Chapter 44
For the next several weeks, Larry arranged for all their furniture to be transferred into his mother's old house so that Leonard and his family can move out of their old house. Leonard hired a couple of guys to help them with the move since he won't let Penny do any lifting or their baby would get hurt. William for his part did what he could with his hands in helping his father put their stuff in the boxes with Buster trying to help out only to drool over some of the stuff earning him a stern look from his big brother.
After a few weeks of packing and transferring their stuff, the young family finally moved into their new home with William and Buster a little excited for the extra space the new house has provided them. The couple was also glad that their new home has a more spacious backyard. For Leonard, this will give him more space to plant his vegetables and for Penny, more room for their son and their new baby to play in.
As soon as they were done with the move, Penny hired a couple of girls from the neighbors to help her in rearranging and cleaning up the house, putting up new drapes for the windows and putting in some finishing touches to make the house their own.
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It was Penny's sixth month of pregnancy when they found out the gender of their baby.
"Well, there it is! Looks like William is gonna have a baby sister!" said Dr. O'Brien, making Penny speechless and Leonard jumping with happiness.
"Oh my god honey! Did you hear that?" Leonard asked his wife.
"I know, we're going to have a daughter! I'm so happy!" she said as Leonard kissed his wife as the doctor continued to check out the fetus using the sonogram.
"It looks like your baby is doing quite alright." said the doctor. "Let me get you a printout of her face." she added while pushing some buttons on the machine as Leonard helped his wife clean up the ultrasound gel on her tummy. Dr. O'Brien then handed Leonard the printout as Penny got dressed.
"Look at her honey, she's so beautiful!" Leonard said while showing the printout to Penny.
Penny gasped upon seeing her baby's face for the first time. "She's perfect. And look at her nose! It looks just like William's." she said making Leonard laugh.
"At least she got your nose Penny." said Dr. O'Brien while looking over them.
"Thanks doctor. We really appreciate it." Penny said.
"Hey no problem. Only three months more and you'll be able to hold the baby in your arms." the doctor said. "You guys have a name for her yet?" she asked.
"We've decided to name her Sarah." Penny said, slightly surprising Leonard.
"Honey?" he asked.
"Leonard, please give this one to me." Penny said.
Leonard kissed her cheek. "Okay honey. We'll name her Sarah." he said.
"That's a very nice name! Simple and elegant." said the doctor.
"I told you it's a beautiful name." Penny said as they make their way out of the examination room.
"I'll see you here again next month okay?" Dr. O'Brien said.
"We'll be here doctor. Thank you so much." said Penny.
"Don't mention it Penny." she said as the couple join their son in the waiting area.
"Hey buddy? Ready to go home?" Leonard said as William ran to his parents.
"Are you gonna be alright mommy?" asked William.
Penny smiled and kissed her son. "I'm doing okay sweetheart. And your sister is doing okay too!" she said while touching her belly.
William was speechless and surprised. "I'm gonna have a baby sister?" he asked his parents.
"Yes buddy! We still have three months to wait until we meet your sister Sarah." said Leonard.
"Sarah?" William asked. "My baby sister's name is Sarah?" he said.
Leonard nodded. "Uh huh. Your mom chose the name that you liked." he said while showing him the sonogram printout. "Look at her, you even have the same nose!" he said as William looked at the printout.
"Mommy, she looks just like you!" William pointed out. "She's so pretty!" he added.
"Aww thank you sweetie!" Penny said, kissing and hugging her son.
"Okay, let's go home so your mom and sister can rest." said Leonard as he held William's hand while supporting Penny to the car.
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Later that night, Leonard helped his wife on the bed after tucking-in William in his bedroom.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as Penny laid on the bed.
"Excited. Happy that my wish came true." she said.
Leonard leaned over and kissed his wife. "Me too." he said before joining his wife on the bed.
Penny turned and pushed her face on his neck while wrapping her arms around him. "You know what?" she asked.
"What?" Leonard said.
Penny bit her lip. "My hormones are still out of whack." she said teasing him.
Leonard smiled. "Hmm, good thing we had plenty of practice when you had William!" he said laughing a little while starting to hike up his wife's night shirt.
"Just shut up and come here!" Penny said, pulling him in for a kiss as Leonard slowly moved himself into his wife, making her feel his love and gratitude for giving him the life he always wanted.
