Just like last time, this chapter will cover Mirabel's entire pregnancy. Enjoy! :)
Unfortunately for Mirabel, the morning sickness started the very next day. She woke up very early in the morning and was instantly nauseous. She knew there was no time to run downstairs and get food from the kitchen, so she threw her hand over her mouth as she ran to the bathroom. As soon as she knelt in front of the toilet, she was throwing up.
Within seconds, she heard Max's voice behind her. He heard her jump out of bed and gag, so he followed her to the bathroom. He pulled her hair back and rubbed her back. He didn't say anything, because he knew there was nothing he should say. When she finished, she closed the lid, flushed, and leaned back against Max. She was breathing deeply, trying to catch her breath. "I'm sorry." she said after a few moments of silence. "I know it's gross."
"No, don't apologize for that. You can't help it." He kissed her head. "Do you want me to go get something of your mama's to ease your stomach?"
"I feel better for now. It'll be good to have some just in case it hits me again. As long as I can get food in me, the feeling goes away." Just then, the wave of nausea was back. Just like before, there was no time to go get something to eat, so she just groaned and leaned over the toilet again. Max stayed right there with her the whole time.
That morning at breakfast, Mirabel didn't want to eat, because she still felt nauseous. She forced herself to take a bite and instantly felt better and realized she was actually very hungry. As she was eating, Dolores got a weird look on her face. She looked around for a moment before saying, "Can everyone be quiet for just a minute, please?"
"Everything okay, mija?" asked Felix.
"Yeah, I just…" She looked around the table at everyone and when her eyes landed on Mirabel, she gasped.
"I already know I'm pregnant." said Mirabel. "We've already established this."
"I know, but…I'm hearing something else." She thinks she probably did hear it before, but didn't know what she was hearing.
Mirabel just gave her a look and then said, "Something other than the heartbeat?"
Dolores slowly smiled. "I'm hearing two tiny heartbeats. Both coming from you." Besides when she was pregnant with her twins, she had never heard what it sounded like when two baby heartbeats were together. It sounded different within herself. But she knew now, without a doubt, that Mirabel was pregnant with twins.
Mirabel's mouth fell open and she dropped her fork. Max started choking on his food. Everyone else started talking at once and got extremely excited. They all started hugging Mirabel and Max while the two of them just sat there in shock. Multiples ran in the family. They both knew that. But they never, in a million years, imagined they would end up with twins. This would be the second set of twins among the great grandkids.
When it finally calmed down, Max and Mirabel looked at each other. They were in complete shock and disbelief. "Twins?" whispered Mirabel.
"Twins," repeated Max. "We're having twins."
Dolores squealed and said, "It's so much fun. I'm so happy for you both!" She had already hugged both of them, but she jumped up and ran around to them and hugged them again. "Welcome to the twin club."
The rest of breakfast was spent with conversations about the excitement of not one, but two new babies joining the family. Mirabel stayed mostly quiet. Her heart was racing and she was trying not to freak out.
After breakfast, Max and Mirabel needed to take a moment and process this. They went up to her room. Mirabel paced the floor for a few minutes. She was panicking and taking quick, tiny breaths. "Twins. We're having twins. Two babies. At one time."
Max had learned when a panic attack was near and he could see one was on its way. He stopped her pacing and got in front of her. He grabbed her hands. "Breathe with me." He started taking slow, deep breaths and she joined in with him, despite still feeling freaked out.
They did this for a full minute before her heart finally stopped racing. They sat on the bed together. "We're going to be okay." said Max and ran his hand over her back.
"I know, it's just…it's two babies. Two babies. It was hard enough with one." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't know how I'm going to handle two of them."
"We're in this together. It's going to be hard, but it will also be really…wonderful."
She looked at him. "You think so?"
"I know so." He smiled at her. "It will be double the love."
She nodded, feeling a little bit better, but still worried.
