Thank you for the reviews! I chose the name Rosa, because it's the name of Stephanie Beatriz's character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She is the voice of Mirabel, so I thought it would be a good fit. Plus, I do love the name.
Downstairs, everyone was waiting anxiously. They could hear Mirabel screaming and knew it must be soon. Antonio couldn't stand to hear her screaming, so he had to go to his room and spend time with his animals. Luis was in Isabela's room with Mateo and Mariano was in Dolores' room with Maria and Gabi. As soon as they started hearing the screams, the family agreed the littles didn't need to hear it.
She let out a loud scream and Dolores covered her ears. It was as if the screams were right in her ears. Dolores groaned and said sadly, "She is in so much pain." She felt so bad for her little cousin. She knew that pain very well.
"I hate this." said Agustin. Hearing the screams was almost too much for him, too.
Bruno was walking around nervously. He'd cover his ears every time she let out a scream.
"Is the baby here yet?" asked Abuela to Dolores.
"I don't think so, but it's getting close."
Dolores could hear Mirabel say she felt so alone and she was ready to give up. She felt so bad for her and wanted to give her the biggest hug. She heard her tia and her mama's words to her and it made her tear up. She had the best, most supportive family in the world.
Everyone was silent for a few more minutes before they heard an extra loud scream, causing them all to flinch. Then, Dolores' eyes widened and tears filled her eyes. "The baby is here." Just then, they all heard tiny baby cries. She could hear more conversations, but she didn't focus in on it.
Everyone breathed sighs of relief and hugged one another.
Another couple of minutes went by and Pepa walked out of the room. All eyes were on her. She walked down the stairs and smiled at everyone. She had bags under her eyes and she looked a mess, but she was so happy. She had a rainbow over her head. "Her name is Rosa." Mirabel had told Pepa she could tell the family it was a girl and the name.
"It's a girl?" asked Camilo with a smile. Pepa nodded.
Upstairs, Mirabel couldn't stop staring at her baby girl. Everything she had just experienced: all of the pain and the exhausting, long labor was worth it. She had her daughter in her arms and did not want to put her down. Mirabel barely even noticed the cutting of the umbilical cord. She was in heaven.
"Here,"
Mirabel looked up to her mom handing her an arepa. "I'm not hungry."
"I know, your adrenaline is probably still going like crazy now. But you need to eat this. It will heal up everything."
Without wasting another second, she grabbed the arepa and took a bite. She chewed and swallowed and suddenly, she was all healed up. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow, I already feel a hundred times better."
"By the time I had you, I knew to have something to eat very close by." She sat on the edge of the bed. "I was healed within minutes after birth. It was so nice."
Mirabel smiled and looked back down at her baby. She was sleeping peacefully against her chest. Then, suddenly, she started to squirm and cry. Mirabel's heart started pounding. "What do I do?"
"She's probably hungry." said Julieta gently. "Are you ready to try and feed her?"
"I don't know how." This was something she was not prepared for.
"I'll show you."
Julieta helped her pull her clothes down. She guided the baby to Mirabel's chest and within seconds, the baby was eating. The baby appeared to know exactly what to do while Mirabel wiggled around a bit, trying to get comfortable, and said, "This feels so weird."
"I know. At first, it does, but you'll quickly get used to it."
She nodded and looked down at Rosa. She could not believe that she had a daughter. Her hands were clasped together and it was so sweet. She was staring into Mirabel's eyes. Mirabel was just breathing deeply and taking in the moment. She had the most beautiful eyes Mirabel had ever seen. Mirabel knew these moments wouldn't last long, so she wanted to soak in every moment she could.
30 minutes later and Mirabel was scarfing down a plate of food on her bed. Her adrenaline had started to wear off. Her mom had to tell her to slow down and chew her food or she told her, jokingly, that the healing properties wouldn't work. Mirabel just rolled her eyes and continued to eat.
Julieta looked down at the beautiful little baby in her arms. She was sleeping peacefully, one arm curled up by her face. Her mouth was slightly open as she slept. Julieta ran a finger across her forehead and cheek. She thought back to the moment when Mirabel told her she was pregnant. Her initial reaction was shock and she was not excited about a baby coming into the world. But now, staring at Rosa, she could not have loved her more. She was the most amazing little miracle.
"I bet you'll be ready to sleep after you eat." said Julieta. "Rosa seems like she'll sleep nicely in the bassinet in here with you."
"I'm not really tired now. Also, I bet the family is ready to meet her."
"Yeah, they are, but I figured you'd want to wait until later. I already told them they may have to wait until tonight or even tomorrow."
Mirabel shook her head. She put her empty plate on the table next to her. "Bring them in. But only a few at a time. I can't handle the whole family in here." She reached her arms out. "Can I have my baby now?" She loved how much her mom loved her baby, but she was ready to get her baby back.
Julieta giggled. "Of course you can have your baby." She walked over to Mirabel and handed Rosa to her.
Mirabel had her legs crossed and she put Rosa in her lap with her hand supporting her head. She straightened out her little footie pajamas and then raised her up slightly to kiss her on the forehead. She brought her back down and said, "You can start sending everyone now. But, please, no more than a few at a time."
"I got this." said Julieta as she walked out.
Her dad and Abuela came in first. "Oh my, Mira," said Agustin as he set on the edge of the bed. He gently ran his hand over her head. "Look at her. She is so beautiful. Reminds me of you."
