For my sons,
My Everything
It happened so fast. At least that's how it felt once the hard part was over. How quickly the mind and body began forgetting hours of immense pain. The last hour was the worst pain she'd ever suffer in her entire life. It was so excruciating she vividly remembered asking Dende to die. Only for a short while. Until the hard part was over. Then she could be revived or wished back.
Damn you Whis Repeated over and over in her head. As the hours passed since her water broke and it became apparent, he wasn't going to appear in time to delivery her baby. Like he had her. By holding his magical staff in front of her baby bump magically extracting the baby out of her body. Making it appear out of thin air. clean and wrapped in a blanket even. Her friendship with the Angel was the only reason she didn't panic during pregnancy. Without it she never would have gotten pregnant. No that was a lie. She wanted a baby.
Becoming a mom her reward for surviving labor and delivery. Her gift the perfect newborn baby boy in her arms. The only thing that matter in all 11 universes to her. The baby boy who had taken his sweet time to be born was finally here. Well here in the outside world. He had been very much here to her the moment the stick she peed on revealed two pink lines. Even more here the first time she heard his heart beat. She fell in love with the first images at 11 weeks. Love at first sight with the tiny blob in her womb. The first time she felt him move would be a day she'd never forget. Calling it the weirdest, coolest thing she'd ever experienced. Hard to describe to anyone that had never experienced it themselves. Even as his kicks became stronger. she loved feeling him move even when it was painful.
Many first were coming their way. However, in this moment all she could think of was how much she loved him. It was an overwhelming all-consuming love. The selfish spoiled rich girl now knew what it truly meant to love someone unconditionally. To love someone more than yourself. To willing lay down your life for another. Without hesitation she would use her own body as a shield to protect her baby. Her son. Her everything.
Bra knew she loved him before she met him. Before she knew he was a he. Hopeful she was having a girl because of a reoccurring dream of a baby girl dressed from head to toe in purple. Her favorite color. The color of royalty. At least on Earth. Saiyan royals wore dark blue and red. When she found out the gender there was some disappointment. She wasn't sure if she'd make a good "boymom". Then she went shopping for baby clothes and found the cutest boy outfits. Argyle designs with an adorable puppy on them. One onesie had a puppy dog tail on the back.
"Hi. I'm your mommy." Were the first words she spoke to her precious baby face to face. Introductions unnecessary. According to experts he was already familiar with her voice. Having heard it from the inside for months. She stared down at him in awe. His small chubby body still covered in vernix caseosa or "birth goo". Something that would have grossed out the heiress years prior.
Whhhaaa the tiny baby vocalized his first sounds. In the form of high pitch cries. Instantly Bra's whole demeanor changed. She commenced rocking him gently against her chest. Gentle shhhhs and repeated "I know baby I know" for some reason she couldn't explain later. Her brain worked out all the reasons he was crying. Though natural his cries made her heart hurt. Crushed by the need to make everything better and get him to stop crying. It made her physically ill.
The only thing worse was when her baby was ill. His first fever was devastating. Every illness after that always caused her to over worry over stress until he was no longer ill. Owies killed her too. A scraped knee demanded all her love and attention. Worse. Hurt feelings. She hated it. She wanted him to be happy. Always.
It wouldn't take long for her to witness his first smile. His first laugh would be the sweetest most contagious sound she had ever heard. Wanting to cement it in her memory. She would be taking constant pictures and videos of who she knew was the cutest baby to ever be born. She wasn't bias. It was a fact. Baby hiccups are adorably cute. Distressful sounds like gagging or choking were terrifying. Getting peed on was gross but no big deal.
Bra was surprised she hadn't cried. Happy tears were expected. However, she only wanted to cry when her newborn son had started crying. Empathizing his emotions through a mother's bond with her child. If so many emotions were swirling inside her she could only imagine what her sweet baby was feeling. After only being in this world for a few minutes. Sensory overload? He hadn't even opened his eyes yet.
She gently touched one of his tiny hands. Noticing the tiny nails on his tiny fingers looked a little purple. Fear settled in. Was something wrong with her baby? Was he getting enough oxygen? No, the very capable doctor and nurses in the room would have provided medical care if there was a health issue. Those nurses would be taking him for his first bath all too soon. To put on his first diaper. Then to dress him in a plain white hospital onesie before she could dress him in the various "Coming Home" outfits she had packed in her hospital bag.