It took some time, but Mirabel finally accepted the fact that she was having twins. She spent a lot of time talking to Dolores since she had twins and she also talked with Abuela a lot. She had triplets and she was all alone. Mirabel was so thankful that she had Max there as well as the rest of her family. She got lots of tips and tricks from both Dolores and Abuela about how to handle more than one baby and that was very helpful and it eased her mind.
Just like it was with Rosa, Mirabel continued to have morning sickness all through the first trimester. She kept some food in her room and with her at all times, so she could quickly eat something to feel better. Only on rare occasions did she have to go running to the bathroom again. The second the feeling would hit her, she'd eat something.
After Mirabel accepted the fact she'd be having twins, she got really excited. But she was nervous about a few things. The labor and delivery with Rosa was one of the hardest things she had to go through and she was not looking forward to doing it again, times two. She hoped that since it was her second pregnancy that labor wouldn't last as long. She also had a fear that felt irrational, but it was one that bugged her a lot. She was scared she wouldn't love her new babies as much as she loved Rosa. It wasn't something that she voiced out loud, not even to Max. She hoped that once she had the babies, it would be okay and she'd love them just the same. She had so much love in her heart for Rosa that it seemed almost impossible to love two more babies that much.
Another thing that Mirabel was very anxious about was getting postpartum depression again. She was in a much different place and things were better than they were when she was pregnant with Rosa. But if it happened once, she knew it could happen again and especially since there would be added stress with two newborns. After worrying about it for weeks, she finally went to her mom about it.
After telling Julieta how concerned she was about it, she said, "I know things are different now, but I know it could still happen. I don't want to feel that way again." Her eyes filled with tears. "I want to enjoy these babies. I hate that I missed out on so much time with Rosa, because I was just simply trying to survive each day."
"I wish I could tell you that you won't have it again, because seeing you like that was so hard, but I can't." said Julieta softly. "What I can tell you is that you are so strong and you can handle anything that comes your way. You also have Max, who will be there for you every step of the way. I imagine you're still scared about being alone, but I'm sure he'd want to stay up with you in the night, but you can still ask him to do that. One thing you need to make sure and do is be honest with yourself." She grabbed Mirabel's hand. "If you feel sad, tell someone. Do not hold it in. I know it got to be a habit to hold those feelings in, so I will be more observant. I can also help you in the night if you or Max are just exhausted. With two babies, I'm sure you will need it and I will be happy to help. You are not alone, Mirabel. That's the biggest thing you need to understand. We won't let you suffer alone."
She breathed a huge sigh of relief. She wished she had gone to her mom sooner. "Thank you, Mama." She gave her a big hug. "You always know what to say."
"Years of practice," she said with a chuckle.
That night before bed, Mirabel voiced her concerns with Max. He just gave her a big hug and said, "I will be there for you, day and night, 24 hours a day if you need me. If you do end up going through this again, I'll be here for you."
She laid her head on his chest and sighed deeply. He was too good to her.
Rosa was still only 2, but she was very smart and understood a lot more than it seemed like she did. Once Mirabel started to get a noticeable bump, which happened sooner than with Rosa since it was her second pregnancy and she had two babies in there, her and Max both thought it was time to tell Rosa. They didn't expect it to go perfect, but she might understand a little bit. They sat her down and Mirabel said, "Look at Mommy's tummy. Do you see how it looks bigger than normal?" She ran her hand over her belly, trying to show its size to Rosa.
"Yeah."
"Well…that's because there are babies in there. Mommy has two babies in her tummy. Do you know that Maria and Gabi are twins? That means they're the same age and were born at the same time." Maria and Gabi were identical twins, but everyone in the family thought they looked different from each other. Rosa could tell them apart, too.
"Yeah."
"That's what we'll have. You're going to have two brothers or sisters. It's so exciting!"
Rosa just looked very confused. "Babies in tummy?"
"Yes."
