Chapter Summary: Shaun and Lea's baby is finally born.
AN: So, here it is! Here is the chapter and the moment you have all been waiting for! I revised and edited it a bunch of times because I wanted it to be perfect. Also, for anyone squeamish, I must warn you all that this chapter gets a bit graphic when it comes to childbirth. I hope you all enjoy, and let me know what you think in your comments :)
Lea's ideal birth plan that she dreamed up didn't fully match up with the actual birth that was happening right now.
She always envisioned a natural birth in a tub (she'd still be in a hospital, though) with dim lights as she was surrounded by candles along with her organized music playlist soothingly playing her favorite tunes. Naomi and Shaun would be right by her side and she'd be moving around a lot around the room. Although she wouldn't have a mirror to watch her baby be born, Shaun would be the one to catch the baby in his arms and cut the umbilical cord…and then Lea would have immediate skin-to-skin contact as her first moment of bonding with her baby.
So far, most of it was going to according to exactly what Lea had pictured, except that she couldn't have a water birth surrounded by candles due to gestational diabetes and the fact that she needed to be monitored every once in a while (water births weren't recommended for pregnant people in situations like hers). She still had her soothing music, though. She also changed her mind about getting an epidural as well…but it wore off a few times to the point where she decided to give up, so she was pretty much still getting a natural "drug-free" birth. In addition, Claire had joined in the delivery room party at her request.
Lea was reclining into Shaun (who was sitting behind her on the bed) and sagging against his chest. Shaun was using one hand to hold hers in his own and the other arm to wrap around the top of her torso. She had been digging her fingernails into him so hard that she even left a few red marks on his skin. She even apologized a few times to Shaun for doing that to him, but he kept telling her that she didn't need to apologize because he was preparing for something like this.
Naomi was standing beside the left side of the hospital bed wiping Lea's forehead with a cool, wet washcloth, gently massaging her shoulder, and coaching her (and Shaun) through her breathing and pushing patterns. Claire and Nurse Ella were each holding one of her legs up.
As of right now, Lea had been in labor for a damn long 52 hours (pretty much breaking St. Bonaventure's record of labor lengths), and she had been pushing with all of her might for more than an hour. She took deep breaths as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, tears streamed down her face, and waves of pain struck her like jolts through her body. Each contraction felt like a bowling ball would roll down her spine and then land in her pelvic area with double the initial force.
Most of all, she was super drained and zonked from all of the effort she was putting into bringing her and Shaun's daughter into the outside world. She could sense her face turning red hot from all of it. She felt hot, sticky, and disgusting, hoping that Shaun wasn't too bothered by her sweat soaking into his clothes.
Despite Lea's impatience, agitation, and exhaustion, the very best thing right now was that after feeling like almost forever, the baby's head was finally crowning and making an appearance. However, the "ring of fire" still hurt like hell as she began to feel the intense burning, hoping that she wouldn't tear up to her asshole. Pooping on the delivery table was something that she could probably deal with, but she was desperately hoping that tearing her anus and vagina into one giant, gaping hole in the middle of her perineum wouldn't happen. She hoped that whatever tearing she was getting would only be first or second degree. On a hilarious and unrelated note, she actually added Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" to her labor and delivery playlist two weeks ago, believing that the songs appropriately fit the situation.
"Oh, fuck! It hurts more than a bikini wax!" Lea cursed and whimpered, tilting her head back in agony. Her clitoris felt like it was being torn in half while also being dipped in acid.
"You're doing great," murmured Shaun apprehensively, squeezing his wife's shoulders and coaching her through her breathing exercises.
"Lea, would you like to reach down and feel your baby's head?" Dr. Vargas offered, smiling at the couple.
Lea hesitated for a while, but then Shaun got up on his knees and then arched over her to peer towards the intersection of her widespread legs, staring in utter shock and ecstasy as he saw part of their baby girl's head bulging out, the first thing coming out being a little rockstar mohawk. He sat back down and rested his chin on Lea's shoulder and then loudly bubbled with excitement.
"I see her!" Shaun whispered breathlessly into Lea's ear. "It's beautiful."