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Penny's due date is only a few days away. She 's been anxious for the past couple of weeks to give birth to their daughter, mainly because she wanted the discomfort of being pregnant to end. From having difficulty moving around to feeling bloated and cranky brought about by her hormone imbalance. She was thankful that her husband and son have been nothing but supportive and patient about her situation, usually going overboard in attending to her needs even if she growls at her husband from time to time for no apparent reason.
She was alone in the house making a sandwich for herself when she suddenly felt pain in her belly. She took a deep breath as she slowly walked towards the living room when she felt another sting in her belly, thinking that this might be it. She sat on the couch feeling another pain in her belly so she grabbed her phone to call her husband.
L: "Hi honey!"
P: "Leonard come home quick! I think it's time!" she almost yelled.
L: "Oh my god! Okay! Okay! Just stay there and I'll come right now."
P: "Of course I'll stay here! How the hell am I gonna get to the hospital by myself!?"
L: "Alright! No need to break my ears. Jeez!"
"Just come home quick!" she said as she hung up the phone while trying to remain calm as another contraction came, making her moan in pain.
After almost half an hour of waiting, Leonard arrived at the house, finding his wife in the living room. He immediately sat beside her to ask how she's feeling.
"How are you feeling honey?" he asked.
"I think this is it Leonard. I've been timing my contractions and it's getting more and more frequent." she said.
"Oh? Okay, I'll go and get our bag and we'll drive straight to the hospital." he said kissing his wife before going to the bedroom to get the hospital bag they prepared about a week ago. He came back into the living room in no time with the bag slung over his shoulder as he helped Penny stand up to go out of the house and drive her straight to the hospital.
"Honey, what about William? He's gonna be home in a couple of hours." she said.
"Don't worry. I've already talked to our neighbor Linda the other day and asked her to watch over William just in case." he said. "She said she wouldn't mind." he added.
"Okay." said Penny as she felt another contraction.
Leonard helped Penny into the car before throwing the bag in the back seat. He then ran over to Linda's house next door and told her that he's bringing his wife to the hospital. Linda understood and told him not to worry, she'll watch out for William when he arrives later and let him wait in her house for Leonard to pick him up later. Leonard thanked her before running back to the car.
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They arrived at the hospital emergency room with Leonard supporting his wife inside while a nurse and a doctor assisted them, letting Penny lay on the bed to take her vitals and check the baby's condition. Penny told the doctor about the frequency of her contractions as they take her vital signs like blood pressure, pulse and feeling her to see if she is nearing delivery or not. The doctor told the couple not to worry as it will take a few more hours until their daughter arrives so he told the nurses to bring Penny into the observation room to monitor her condition.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked as Penny sat on the bed.
"No, I just want you here beside me." she said as Leonard sat beside her, lightly massaging her belly.
"Don't worry honey, we already did this. In a few hours Sarah will be in your arms breastfeeding." said Leonard.
"You just can't have a conversation without being creepy and gross huh?" Penny said glaring at him.
Leonard laughed. "I'm a jackass remember!?" he said making Penny laugh a little.
After a couple of hours, Penny was taken into the delivery room as her contractions were getting more frequent and intense, signaling that the baby is ready to come out. The nurses gave Leonard a hospital gown and face mask to put on so he could join his wife in the delivery room.
"This is it honey, just keep breathing and relax." said Leonard, reassuring his wife.
Penny grunted and moaned. "Leonard I appreciate what you're doing but telling me to relax just makes me want to punch you in the nose!" she said. "We're in this mess because of you!" she said.
"Aww come on? You're still putting this on me?" he said.
"Everything is your fault Leonard!" Penny yelled as the doctor and the nurses laughed.
"Okay Mrs. Hofstadter, the baby is gonna come out any minute now, just take a deep breath and push like you did when you had your son." said the doctor while Leonard held Penny's hand, hoping that everything goes smoothly and his wife and daughter would be alright.
Penny took a deep breath before grabbing Leonard by his collar. "After this is done, I'm not letting you touch me again! You got that!?" Penny said before grunting after feeling another contraction.
"Oh come on Penny. You told me you wanted another baby, remember?" he said.
"So this is my fault now!?" Penny yelled.
"I'm not saying that honey." he said. "Can we talk about this some other time, please?" Leonard said.
