7
Black Friday at Popi had been rough; with their holiday themed scents, they were swamped this year far more than they had been in the past. Piper hadn't remembered it being so busy in past seasons without time for a break, and in the middle of this particular day, she regretted brainstorming on ways to increase profits for the holiday season.
She came home late that day, following multiple text messages from Alex asking if she was alright and if she was on her way home.
"It was intense today. Polly had me sit for the majority of the day but even then, it was just customer after customer after customer. We brought in a lot of revenue though," she sat at the dining room table telling about her day.
She tried straightening her back to ease the soreness at the base, but felt no relief. She was glad Alex hadn't been able to see her face as she flitted about the kitchen. She scrunched her face and scooted to the edge of the chair letting her knees dip down stretching out the muscles and ligaments that attached her uterus to her groin but that caused a shooting pain and she immediately sat back. Alex brought in a tall glass of water and set it down on the table before returning to the kitchen. Piper gulped it down and conversed with Alex about the details of her day. She tried to lean back again fifteen minutes later, but it was useless; every time she moved, the pain would repeat. She went to their bedroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. She felt hot and turned the AC onto 64 degrees.
"It's freezing in here Pipes! Why is the air on?"
"I'm so hot Al, I'm sorry, is it really that cold? It feels so much better like this."
Alex spazzily jogged in place before heading to their bedroom to put thick socks and sweats over her leggings and long sleeved shirt. She came back to the table and proceeded to try to have a normal conversation despite the fact that she and her wife looked like they belonged on different continents.
After a late dinner they went off to bed. Alex wrapped herself in their comforter like a burrito, while Piper lay completely uncovered on her side. Shortly after she could hear Alex breathing deeply, fast asleep. She was pretty sure she could toss and turn and not arouse the brunette but she didn't want to risk it so she sat up slowly. She adjusted her weight on the bed, letting her legs hang off the side for a minute before pushing herself off the bed and closing the bedroom door behind her. Her back ached, and she had cramping pain in her lower abdomen. It was hard to stay still so she tried changing positions a few times on the couch, until she found a comfortable one lying on her side. She nods off to sleep to be awoken 20 minutes later by the gnawing pain in her body. She breathes through the pain and lets out a soft whimper. She feels like she needs to pee, but she can't get up. Just the thought of getting up, makes the pain return again. It goes away for another solid twenty minutes so she gets to the bathroom and pees the smallest amount. She flushes the toilet and Alex opens her eyes at the noise, but drifts back off to sleep. She slowly makes her way back to the couch and tries to find comfort in the position she relaxed in before. Alex reaches out in their bed to find empty space and gets up to find the bathroom empty and Piper lying curled up on the couch.
"Pipes?," she comes over to her more quickly, "babe what's wrong?"
Piper raises a hand to her, implying that she needs a minute before she speaks, "I think I'm having contractions."
Alex blinks furiously and tries to remain calm, "for how long? Should I take you to the hospital?"
"I think they're just those early contractions, the Braxton Hicks ones." She feels another pain and starts breathing more heavily.
"But how do you know?"
Piper raises her hand again, "I," she breathes, "don't." She adjusts her position to the other side, facing the inside of the couch, her back to Alex. "I've had them on and off since I left work."
"Piper, I really think we should go to the hospital."
"I really don't want to go," she whimpers out fighting tears.
She re-adjusts her glasses, and slips a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Okay, but what about the hotline number at the hospital? I can call that at least."
"Yeah...okay," she breathes out and nods into the couch.
Alex snatched the card off the refrigerator and called the number.
"Labor and delivery hotline, how can I help you?"
"Hi, my wife has been having pain all night, she thinks they're contractions but she isn't sure."
"Okay, is your wife able to talk through them?," Alex put the phone on speaker. "She asked if you could talk through the pain."
"Yeah, I can, some of them." "Ok good, what's your name?" "Piper Chapman."
"Hold on just a second, let me just pull up your chart here. Ok Piper, and how many weeks are you?"
"32, this is my first baby, I don't know what I'm feeling exactly." "Where does the pain start?"
"It starts in my lower back, but my lower back always hurts so I don't know if it's related or not, it just hurts more now and it moves to the front and the whole front gets really tight."
"Can you tell me how often you're getting the pain?"
"It's not in any pattern...," she's forced the move the phone away from her face for about 30 seconds or so and then completes her sentence, "it's not in any pattern, its maybe 2 or 3 times in one hour, I don't know."
"Okay and do you feel your baby moving around?"