Although viewing a part of his daughter's crowning head was very euphoric and motivating for Shaun, the idea of seeing something like that was different for Lea. She didn't want a mirror in the first place because she believed that seeing the ring of fire for the first time (she watched a lot of childbirth videos during her last two pregnancies) made her freaked out and grossed out…especially if she watched it happen to her own body. There were some people who claimed that they felt motivated when they had a mirror while giving birth, but Lea wasn't one of those people. However, when it came to touching her head, that was a totally different opinion.
"That's nice, Shaun," grunted Lea, squeezing her eyes shut as she winced at the pain and inhaled a deep breath. "And yes, I would like to feel her head."
"May I touch her head, too?" Shaun requested shyly, leaning his head over Lea's shoulder.
"Of course you may, Dr. Murphy," Nurse Ella chuckled. "You didn't need to ask for permission."
"This is your baby, too," Claire added, smiling with a few tears surrounding her eyes.
Lea and Shaun then each guided each other's hands between Lea's perspiring thighs towards the top of the baby's protruding cranium, in which both of them could feel their baby girl's damp, thin, oily locks.
"She has hair, but probably not a lot," disclosed Shaun as he touched the baby's greasy, small mop of hair.
"Oh, my god!" Lea completely lost it in a positive way, feeling empowered as she felt the pinnacle of her baby's emerging head as it crowned…and also laughing a bit at her husband's honesty. However, she then returned to making agonizing noises as another painful contraction hit her hard.
She screamed and roared as loud as (and pretty much just like) a mountain lion. It was a noise that was so loud and ear-splitting that Shaun felt like his eardrums had burst. It was the loudest he had ever heard her screech…and the first time she had actually screamed at the top of her lungs throughout her entire 52-hour labor. Normally, she had been making low guttural noises of moans and groans along with a few vocalizations of huffs, puffs, pants, winces, grunts, and cries.
Lea could faintly hear words of empowerment and encouragement from Shaun, Naomi, Claire, Nurse Ella, and Dr. Vargas.
Her fatiguing labor continued and she pushed as hard as she could, pushing like she was having a bowel movement and using all of her pain and desperation to force her long-awaited daughter out of her body; excited to meet her and hold her in her arms.
It wasn't long before the baby's entire head was out including her face. Lea felt like her crotch blew a hard bubble as it happened. Bluntly, Lea felt like she was taking the biggest dump she had ever taken in her life. It was an extreme, excruciating burning and stinging sensation in her vagina and vulva, which felt like it was being ripped apart and set on fire at the same time. Overall, she felt like she was shitting out a Costco-size bag of chips without lube.
The burning and pressure were unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
"Shaun, get some gloves on and get ready to catch your daughter! We're getting close to the final push!" Dr. Vargas announced ecstatically, moving to the side a bit to make some space for Shaun to deliver the rest of the baby.
Shaun stood up from the bed and then made his way towards the foot and got his gloves on, preparedly holding out his arms as feelings of excitement were displayed on his face. Claire patted his shoulder gently with enthusiasm.
"One more push, Lea," urged Dr. Vargas.
"Our baby is almost here!" Shaun burst, looking at Lea straight into her hazel eyes, reassuring her that she's got this in the bag. He then looked back down towards the area between her legs and arranged his arms in position to catch the baby.
"Come on, Lea! You got this! She's almost out! This is the moment!" Claire encouraged, squeezing Lea's calf.
With all of her might and determination as her final contraction took over, Lea pushed as hard as she could and breathed deeply. She gasped and whimpered as she felt an excruciating pain in her entire groin and lower abdomen, and then she slumped backward, breathing heavily and shivering at the odd sensation of her baby sliding out of her body.
"Here she is!" Dr. Vargas squealed, Claire and Nurse Ella joining in the making of enthusiastic noises of cheers and cries of jubilation as the baby was born into her daddy's arms.
After 52 hours and 31 minutes of a raw labor, the little girl was born on her Uncle Steve's birthday.
Once Shaun grabbed a hold of his baby and gently pulled her out, he immediately cradled her fragile body in his arms. However, there was one thing that was kind of scaring him…she wasn't crying.