Abuela set next to him and said, "What a gorgeous little miracle."
With Mirabel's permission first, they both got to hold Rosa. Agustin first and then Abuela. They both spoke so softly and sweet to her. Mirabel absolutely loved that her Abuela was meeting her fourth great grandkid. She hoped she got to meet a lot more of them. As Abuela was holding her, Mirabel said, "Abuela, I don't know how you gave birth to 3 babies. Props to you."
Everyone laughed and Abuela said, "It was not easy, but very worth it."
The next visitors were Felix, Pepa, and Antonio. Antonio was very nervous at first. His parents walked in the room while he stayed at the door. Mirabel smiled at him. "Hi, buddy. Someone is ready to meet their cousin."
He took a shaky breath and walked in the room. He slowly walked up to the bed, still very anxious. Pepa put her arm around his shoulders. "Are you okay now?" he asked.
Mirabel smiled at him. "Yes, I'm okay now. I'm really sorry you had to see me in so much pain, but it's over now. The baby is here and everything is good." She scooted over a little in bed. "Come sit with me."
He took a deep breath and very gently sat down next to Mirabel. She was holding the baby the same as before: legs crossed in her lap with a hand under the head. "Wow," he whispered. "She's so tiny." He was always shocked at how tiny the babies were when born.
"Didn't feel tiny," Mirabel whispered to herself. She said to Antonio, "Do you want to hold her?" He nodded vigorously. She handed the baby gently to him. He knew to support the head, but Mirabel still guided his hands to make sure he was holding her properly. "There you go," She put her arms down. "You're a natural."
Everyone was just looking at Rosa and then Mirabel looked up at Pepa. She had left the room soon after the baby was born, so this was the first time seeing her in a while. She scooted herself up and out of bed. She walked up to Pepa and just gave her a hug without saying a word. Pepa was surprised, but hugged her back. When they pulled apart, she said, "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay." said Mirabel shakily. "I just wanted to thank you for being with me through all of this. I truly could not have done it without you or my mom. When I was ready to give up, you didn't let me and you supported me. Literally, you got behind me and supported me. You have no idea how much I needed that. Thank you so much." Mirabel gave her another hug. "I love you."
"I love you too." When they pulled apart, Pepa said, "It's wild. Your mama was there for me when I had my 3 kids and I was there for your mama when she had you and your sisters. Now, it's amazing that we get to be there for our own kids having kids. I'm so happy you let me be in the room with you, because Mirabel, you did amazing. You've got yourself a miracle."
Mirabel smiled and looked back at Antonio holding her daughter. Rosa looked so content. "I know." She sat back down next to Antonio. They stayed for a little while longer before leaving. Antonio was reluctant to give up Rosa, but Mirabel assured him he'd get plenty of time to hold her.
The next visitors were Luisa, Isabela, and Luis. Isabela said, "Do you mind if Mateo comes in? If you don't want him to, that's totally okay. I don't think he'll be interested for long anyway."
"Oh, no, that's fine. He can come in."
"Okay," Isabela stepped out briefly and came back in with Mateo. Isabela held him in front of Mirabel and the baby. "Look at the baby. This is your new cousin." He was only 2, so he didn't understand much. He just kind of stared at Rosa, not sure what to think.
"Can you give her a little kiss on the head?" asked Mirabel.
Isabela leaned him down and he gave a tiny little peck on the head. He had the attention span of a fly, because he was already ready to leave. Luis left with him. "I'm so proud of you, Mira. Childbirth is no joke and you did it!" said Isabela as she sat on the edge of her bed. "She is just so beautiful."
"It was a nightmare and I never want to do it again." She looked down at Rosa and kissed her on the forehead. "But she was so beyond worth it." Mirabel couldn't help but think that Javi had no idea what he was missing out on. Throughout the remainder of her pregnancy, she hoped he'd come around to the idea of being a dad, but he never did. She knew things would be challenging, but this little girl was her whole world now and she'd do anything to protect her. Her emotions were all over the place and she started to cry.
"Mirabel, what's wrong?" asked Isabela.
"I just can't believe Javi wants nothing to do with her. I mean, look at her. She's perfect and he's not here. And I know what you're going to say. It's his loss. Sure, maybe it is, but why did he not feel she was worth it? How could he not want to be a part of her life?"
Isabela and Luisa sighed. They really didn't know what to say. Finally, Luisa said, "I don't know, but it sucks. I'm sorry."
Mirabel nodded and took deep breaths to calm herself down. Once she did, she offered for Isabela and Luisa to hold Rosa. They both jumped at the chance and were so happy to hold her.
Her next visitors were Dolores, Mariano, and their 2 girls. Maria and Gabi were 4, so they understood a lot more than Mateo did. They wanted to hold her and Dolores immediately told them no, but Mirabel told them they could. She did, however, have Dolores sit behind them and she helped them support the head. They absolutely loved Rosa. They kept giving her kisses on the head.
Her last visitors were Bruno and Camilo. They didn't have much to say, but they were happy for Mirabel and just kept telling her how beautiful Rosa was. Mirabel asked if they wanted to hold her and they both did. Rosa stayed asleep as she got passed around and Mirabel knew it was the new normal. Bruno was right. It would be a while before she was put down and it warmed her heart. Maybe Rosa didn't have her father, but there was not a shortage of love in the Madrigal household.