Piper maternally rested her hand on her belly, having been preoccupied with her own pain she hadn't paid attention. Alex bit her lip and dragged her teeth inward.
"Yeah, my baby is moving around like normal."
"That's great, any bleeding or leaking fluid? Any pain or discomfort when you try to urinate?" "No, not at all."
"Do you notice if it's worse or more often when you move around or lie down?"
"No, I'm not sure."
"Alright well that's good news and bad news. Bad news is it sounds like contractions. Good news is the pain doesn't seem to be close enough to be preterm labor. It sounds like Braxton Hicks contractions, but the only way I could tell you for sure is if you come in. I know it's late so try drinking lots of water throughout the next hour or so and try lie still and rest. Try not to move around too much. If its preterm labor those pains will keep coming regardless of how much you drink and rest, but if its Braxton Hicks they'll go away with some rest and hydration. The two things that cause most people to have early contractions are dehydration and urinary tract infections and it doesn't seem like you have one, most of us are chronically dehydrated anyway. I'm looking through your chart and you don't have risk factors for preterm labor so try drinking lots of water and rest. No matter what call me back in an hour, but if the pain starts coming every 10 minutes or 5 times in one hour, just come in, alright?"
"Okay," they both said in unison, "thank you so much" Alex continued.
"Not a problem, call me in an hour."
Alex looked over at Piper, "did you drink enough today?"
Piper shook her head "no" as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and fell horizontally across the bridge of her nose and onto the couch.
Alex leaned over and kissed her temple. She got up toward the kitchen to get a glass of water for Piper. She wanted to punch the wall, she was so angry and sick to her stomach when she saw Piper in pain.
"I'm going to kill Polly, she's supposed to look out for you while you're at work," she spoke loudly.
"She did Al, she told me to go in the back to rest and eat. I just kept getting caught up with a new customer each time I would get up to rest in the back, she probably didn't notice I never really got a break," she tried defending her friend and tried taking responsibility for her own neglect. Her eyes burned with tears, her nose became congested as she sniffled in, she felt so guilty, this could've been prevented.
"Hey, shhh, shhh, drink this." She helped Piper sit up and brought the glass to her mouth to drink. She set the glass back on their coffee table, sat on the couch and propped the blonde wavy head onto her lap.
"I can't lay on my back, I can't breathe like this," she inhaled in a staggered fashion turning onto her side. Alex stuck a pillow between her lap and Pipers head and stroked her long hair back, wiping away her tears with her thumb. "Stop crying. You need to be calm and just rest, keep drinking the water."
She took a few more gulps of the water and rested her head back down, calming down.
"Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so bad? And your back always hurts? I could've helped you Piper." She brought the glass to her wife again, until she finished. She got up and refilled the glass and brought it back over to the couch.
"I didn't want to worry you about something, if it ended up going away on its own."
"I'm supposed to worry Piper! That's what I'm here for, to worry and take care of you, you're doing everything."
Piper drank the water quickly, convinced if she swallowed the water quickly, it would drown the tears that were working their way into her eyes again.
"I'm sorry, I should've told you."
"I should've known though too. Of course you're back hurts," she shook her head feeling so incredibly useless in that moment, "but you never said anything."
She sat on the edge of the table, while Piper finished the second glass of water, and brought her knee up to her chest removing her sock.
She brought the empty glass back into the kitchen. Piper heard the cabinet doors open and close and something that sounded like small rocks. She heard the beeping of the microwave, the opening of the refrigerator, the water pouring, the door of the fridge closing. Alex walked back in with a new glass of water with a straw hanging over the side and a weighted sock. She looped the loose end of the sock into a knot and told Piper to turn to her other side. The blonde turned into the couch and Alex pressed the sock against her lower back. Immediately the ache started to soothe, "what is that?"
"Warm uncooked rice." She held the sock against Piper's skin and massaged her hip with the other.
Piper leaned slightly over her shoulder, "your mom?"
Alex nodded. "She made them in the winter to keep my hands warm at night when the heat cut out. How does that feel?"
"Amazing. I've only had one more of those pains and it was like a joke compared to the others."
She stopped massaging her hip and put the glass in front of her holding the straw toward her mouth. Piper held the glass in place, and moved Alex's hand back to her hip. "It feels really good." Alex lowered her hand slightly, caressing Piper's bottom, until Piper swatted at her hand. Alex nuzzled next to it, nibbled it softly before rubbing it gently again teasingly. "I love it, sorry."
The hour passed and they checked in with the hospital letting them know things were resolving. They were told to keep their scheduled appointment for the following day but to come in if things picked up again.