"She's not crying! What's going on? Is she…" Lea quavered, not wanting to say the word "dead" and hoping that she and Shaun didn't lose another baby.
Shaun just froze in slight terror as he cradled the baby, a little fearful himself as he started to rub the baby's chest.
Claire immediately turned her head towards Lea once she observed and assessed the baby. "She's fine. Sometimes, it just takes a few seconds for a newborn to…"
Before Claire could finish her sentence with the word "cry", the healthy and reassuring sound of the baby bawling filled the entire atmosphere of the room along with Lea herself bawling happily; Naomi wiping the new mom's tears from her face.
For both Lea and Shaun, hearing the shrill sounds of their precious rainbow baby girl cry melted their hearts. She was very loud, but it was a reassuring and relieving kind of loud because it meant that she was getting air and oxygen through her little lungs.
For a short few seconds, Shaun stared at the squirming, slippery baby in his arms with utter shock, fear, and pure joy. Just like all of the babies he has delivered throughout his medical career (yes, he was counting med school), this one was wrinkly as a raisin while coated in blood and vernix. Also just like all the healthy babies he has delivered, this one was as pink and perfect as a naked mole rat. The only difference between this baby and the ones he has delivered as a doctor was that this was his and Lea's child. He experienced emotions of joy and fear as he held his daughter close to his chest with love.
He couldn't believe it. He was actually holding a baby that belonged to him and not a patient he was helping.
"Congratulations, Shaun!" Claire whispered, wiping away tears of her own, happy that her colleague and his wife finally fulfilled their dream of becoming parents. They definitely deserved this after facing tragedy with their first pregnancy.
After a brief moment of holding his daughter, Shaun then carefully placed her onto Lea's exposed upper chest (her hospital gown had been pulled down) for skin-to-skin contact. The baby was still crying as Nurse Ella dried her off with a towel and rubbed in the vernix before wrapping her in one and then placing a cap on her head, which is when she stopped crying.
"Hi, sweetie," Lea whispered softly as she gently ran a hand over her daughter's tiny back and held her close to her chest, crying tears of joy. "I'm your mommy. Do you recognize me? Do you recognize Mommy's voice?"
"Hello," repeated Shaun as he crouched down next to the bed so he was in level with Lea and the baby, reaching out to stroke the cheek of the baby. "I'm your daddy."
"So, what's her name?" Claire asked curiously, she and Naomi giving Shaun and Lea some space as well as some time to bond with their daughter.
Shaun and Lea proudly looked at each other with pure love in their eyes and then Shaun proudly said their daughter's name with dignity.
"Violet Eva," he replied with pride. The baby's name had a very special meaning. Violet means "purple", and it wasn't just Lea's favorite flower, but also her favorite color…and a name with a colorful meaning fit well for a rainbow baby, especially since it was Lea's favorite color of the rainbow and also the final color of the rainbow. And Eva, of course, means "life", a meaning that was also appropriate for a rainbow baby.
Once Shaun cut the umbilical cord, he and Lea had to hand the baby over to Claire and Nurse Ella so they could do the APGAR assessment, check her vitals, and weigh her and record her measurements. While that was happening, there was also the delivery of the placenta, the cleaning up, the numbing, and the stitching.
"I love you, Lea," said Shaun, grinning proudly and giving Lea a kiss on her lips. "I love both of you."
"I love you too, Shaunie," sobbed Lea, who enjoyed the distraction of her husband while she was getting stitched up…even though she could barely feel the pain because of the numbing in her nether regions.
After a few more minutes, Violet was confirmed to be healthy and was finally returned to the arms of Shaun and Lea, this time all clear of any blood and vernix (which had actually been rubbed in as it was known to be beneficial for the baby) and bundled up in a blanket. Claire then left the room to give Shaun and Lea some privacy (and also inform the Glassmans and Dilallos that the baby was here as well as letting them know that they needed a bit of privacy before they could come in).
Whipping out his phone, he quickly took a close-up picture of Violet and then handed his phone to Naomi for her to take a picture of all three of them together before he stowed it away again, just in time for Naomi to help Lea start learning to breastfeed Violet.
