I'm so sorry for not updating this story lately, I simply didn't have time for writing! But finally, I was able to continue.
So, I hope you have fun reading the next chapter!
14 weeks of pregnancy:
Sickness was still Amy's constant companion. Not only in the morning, no, all day she felt awful. Why was everyone calling it morning sickness when it tormented her from awaking till falling asleep? Many days she had to stay away from work, because the only thing she was able to do was lying on the couch, watching old sitcoms on TV and pressing her acupressure point above the wrist. She wasn't sure if it really helped from a physical point of view, but at least, concentrating on pushing her fingers at the exact right spot on her arm distracted her from the awful feeling in her stomach.
She had searched the whole internet for useful tricks. "Ten Tips against pregnancy sickness, that REALLY help". Who wrote those articles? Didn't those authors know what damage they could do in a poor pregnant soul by creating such high anticipations with their headlines? Anticipations that got disappointed as soon as she had skimmed the article? Nothing had helped. Nothing. In all her desperation she even had tried the homeopathics that the gynecologist had given her. She had been ready to stop believing in the inviolability of science and logic and to fundamentally change her view of the world and to have a huge fight with Sheldon who would have called her insane and who would have been deeply hurt, if only they had helped her. But they hadn't. And she wasn't sure if she was relieved about that or not.
18 weeks of pregnancy:
"So you don't like any of them?"
"Nope!" Amy was shaking her head in disappointment. "How is it possible we're not able to find a name, that we both like?"
"Because your suggestions are all ridiculous!"
"My suggestions are ridiculous? I didn't write "Hermione" and "Gandalf" on my list!"
"I don't know what you want. I think both are not only extremely loveable characters, but also role models. Except for smoking pipe in case of Gandalf."
"I want our child to have a name that has a nice sound and that is no embarrassment on the schoolyard."
"And I want to name our child after somebody that means something to me!"
Amy sighed. Everybody had told her that looking for a name was one of the most delightful tasks of pregnancy. She couldn't agree less. It was horrible. Why couldn't they find a compromise? "Fine! I will have a look at that online forum, again! Maybe I should create an account there, too, and ask for advice…"
Amy opened her laptop and started reading. Then she frowned her eyebrows.
"Why are you looking so irritated?" Sheldon asked her.
"I've just read something really crazy. Look!" She turned the laptop to him, so that he could read the forum thread.
"Shinystar86": Hi everyone! Currently I'm looking for a name for my little one, that will be born in August. My husband and me like "Benjamin", what do you think about it?
"pink_apple": Hm, I don't know, "Benjamin" just doesn't sound appropriate for a baby, I think. Why don't you just call him "Benny"?
"Shinystar86": Don't you think "Benny" sounds too childish for a grown-up man?
"pink_apple": Sorry, but I just cannot imagine a little child being called "Benjamin". That's so long and old fashioned and it just doesn't sound cute. Sorry, just my opinion.
"LadyBlue": My suggestion would be to call him Benny officially and when he's grown up, he can use "Benjamin" as a nickname, so that it sounds more adult! *
"pink_apple": LadyBlue, one can always rely on your ideas! That's just awesome! Shinystar86 that's just the perfect solution for your problem!
Sheldon looked at Amy, then they both burst out laughing.
"Ok, I won't ask the people in the online forum, I promise!" Amy giggled. Then she laid her head on Sheldon's lap and he caressed her shoulder tenderly.
"Don't worry", he calmed her "We still have plenty of time and I'm sure we will be able to find a wonderful role model with a nice sounding name… What about… Sokrates? Hm? Ok, that look on your face I cannot interpret yet…"
21 weeks of pregnancy:
"I still don't know why we cannot order all that stuff online! Then we could sit on our couch now instead of getting lost in this awful store!" Sheldon had stopped walking and folded his arms huffily.
"It's not awful! I like to get inspired by all the cute stuff they have here… Oh look, there's a completely furnished and decorated baby room. Isn't that nice?"
"Oh boy…"
"You know what? Why don't you have a look at the buggies and car seats? There's a lot of technical details you can compare. Just take the one with the best features. Then call me and I choose the color!"
"Oh, that sounds wonderful! Comparing technical details reminds me of my train quartet card game, that MeeMaw once gave me for my birthday! See you later!"
One and a half hour later:
"Amy? Where are you?"
"I'm here! I'm just searching for some onesies! It's said on the internet that you should have at least six, but I have found only four different styles."
"Why don't you just choose a style and take six of it? See, I also have a lot of identical looking underpants..."
