Chapter 11

CW: somewhat graphic descriptions of birth

Santana's POV

Three days after her due date, Brittany went into labor. It was progressing very slow, so for the first few hours after I got home from work, we watched TV in our bedroom and ate a small meal, all while timing Brittany's contractions.

By the time the sun was setting, she was still a far ways away from active labor, and while she was clearly in pain with every contraction, the time between them was so long that we continued to watch TV, soon switching to walking around the apartment with music playing from the speakers.

"Why does this have to take so long?" Brittany complained around 10 o'clock in the evening. "I already had to wait past my due date and now this!"

I giggled a little. "This is the part where you're supposed to prepare and relax," I said. "But since we're already so over-prepared, there isn't much to do. You could try to sleep?"

"I don't want to sleep; I want to meet my baby! But, sure, I can try to sleep."

I helped Brittany change into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt before laying down beside her in our bed. I knew I couldn't sleep, but I hoped she would be able to. I knew we were in for a long day ahead of us, and likely, not much would happen during the night.

Once Brittany had fallen asleep, I got out of bed to set aside the clothes she'd chosen for after the birth as well as the baby necessities and everything else that was in our "prep bag." Then, I opened up my bag with all my midwifery supplies just to check again that I had everything. I took a few things out before hearing Brittany moan in pain, waking up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I just can't sleep with a contraction."

Brittany's labor progressed slowly. She spent some time on the exercise ball and even took a bath, but all she could do was sit this part out.

The closer her contractions got, the more pain it appeared she was in, and while I'd delivered babies before and mostly knew what to expect, it was a lot harder to watch it happen to the woman I loved.

I held her hand as she cried and tried my best to reassure her as time passed. I helped her take off her shirt at one point, but she resisted when I asked her if she wanted me to take off her bra. Soon, she forcefully shoved off all her clothes in the middle of a contraction, sweat dripping from her body.

As she moved into active labor, she asked to move to the bedroom with the exercise ball where she got on her knees and leaned on the ball.

She gasped loudly, her water breaking onto the floor with her next contraction.

"Is the baby coming soon?" she asked once her contraction was over.

"Listen to your body," I replied. "It will tell you what to do."

When she started pushing, I knew that we would soon get to meet the baby. I observed in order to let Brittany follow her instincts, despite how much I wanted to help. My emotional brain kept trying to cut off my logical brain, the one that knew everything I needed to know and had assisted births many times, by telling me that this was different. The woman I loved was having a baby that would also be mine. I tried to remain calm.

Brittany was pushing as her body told her, breathing through it, as relaxed as she could be. I smiled watching her, even though I knew she was in pain, since there was something so beautiful about birth.

After a few pushing contractions, she asked, "Can you help me move?"

She stood up slowly and I helped support her body as she shifted towards the bed where she used it as support to squat on the floor. She pushed again, and I watched as the baby's head started to appear.

"B," I whispered once her contraction was over. "Do you want to feel the head?"

She reached down and felt the baby's head, smiling a little, waiting until it was time to push again.

She let out a cry with her next push as the baby's head started to crown. I knew I could never get tired of watching a baby being born.

"Ow," she moaned as the baby's head completely crowned. She waited a second before pushing again, and I saw the rest of the baby's head come out.

"Is the head out?" she asked, breathing a little heavier than she had been before, but still staying so strong.

"Yeah," I replied. "You're doing great."

With the next pushing contraction, the baby barely moved, but I didn't interfere, knowing that Brittany would tell me if I needed to.

Slowly, the baby started to rotate, and Brittany squirmed a little as she felt it, as the shoulders started to come out. I reached out to support the baby's head as it slipped out into my arms.

Immediately tiny cries filled our bedroom. I smiled wide and looked down at the little baby girl in my arms before helping Brittany sit on the floor and passing the baby to her.

"It's a girl," Brittany whispered, smiling at the crying baby.

"Yeah." I was amazed by everything that had just happened. It was so incredible, and now we had a little baby girl that was ours.

I rubbed the baby's skin as she lay on Brittany's chest before taking a baby blanket from our pile of baby things and placing it on top of the baby.

Brittany was bonding with the baby, pausing momentarily to push out the placenta before I checked to see if she had teared (she hadn't) and sliding underwear with a massive pad up her legs. I knew she wanted skin-to-skin contact with the baby, so I didn't suggest that she get dressed in anything else.

"Want to try feeding her?" I asked when the little baby girl began to show signs that she was ready to eat.

"Okay."