Fixated on his long brittle thin fingernails. Soon she'd learn newborn nails were some of the sharpest objects in the universe. She'd have to file them almost daily. To keep him safe from accidently scratching himself. Proving early he was one of those babies that refused to keep his baby mittens on. Or his socks. Or stay swaddled in his baby blanket. A regular Houdini he managed to escape the confines of even a SwaddlePod that had a zipper. Impressive considering babies lacked fine motor skills. When they tried to move their hand their whole arm moved. Uncoordinated usually smacking themselves in the face.
As a first-time mother Bra only knew what to expect based on the books she read. Or from her own mother and fellow mom friends shared personal experiences. She didn't mind useful advice when she asked for it. However, unsolicited advice from total strangers made her want to blast them into another dimension. Or someone claiming their way was the best way. Each baby was unique. She would learn by doing. Trial and error. Process of elimination to determine what worked best for her son. How to sooth him. How to feed him. How to get him to sleep. A phenomenon that would be missing in the next few weeks.
Sleep deprivation Bra would discover was debilitating. She naively believed her late night into early morning partying of her early 20s had trained her. She was wrong. So wrong. It was a level of tired all on its own. Now they had the money to buy the best top of the line nanny bot on the market. Or hire the best live in nannies. They didn't want that. They wanted to do it themselves. As exhausted as she was going to be, she'd never trade those moment for any amount of sleep. Even after they learned their baby preferred to sleep in someone arms and hated his napper. The moment you set him down he'd instantly wake up crying. Hours would be spent sitting with him sleeping in her arms. Trapped. She'd forget to eat. Ignoring her hunger cues but never his until her stomach loudly protested. There would be times she really needed to pee but was afraid to get up. Scared of waking her sleeping angel.
All it took was one smile or sweet coo from her son in the middle of the night to make her exhaustion disappear. He breathed new life into her tired body. A hard day could be erased by your baby's smile. All the struggles and there would be struggles would vanish. Replace with love. When one of her friends who didn't have kids yet asked her what it was like being a mom she'd answered without reservations and honestly.
"Amazing. Exhausting. Incredible. Hard. Amazing." Oh and did she mention amazing? It truly was the single hardest yet greatest things anyone could do. Yes, there was nothing better than being a mom. Everything else paled in comparison.
He settled down rather quickly though it felt like eternity to her. Once he finally stopped crying, he opened his eyes for the first time and looked at her. He had her eyes. They were a similar shade of blue to hers. His hair black like his dad. In the coming days it would become apparent he looked a lot like his dad. His eyes and dimple that was peeking out were all her. The older he got the clearer it became he inherited his personality from his mom. Similar in so many ways except looks. Speaking of his dad she had all but forgotten she wasn't this sweet baby boy's only parent. Not until the figure who'd been by her side spoke up.
"Can I hold him?" The request was reasonable, but she found it nearly impossible to let go. A tad reluctantly she handed over her irreplaceable treasure to another person. Not just any person but her baby's father. A man that was equally responsible for creating this amazing new life. Well not completely equal as she would remind him more than once in the upcoming first weeks of their baby's life. She was the one that carried him for 9 months after all. She was the one tasked with pushing him out of her body.
The brand-new mom bit her tongue from saying "Be careful" or "Support his head". She knew in her heart her husband felt the same as her. The difference? Using her as a human shield to save their baby. An act she would be 100 percent okay with. He was one of the strongest fighters in all 11 Universes. All of a sudden, she felt a strong urge to train. Once she recovered from birth of course. The need to protect her child from anything powerful. Lacking strength would never stop her. She would stand between him and fucking Freiza if need be. Freiza thought he should fear a Saiyan before. He had no idea the hell he'd unleash if he threatened the Saiyan Princess's baby.
They had both agreed early on any child of theirs would train. The universe was a dangerous place. They'd need the skills to protect themselves if their parents couldn't. Not that any of their children would want for anything. Materialistic or otherwise. This baby was already loved by so many people. First and foremost, his parents who couldn't be happier. They would love and support him no matter what. There was nothing he could do to make them not love him. Even going evil. If he tried conquering the universe, they'd probably just join him. They would be his biggest fan. Wanting nothing but the best for him and striving to help him attain it.
Sensing his wife anxiety increasing every minute her son was absent from her arms he gently passed the baby back. Sharing her baby even for a short while was extremely difficult for her. Maternal instinct strong with Bra.
"I love you." Bra kissed her newborn son's head. Meaning those words with every fiber of her soul. Which now belong to another. No longer living just for herself but for her child. The moment he came into the world her heart was now outside her body.
Authors Note- Happy Mother's Day! This was harder than I thought. I wanted to capture what it's like to become a mom and realized its different for everyone. This was inspired by the birth of my sons.