"Because I think that dressing my baby in different onesies will probably be one of the few varieties that I will have as a mother of a new born."
"I see… Anyway, I think I've made the perfect choice now. I found a buggy that has gotten the highest ratings by a customer protection committee and by a standardized ecological test. Its low center of gravity prevents it from toppling over and the handle is adjustable in height. Furthermore it has changeable wheels, a lot of equipment and you can even fix a car seat on it, if you want to. What do you say?"
"Perfect, if it's available in red. I want a red buggy, that is my precondition!"
28 weeks of pregnancy:
Suddenly something felt odd while they were brushing their teeth. Amy couldn't name it. The colors in the room had become different, maybe more intense, as if somebody had put a photoshop filter on a picture. Sheldon's voice next to her suddenly seemed far away, then a swoosh started filling her ears, becoming louder. The ground started swaying, she dropped her toothbrush into the sink and clinged herself on the rim. She couldn't see anymore. Then there were Sheldon's hands under her armpits, guiding her to sit on the floor.
The next thing she could remember was herself sitting on the cold bathroom floor between Sheldon's legs, her head rested against his chest, feeling his breath next to her ear.
"Are you ok, again?" He asked her concerned.
"I think so… Wow, I guess I just passed out."
"That's right!"
"Why? Is my blood pressure that low? I just measured it half an hour ago…"
"Maybe. Or our little one is pressing on your vena cava." Softly he stroked her heavy swollen bump under the nightgown. "Twelve weeks, Amy. Then it will be over!"
Amy sighed. "Yes, but when every day feels like an eternity, twelve weeks is a lot!"
"Then it's 84 eternities, to be precise. Which is the same as one eternity."
"Thank you, that's not very consoling! Will you help me up?"
Cautiously Sheldon helped Amy to get up and accompanied her to the bed.
When they were lying there, side by side, Amy spoke again. "Can you imagine how much I miss lying on my back or my belly? My spine always hurts after a while when I'm sleeping on my side. Just like now!" Ok. Turning around. She could do that. Amy breathed in deeply. She put her hands on the mattress for support, gathered some energy and started to turn on the other side. Done! Phew! Then she burped unexpectedly. "I'm sorry!" she whispered above her shoulder into Sheldon's direction. He only caressed her back for comfort, having grown used to her late pregnancy problems a while ago.
Fainting, burping, flatulencies, heartburn, cardiovascular problems, swollen legs… there was almost no pregnancy problem that Amy didn't suffer from. Even her eyes had gotten worse, so that she needed to purchase new glasses. But the only problem she always had been sure she would have, because she even got them as a teenager when her body started changing heavily, didn't occur: stretchmarks. Not even one, surprisingly. Well, in the end she deserved a bit of luck, didn't she?
32 weeks of pregnancy:
Today, she was really having the best job. Amy sat on the couch reading a magazine, a cup of tea rested on her belly hidden under her flowery pregnancy dress. Around her, the whole gang was busy, preparing the apartment for the arrival of their child.
"Ok… test it!" she heard Howard shout from the bedroom where he was installing the high-tech baby monitor.
"Works!" Leonard shouted back from the kitchen island, where he sat and stared on the receiver device. "The infrared picture also indicates that your body temperature is slightly higher than normal!"
"Shall we test it?" Penny, who was preparing the changing table, grinned and raised a thermometer.
"You know it's rectal, don't you?" Raj asked, while fixing a somehow familiar giraffe mobilee above the crib.
"Never mind!" Penny threw the device into the drawer and closed it quickly.
Sheldon was cleaning the windows. And although Amy had said several times that it was absolutely futile, a waste of money and a senseless pollution of the environment, he had insisted to purell them not only from the inside, but also from the outside. And she had thought that the recent thorough cleaning of their kitchen shelves and cabinets had been the summit of unnecessary activities!
Bernadette crawled back from under the ladder that Sheldon was standing on.
"The last socket protection is fixed! But I have to warn you, it will take some time until you have found the right move for plugging your vacuum cleaner, so better start training now!"
She let herself fall down next to Amy on the couch and took a glance at her enormous belly.
"You know what? You're really lucky of never wearing pants. Once, when I was pregnant with Halley we were on a long car ride and my trousers got so tight and uncomfortable that the only solution for me was to take them off as if I was sitting on the toilet. You can bet the people in the car next to us made dumb faces!"
Am laughed loudly and then smiled at Bernadette. She took a glance around the room and suddenly felt proud and incredibly happy. Even if her and Sheldon's families were far away, they would never be alone with their baby. Their friends would always support them, each in their own, special way.