneath her palm.
"Lots of growing left to do" Sheldon added. "I know that's she's probably incredibly advanced already but it's still far too soon." Amy worried a little about the pressures, if any, that Sheldon would put on their child to be a genius. She was the product of two amazing minds, something special was inevitable but Amy was happy to let it all develop naturally.
"I need to talk to you about something" having listened to all of the potential options of where you could give birth, one option seemed to resonate with Amy. Again, she hadn't given much thought but once she heard it, it made sense. She could almost anticipate Sheldon's reaction and thought it was best to broach the subject whilst the car was stationary. "How would you feel about me having her at home?"
"At home?" Amy could tell he was trying to keep it together, whether that be for her sake or for the road safety of others. The lights turned to green and the car slowly started to move forward. "Absolutely not" he shook his head keeping his eyes fixed on the road.
"Why not?" Amy pouted, his instant dismissiveness annoyed her.
"Because it's too risky Amy, what if something goes wrong?"
"That's highly unlikely"
"You don't know that" he flicked the turn signal and took a right turn. Sheldon's apartment building coming into view.
"I wouldn't be allowed a home birth if the pregnancy was considered too risky and besides they'll be medical professionals there" Amy defended, she wasn't exactly one hundred percent sure on the decision, she was now just desperate to prove a point to him.
"Midwives Amy, not a doctor. What if you need pain relief? All you'll have at home is...well...well, not a lot" he didn't know what was offered if you gave birth at home but he knew it wouldn't be anything as powerful as an epidural. He didn't like arguing without the full facts. He parked the car in his usual spot and got out, Amy followed soon after, slamming the passenger door behind her.
"I don't want pain relief" Amy stated, she had already made that decision before the class. She wanted to do this as naturally as possibly, she had read up on the benefits.
"Don't want pain relief?!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Oh my god, this just gets better doesn't it?" he pushed open the door to the building before throwing his hands up in the air.
"I think you're forgetting that I'm the one that has to do this" she began as they started climbing the stairs, the four flights that it took to reach apartment 4A were becoming increasingly taxing, she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to keep doing it for. "Not you, but me."
"But I'm going to have to watch you in pain Amy and that bit terrifies me more than anything" the thoughts he had been too afraid of voicing in the car suddenly became words that were blurred out as they were bickering.
Just as they were about to climb the third set of stairs, Sheldon's words caused Amy to stop in her tracks, she was still clutching on to the handrail as Sheldon was a few steps ahead.
"Sheldon, stop a minute" she told him.
"Are you okay?" there was softness in voice that hadn't been presented throughout their conversation, his mind instantly thinking of the worst as Amy called for him to stop.
"I'm fine" she gave him a small smile. "I didn't know you felt like that" her voice was quiet. "Come and sit down" Amy lowered herself to the step and patted the space next to her.
"This isn't very hygienic Amy, my apartment is just..."
"Hey, now I'm down, I'm not getting up" she laughed. Sheldon smiled to himself, thankful that they no longer seemed to be arguing and his feeling were out in the open. He quickly jogged down the few stairs between him and Amy and sat down next to her. "Talk to me, what's bothering you?" she asked, she had always been insistent on them talking things over.
"It's silly really" he shrugged.
"No it isn't" Amy insisted gently, placing her hand on his knee and giving it a squeeze. When she realised what she was doing, unlike the times before, she didn't move it away.
"I guess the class freaked me out a little" Amy opened her mouth to speak but Sheldon continued. "I know it was all my idea and it was useful but I didn't think it would make me this anxious" Amy refrained from commenting on that fact that everything made him anxious. "It just made me realise so much is going to change. We're having a baby, Amy. We're going to be responsible for a person."
"I feel like that too"
"You do?" he asked. "But you're always so calm"
"Sheldon, it's normal to freak out, especially this close to it all happening. I didn't mean to make that worse by suggesting I have her at home" she didn't quite realise at the time the effect her persistence was having on him.
"It's okay, maybe I was being a little selfish" that was the closest Amy was going to get to an apology, it made her smile that he still wouldn't completely commit to being in the wrong.
"But Sheldon" she squeezed his knee again. "No matter where I decide to have her or how freaked out you are about everything, it's going to happen and although it's scary, it's also so exciting" she smiled as she placed a hand to her side. "Feel" she took hold of his wrist and placed it where hers was resting, watching his eyes light up when he felt her move would never get boring, sometimes it made her want to cry.
"She really is moving around lots" Sheldon commented. He realised that he didn't do this enough, in a matter of months Amy's bump would be no more and he wanted to make the most of feeling the little flutters and kicks.
"It's a regular thing now" Amy was used to it, she began to wonder whether she would actually miss being kicked in the ribs or the feeling of constantly needing to pee because someone was bouncing on her bladder. "But she's going to be ours forever, we're going to watch this tiny little person grow and develop and she's just going to be amazing. We get to be apart of that every single day, doesn't that make up for all the nerves and fear."
Trust Amy to give him perspective, that was one of the
many reasons why he loved her so much. She could calm him down instantly, not by telling him to knock it off or to stop being ridiculous (granted there were occasions) but with complete empathy and understanding. Not once did she make him feel bad for being scared but instead she listened and understood. He hoped more than anything that their daughter would inherited all of those wonderful traits Amy possessed.
Thank you all so much for reading! As always reviews are always welcome and incredibly appreciated.
I think I have one more chapter to write and then baby Cooper will start to make her appearance. Please let me know any thoughts you have on this and anything you want to read, I'll really try my best to take it all on board. Also struggling with a name so any suggestions would be so welcome.
Stay safe.
Lots of love.