The doctor decided to chime in. "Uh, I'm sorry for dropping in on your husband and wife discussion but the baby is about to come out now. When I say push, take a deep breath and push hard." said the doctor.
Penny took a deep breath and grunted as she pushed hard from deep inside while the doctor and nurses pulled out their daughter. The doctor then told Leonard to cut the umbilical cord to separate his daughter from his wife. It was then when the couple heard the most beautiful sound in the whole world when Sarah cried for the first time.
"You did it honey. Good job!" said Leonard as he kissed his wife's cheek.
The nurses then immediately put the new-born infant in a bassinet to clean her up, wiping out all the blood and fluids off it's body before wrapping it in it's swaddling clothes so that Penny could hold her for the first time. After a few minutes, the nurse carried Sarah over for Penny to hold. The couple cried after seeing their daughter for the first time – an exact copy of her mother with her cute nose and cheeks not to mention her blond, slightly wavy hair.
"Oh my god Leonard, look at Sarah…she's so beautiful!" Penny said, crying happy tears, totally forgetting the immense pain she just went through.
"She looks just like you honey. This is so amazing!" Leonard said while he gently touched his daughter's tiny hands. "Hi honey, I'm your father, your mom and I love you so much." he whispered as Sarah slept quietly on her mother's chest.
Penny looked up to her husband, pulling him in for a kiss. "I love you honey." she said before turning her attention back to her daughter. "I'm so happy." she said gently touching her daughter's face as she slept quietly on her chest.
"Me too." he said. "It's over now, you need to rest." Leonard kissed her back.
After a few minutes, a couple of nurses told the couple that their daughter would have to be taken to her Neo-natal checkup to make sure the baby is healthy, telling Leonard to come with them while Penny will be taken to the recovery room.
After half an hour, Leonard came back to the recovery room with a nurse wheeling-in their daughter in a bassinet. The nurse then handed the baby into Penny's arms as it began to cry, hungry for her mother's nourishing milk. Leonard helped her wife to sit up as she opened her hospital gown, letting her daughter latch on to her. Sarah immediately locked on to her mother, sucking and satisfying her hunger while the couple looked on, mesmerized by how beautiful their daughter was.
After Sarah was done feeding, Leonard took her from Penny to let her burp and sleep in his arms while Penny leaned back on the bed to rest, eventually feeling her energy drained. Leonard then put his daughter back in the bassinet to sleep. It was this time when he heard his phone beep.
"Who is it?" Penny asked as Leonard read the text message.
"It's Linda, she's bringing William over here now." he said.
"That's so nice of her." Penny said.
"I'm texting Sammy and Larry too. I'm gonna tell them that our baby is here and that you're both doing fine." he said.
After an hour, Linda arrived with William as the young boy ran to his mother.
"Mommy!" he said.
"Come here and give your mommy a kiss." Penny said as William hugged her mother. "Say hello to your sister." she added as Leonard brought the baby over for Penny to hold.
"Mommy she's so cute!" said William, lightly touching his sister's tiny hands.
"Oh my god Penny, she's like a tiny version of you!" said Linda. "She really got your nose!" she added.
"Thanks for watching over William." Penny said to Linda.
"Hey don't mention it. William's been a god boy." Linda said.
Penny touched William's cheek and smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you sweetheart." she said.
"How are you feeling mommy?" asked William.
"I'm tired but you don't have to worry okay?" said Penny.
Leonard put his hands on his son's shoulder. "Don't worry buddy, you and me are gonna take care of your mother and sister from now on, alright?" he said.
William nodded. "Okay daddy." he said.
"That's my boy!" Leonard said.
Linda said her goodbye afterwards, congratulating the couple on their new baby. Sammy and his family visited a little while later as well as Larry with his wife and kids. All of them fell immediately in love with Sarah, seeing how cute she is and the fact that she looks exactly like Penny makes it more amazing. Jamie and Justine were more excited, laughing and giggling at the sight of Sarah, telling Penny and their mom at how they're planning to do girly stuff with her when she grows up like how to pick out the right dress and how to put on make-up. Janet for her part had to hold off her girls into going overboard, telling them to ease off and just be happy that Penny and the baby are doing alright.
After a few hours, the visitors left the young family in the hospital so that Penny could recover her strength and for Sarah to start her life with her family watching over her.