Rosa looked at Mirabel's stomach and reached out to poke it. Max and Mirabel both chuckled. Then Rosa said, "Eat babies?"
They both busted out laughing. Of course, that's what she would think. "No, baby, Mommy didn't eat the babies. The babies will be in my tummy for awhile until they're born. The babies have to grow and they will get bigger and bigger and my tummy will get bigger and bigger." Max and Mirabel knew she wouldn't remember when Isabela and Dolores were pregnant, so they had nothing to compare it to for her. Carlos and Emelina were already a year old. "Did you know you were in my tummy?"
At this point, they had already lost her. She was distracted by the kids running around her, so she jumped off the couch and ran off with her cousins.
Max and Mirabel stood up and looked at each other. Max said with a shrug, "Well, we tried."
"It'll be okay." said Mirabel and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We can keep talking to her about it." They gave each other a quick kiss and then Max bent down and touched Mirabel's stomach. She smiled as he gave her belly a kiss. It melted her heart how attentive and loving he was with her.
In September, Mateo turned 5 and it was a huge event like it always was. He got the power of super speed. That would be exciting to anyone, but especially to Mateo, who was constantly running around the house, almost bumping into people constantly. His parents had to constantly tell him to stop running in the house. Now, he had an excuse to run. Isabela didn't particularly love the gift, because now it would be even harder to keep up with him.
Then, in November, Rosa turned 3. She was the most amazing little girl that Mirabel had ever met. She was hilarious and would laugh at any little thing. She loved everyone in her family, but she especially loved all of her cousins. She wanted to play with them all day, every day. Even though Antonio was so much older than her, they still had a very strong bond. He loved playing with her and she was obsessed with him. She loved giving kisses and hugs to everyone. She was very sweet most of the time, but would still throw tantrums, scream, and have fits like any normal toddler. She was very sassy and could be very bossy. She had some days where she was a picky eater, but other days where she ate a ton of food. She still took a nap every day and slept wonderful at night. She looked so much like Mirabel when she was her age. Mirabel was nervous she'd get her bad eyesight, but so far, she didn't seem to be having any issues. She had the same short, brown, curly hair that Mirabel had for so long and the same little awkward, crooked smile like her. Every once in a while, Rosa would make a face or do something that reminded Mirabel of Javi. It was bittersweet. Mirabel was married and pregnant, so life was good. But her daughter was still a reminder of that 4-month relationship that truly broke her. Despite that reminder every so often, Mirabel was still so thankful for her baby girl and didn't know what she'd do without her.
In December, Mirabel was 7 months pregnant and she felt huge. She was already as big as she was when she had Rosa and she knew she'd get bigger. She was due the middle of February. It was fast approaching and she knew there was a chance she wouldn't make it the full 9 months due to having twins. Dolores didn't make it the full 9 months. The babies were very active all the time, but especially at night. Max and Mirabel spent lots of nights just lying in bed together, hands on her stomach, feeling all the kicks and punches, loving every single second of it. They would have Rosa put her hands on Mirabel's stomach to feel the kicks and she would laugh when she'd feel a kick. They continued to tell her there were two babies in there to keep preparing her.
Mirabel woke up in the night needing to use the bathroom. It was getting to be a constant thing with the babies on her bladder. As she was getting back into bed, she noticed Max was lying there awake. It was dark and she couldn't see that he was sad. She got in bed and that was when she noticed his face. "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Yeah, I just…" He sat up and wiped his face. He turned over and flipped the lamp on. Mirabel sat herself up to, resting her hands on top of her stomach. "I had this dream that has kept me up for hours."
"What did you dream about?"
"It was…my mom. She was there and she was talking to me."
"Oh wow." Mirabel put her hand on his shoulder and then ran her hands through his hair. "What was she saying?"