As Lea breastfed Violet and allowed her to fulfill her very first hunger, Shaun sent the two photos he took to everyone - family and friends - via texts along with a caption before he went to sit down in the bed with Lea and Violet.
Violet Eva Dilallo-Murphy
Born August 7th, 2022 at 9:31 pm
6 lb, 12 oz, 19 in
"I'm so happy right now," beamed Lea as her daughter satisfied her hunger.
"Me, too," repeated Shaun as he glared at the newborn that was latched onto Lea's nipple. He smiled at both her and Lea.
"She's got your teeny blue eyes," cried Lea happily as she let her daughter squeeze her finger.
Shaun took a closer glance at the newborn's squishy, chubby face and then realized that Lea was right when he saw her sparkling blue irises.
"Yes, she does," simpered Shaun. He brought his index finger up and Violet immediately grabbed on, which was a wholesome and euphoric feeling.
Once the baby was finished and satisfied with her first meal, Lea then passed Violet back to Shaun. After eight minutes, she decided that it was okay to let their families into the room to meet the little one.
Once the Dilallos and the Glassmans entered the room, they were all captivated, marveled, and awed at the sight of the baby girl gurgling in Shaun's arms. They went to deliver hugs of salutes him and Lea, congratulating them and giving them best wishes.
When Dr. Glassman caught a glimpse of Shaun holding his newborn, his heart just melted at the beautiful sight. He was so happy that he was finally a granddad.
Naomi had left the room so the families could have some time together.
One by one, Violet was passed around from arm to arm in the hands of her grandparents and uncle.
The first to hold Violet were Pam and Mike, who immediately fell in love with their first grandchild. They predicted that this baby would be a boy, and they predicted that Eleanor would be a boy as well (males usually outnumbered females in the Dilallo family, and it was kind of the same for the Murphy family). However, the sex of their grandchild didn't matter to them as they were just happy that they had an adorable little grandbaby to dote on.
"Oh, she looks so much like you!" Pam gushed. "She's definitely going to have curly hair when she gets a little bigger. Lea used to have very curly hair."
Lea smiled in satisfaction as she watched her parents gush over their sleeping granddaughter and shower praises over her and Lea. They were both crying tears of joy and euphoria.
Donnie was the next to hold Violet. As he glared at his adorable little niece, he shot a big smile at Lea and Shaun, telling them that he was thrilled for them before he took a quick selfie with the baby so he could send it to Raul. "Whenever you come to visit, we're staying up late to play video games together," he whispered to the baby in a sneaky tone of voice.
"Don't even think about it," prompted Lea, eyeing her brother with an eyebrow raised.
Debbie and Dr. Glassman were the last to hold Violet, and Dr. Glassman was the most emotional of the bunch.
When Shaun and Lea lost their last baby, it felt like losing Maddie all over again as he already felt attached to Eleanor just as much as Shaun and Lea were. Holding Violet felt wholesome and emotional as he felt exactly the same way he felt when he held Maddie as a newborn for the very first time.
"She has her daddy's eyes," he commented, trying to hold back his tears when the baby opened her eyes a little bit. "She was also born on your brother's birthday," he then told Shaun as he side-hugged him before whispering into his ear that he was proud of him and Lea and that Steve would have been proud as well if he was still alive.
Shaun felt proud when Dr. Glassman said that. Lea's prediction was totally right, the baby would have teeny blue eyes like her father. However, he did sometimes dream of teeny hazel eyes that would match Lea's.
After a while, Dr. Glassman noticed that Lea had fallen asleep (which wasn't surprising given that she had spent more than 50 hours in labor) and that Shaun himself was getting tired as he was yawning and rubbing his eyes.
"I think we should leave and let them rest," he suggested, wanting to let the new parents receive all the sleep they had lost during the entire labor ordeal since the baby was going to be constantly waking them up for a long time as their new alarm clock.
And then, everyone sent their final congratulations and left the exhausted new parents alone with their baby.
As Shaun sat on the couch with Violet snuggled in his arms, he scrolled through his phone and read the texts he (and Lea) had received from people at the hospital since he sent out the birth announcement to everyone.