I helped Brittany position the baby in her arms and made sure she latched on properly, watching in wonder as our baby breastfed. I'd been in awe every time I had ever seen it, but with Brittany and this perfect little girl, it was even more special.

After she finished eating, I asked, "Can I check her over now?"

"Santana," Brittany replied, "of course you can do that, but you should also just take a moment to hold her, you know? She's our baby, not just your patient."

Even minutes after giving birth, covered in sweat and clearly exhausted, Brittany was still the smartest person I knew.

"Okay," I smiled, taking the baby from Brittany slowly. I gave her a check-up that was as minimal as possible but still following everything I had to do as a midwife before putting a diaper on and using the blanket to swaddle her.

"Hey, sweetheart," I said, looking down at the tiny baby in my arms.

I looked up at Brittany to see that she was watching me with a smile on her face.

"She's seven pounds, two ounces," I said.

"Do you know what time she was born?" Brittany asked.

"At 6:49," I replied, "just as the sun was rising."

I paused for a moment.

"Do you want to wear something?" I asked her, watching her shake. I knew that body shakes were normal for having just given birth, but I wanted to take care of Brittany and the baby in any way that I could.

"Sure," she replied.

I carefully laid the baby down in the bassinet we'd had in our bedroom for almost a month already before helping Brittany up from the floor. This also allowed me to clean up the disposable mat I'd lain down before she'd given birth. Then, I helped her step into a loose pair of maternity pyjama shorts and pull a nursing tank top over her head.

She walked slowly to the bed, and I adjusted the pillows so she would have a more comfortable place to lean back and rest her body.

"You did so incredible, Britt," I said, climbing onto the bed myself after moving the bassinet beside Brittany and my stash of supplies to the end of the bed where our feet didn't quite reach.

She just smiled, lifting the baby back out of the bassinet so that she could hold her again.

"I still can't quite believe we have a baby," she remarked. "She's so beautiful."

"She really is." I got closer to Brittany and brushed my fingers over our daughter's cheek.

"Thank you so much for doing this with me."

"It's my pleasure," I replied. "Thank you for letting me be a mom to this baby girl."

Finally, Brittany started to allow herself to fall asleep. I reached over to carefully lift the sleeping baby out of her arms, shushing her to keep her relaxed.

"I'm not tired," Brittany mumbled, barely audible.

"Yes, you are," I replied. "I've got her; you can sleep now."

I watched Brittany fade into a deep sleep. She was clearly exhausted after more than twelve hours of labor and spending a few hours of time with the baby. She'd just nursed for the second time in her short life when I insisted that she should try to sleep.

"Hi, sweet girl," I whispered to the baby in my arms. She was so perfect, and I couldn't believe that she was even really here. It was crazy to me just how connected I felt to her despite not being blood-related. I guess love is really what makes a family, not blood, and she was definitely my family.

I leaned against my pillow so that my body was at an angle and rested the baby on my stomach, watching her sleep. I'd held many newborn babies before, but nothing could ever compare to this.

"You're going to do so many amazing things," I talked to the baby. "You are so special to us, and we can't wait to spend a lot more time with you. I can't wait until you're officially mine, but right now, you're mine in my heart."

Brittany woke up just before the baby started to cry again, and I passed her over so Brittany could breastfeed her.

"Did you call anyone?" she asked once the baby was latched.

"Not yet," I replied. "I assumed you would want me to wait until you were awake."

"I am now." She smiled. "I bet everyone will be excited."

"They definitely will be. How about we call your family first?"

"Okay, they should be awake by now."

It was almost 9 o'clock, so they would definitely be awake already. I called them on my cell phone, smiling when they picked up after the first ring.

"Santana! Is the baby here?" Brittany's mother quickly answered from the other end of the call.

Brittany answered, "Yes, she's here."

"She?!" her mother exclaimed. "Oh, this is so exciting! Our first grandbaby! I'll go tell your dad and sister."

After talking with them for a short while, they decided to drive up to Columbus as soon as they could to come meet the baby. Then, we called my parents, and they decided the same thing. We could tell already that this baby would receive a lot of love early on.

We called Jessie after our families, and they responded with just as much excitement as our families, asking when they could come to meet our daughter.

"We wish you could come now," I said as a response, "but if our families ever found out that you met her first, they would not be happy. How about we call you a little later?"

After talking on the phone with the most important people in our lives, Brittany and I watched our daughter sleep. Life couldn't have been more perfect.

A/N:

Well, this chapter was incredibly awkward to write, but I think it turned out pretty good. Thanks for reading!