"It was the weirdest thing. It was so vivid and like she was really there." Max absolutely hated that Mirabel never got to meet his parents. He knew they would have loved her. But if his parents hadn't died, he probably wouldn't be living in the Encanto and would never have met Mirabel. It was very bittersweet. "She was telling me that she was so happy I'm married to such a wonderful woman with a wonderful daughter. She said she wanted to meet you and Rosa so bad and she's so excited for these new babies to come." Max rubbed his hand over her belly. "What she said next was the craziest thing."
"What's that?"
"She said that we'll be having two sons."
Mirabel smiled at that. She knew she'd be happy either way, but she really hoped at least one of the babies was a boy. "Aww, that's so sweet. That would be crazy if we actually do end up having two boys now."
"There's a fifty-fifty chance for both of them." he said with a shrug. They had no idea yet if they would have identical or fraternal twins.
Mirabel suddenly got an idea. "Remind me of your parents' names again. Your dad's name was Isaiah and your mom's name was…?"
"Elena,"
Mirabel nodded. She didn't want to tell Max, but she thought the best way to honor his parents would be to name one of their babies Isaiah if it was a boy and Elena if they had a girl. There was a chance they could have one of each, two boys, or two girls, so they'd still have to come up with other names if they had two of the same gender. She wanted to wait to surprise him with that until the babies were born. She honestly loved both of those names. At this point, they had been talking about names, but couldn't agree on anything. "I hope you know they'd be so proud of you. You have been the most wonderful man to me."
"Thank you, mi vida. You have no idea how much that means to me." He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her. "I love you so much. And I can't wait to have these babies with you. You are such an amazing mother to Rosa and I know you will be the best mother to our two babies."
"Aww, I love you, too. You may not be Rosa's biological dad, but you have been the best dad in the world to her, so I know you'll be the best dad to these babies." She yawned out of nowhere, almost forgetting how tired she was.
"One thing's for sure and that's that they will be so loved." He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry for keeping you up. You need your sleep."
The second after he said that, she got kicked in the hand. She chuckled as she said, "It's not like they want me to sleep peacefully anyway, but I can try." He turned the lamp off and they laid down together. She laid against him and they both fell asleep with his arm around her stomach.
All of the kids were very excited about new babies coming into the family. Despite being 14 years old, Antonio was still so excited, too. He was so good with all of the kids and they all adored him. He loved to put his hands on Mirabel's stomach to feel for kicks and he'd talk to the babies sometimes, too. He didn't do it as much as he did with Rosa, but he was still super excited.
It was February 1 and the day started out completely normal. Mirabel was staying at Casita pretty much constantly at this point with Max there a lot of the time. She was so worn out. The babies didn't let her get good sleep and her whole body ached. Her mom's food helped, but the symptoms kept coming back. She was beyond ready to have the babies. She didn't know how she could get much bigger.
That evening while eating dinner, Mirabel had an all too familiar feeling hit her. It was like a cramp, but very mild. She didn't say anything to anyone, but knew it meant labor was near. It passed quickly and she kept eating. 20 minutes later, she got another one. It was still very mild and barely bothered her. Once again, it quickly passed. Dinner was almost over when she got the feeling again. It was still very mild. She knew what this meant and that they would continue to come. She said casually, "So…I think I'm in labor."
Everyone just looked at her in shock and couldn't believe she was so calm about it. "Seriously?" asked Max. He was the first one to speak. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I'm having a contraction right now." She ran her hands over her belly a couple of times. "It won't stay this mild, but for now, it is. But this means that our babies are about ready to come." She smiled at him.
He was smiling. "Oh, my gosh. We're having our twins."
She nodded, still smiling, and staring at him. "We're having our twins."
Mirabel thought she wouldn't give birth for a while, but little did she know, she'd have her babies in her arms in 10 hours.
Who was surprised about the twins?! I know I am. I initially planned for it to be one baby, but then changed my mind and decided on two. Then I changed my mind again to just one. That's how I originally wrote it, too. But I changed my mind AGAIN and the final result was twins. Haha! ;)