MORGAN: OMG! Yay! You finally have a baby! Congratulations! She's so adorbs! Also, don't tell Alex that I told you this, but he got super emotional and cried like a baby when he saw that picture of the two of you with Violet.
DR. PARK: Your life has forever changed, and I'm so happy for you! You've got this. You really, really do. Also, if you need any help, I'll be happy to give it to you.
CLAIRE: Again, she's beautiful as her name! It was an absolute honor to be there in the room for both of you when she was born and also to assist. You're going to be amazing parents and I'm really looking forward to being a part of Violet's life as she grows.
DR. LIM: Congratulations! She's just as beautiful as her mama! Mateo and I are so happy for you two and Violet is so lucky to have you two as parents. By the way, dinner for you guys once you leave the hospital is on me and him if someone hasn't already offered yet.
DR. RENDÓN: Congratulations on the new addition to your family! I wish all the best to the two of you and your little bundle of joy! I'm glad things are finally going well in life for both of you.
DR. ANDREWS: I gotta tell you, Violet is already a celebrity baby around here because of how cute and adorable she is! I know you are going to be such a wonderful mom and dad.
ASHER: Aw! She's adorable! Warmest congrats on the birth of your sweet baby girl! Love just got real and I'm so very excited for both of you.
JORDAN: Ahhh! Congrats, you guys! After the long dark tunnel you have been through, you two deserve every bit of joy and happiness this baby is going to bring you. So many happy and wonder-filled times ahead for you. I know, I sound like a Hallmark card.
NURSE ELLA: I'm so happy for the two of you and congratulations on the birth of your first baby! I was glad to be there for that. I can tell you that from experience, it feels like home to give birth in the building where you work.
NURSE VILLANUEVA: Congratulations to both of you on your rainbow baby! You deserve it. I guess Violet is the purple at the end of your rainbow. Also, Dr. Murphy, I think Petringa would be reminding you about your solo c-section in quarantine if she was still here.
He even received a few texts from JL and a few other nurses as well as Carly, Jared, Enrique, and Olivia sending their warm congratulations.
Lea's phone was also dinging with texts of congratulations from her co-workers and other relatives from Pennsylvania. She couldn't quite hear it going off because she was such a heavy sleeper.
Sure, the constant, repetitive chimes were a bit annoying and it was a bit overpowering, but it was not as annoyingly overwhelming and exhausting as the "I'm so sorry for your loss" texts and emails he and Lea received from everyone when they lost Eleanor.
Shaun then set his phone aside and then peered back down at the tiny bundle in his arms. She had a small mop of brown hair that perfectly matched his and Lea's shades of locks. Violet may have had his blue eyes, but she definitely had Lea's attached earlobes. The rest of her face just looked like the typical chubby newborn.
He was finally a dad. He knew that this statement was reality now, but everything still felt so surreal for him. He knew he always wanted a child, but he never thought he would ever have one, especially with Lea. They now had a commitment and they were now responsible for this small human being, and it was scary, but it was also one of the happiest moments of his life. But they were always going to be there for their little girl.
He then took a peek at Lea, who was fast asleep and tuckered out in the hospital bed, wiped out from giving birth. That was why it was called labor; because giving birth is a lot of hard work, and Shaun himself was completely burned out as well from helping Lea through her labor.
He checked the time on his phone and then read that it was 11:28 in the evening, which meant that he probably needed to get some sleep in order to prepare for baby armageddon with the screaming and crying, spit-ups, dirty diapers, and cord stump care. Violet was also receiving her first dose of the HepB vaccine at 10:00 the morning, so he and Lea needed to be awake to comfort her when she gets poked with the needle.
He gently set Violet down in her see-through bassinet flat on her back while she was peacefully asleep and swaddled up in a cap and a pink, blue, and white blanket that perfectly mimicked the comfort of the womb.
"Goodnight, peanut," he whispered lovingly, kissing her tiny forehead before running a hand over her thin blob of hair, feeling that soft spot. "I love you."
Then, Shaun settled back onto the couch and then fell asleep into dreamland.
AN: Hooray! Baby Shea is finally here! I hope you all enjoyed this heartwarming chapter, but keep in mind that this isn't over. There is still going to be more bumps in the road later. So, stick around.