Alex massaged the knots out of Piper's back for hours into the night, long after Piper fell asleep, she continued to knead the muscle and tissue that had been carrying the strain silently until today. She feared her wife would feel pain again if she moved her hands. She fell asleep on the side of the couch with her open palms against the now soothed flesh.
Piper was called into an exam room, and Alex accompanied her during their routine prenatal visit. Everything had gone smoothly thus far with the exception of the Braxton Hicks contractions from the prior night.
A midwife they had met with once before, Michelle, popped her head into the room, and asked if it was alright if a medical student came in just to take an updated version of her history and that she'd come in after to have their usual visit. Piper said it was fine and a few minutes later Dr. Haque, a student who looked about 25 came in with his short white jacket and a notepad.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Haque, I'm a medical student here, Ms. Chapman?"
"Yes?"
"How are you today? The midwife said it would be alright if I asked you a few questions and went over some things."
"Sure. I'm feeling fine, much better than yesterday."
"What happened yesterday?," he asked with concern.
"I was having some contractions last night but they went away after a few hours."
"None now though, right?"
"Nope, completely gone."
"And the baby is moving fine, no bleeding, no ruptured membranes?"
"What?"
"Broken water, do you think you broke your water?"
"Oh, no. And yes the baby is always moving fine, no bleeding."
"Alright well that sounds good. I'd like to send your urine out to test for bacteria, to rule out a urinary tract infection."
"That's fine if you think it's necessary, sure."
"I would really recommend it. And ok so you're about 32 weeks, have you thought about what you wanted to use for birth control once the baby is here?
Piper smiled, "excuse me?"
"Birth control, family planning? It's recommended that you space deliveries about 18 months apart to avoid complications. What methods have you used in the past?"
She turned towards Alex who looked like she was about to laugh so hard she was going to break a rib, "um being married to her has worked pretty well in the past?"
The student turned toward Alex and then back to Piper. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize, it's just one of the routine things we have to cover at this point. I thought she was a friend or another family member or something."
"It's ok, don't worry about it, but I think I'm covered in that department." The medical student thanked her for her time and walked out quickly.
Piper pushed her hip toward Alex, "stop it Alex," she stifled her laughter as Alex continued to desperately suppress her own hysterics.
The midwife returned with the student.
"Hello ladies." She came in with a much more casual tone. "You both look very happy today, everything going well?" They both just nodded, the medical student averted his eyes.
"Piper I'm just looking in your chart, you called last night about some contraction pain?"
"Yeah I guess it ended up being Braxton Hicks contractions because they went away after a while."
"She normally drinks water all throughout the day but she had a really busy day and didn't break to drink for almost the entire day."
"Yeah dehydration is extremely common for anyone but you're even more susceptible to it while you're pregnant, you should have time allotted for breaks. Do you need a letter for work emphasizing that?"
"I'm... I'm self employed," Piper responded embarrassingly. "I just need to be better about it."
"Eight glasses minimum. Any pain with urination or feeling like you have to go more often than normal?"
"Nope, same ole."
"Ha, well that's good. Same ole questions from me as well, baby's moving well, no leaking fluid or bleeding?"
"Baby dances, and nothing," she shook her head.
"Alright well Dr. Haque said he talked to you about getting a urine sample to check for any possibility of a urinary tract infection, though it's unlikely, we'd just like to rule it out. Is that alright?"
"Yes, it's fine, whatever you think is best."
"Okay, and I'd like to do a speculum exam and just look at your cervix and make sure it still looks closed and that those contractions didn't cause it to start opening just yet, ok?"
"Oh I hate that thing," she said as she eyed the metal instrument. The midwife handed her a paper drape.
"I know, no one likes it, but I'll be quick. Just undress from the waist down."
"Michelle, Dr. Haque had also mentioned," Alex looked at him teasingly, his face reddening instantly, "pregnancy spacing, as far as safety or risks about the space between two different pregnancies."
Piper turned her head toward Alex as she sat down on the table, and pulled the paper drape across her legs.
"Yes there are increased risks of problems when pregnancies occur too close together, like the placenta being in a bad spot or detaching too early, babies being born too soon, or growing too small, things like that." Alex nodded along absorbing all of the information
Piper's eyes widen as she continues to stare down Alex.
"Were you two planning on another one soon after this baby?"
Piper replied immediately, "well if we were I wasn't aware!"
"I was just asking," Alex raised her arms as if she was under arrest And made an expression so as to say do you see what I have to deal with?
The midwife helped Piper raise her shirt and felt around to figure out the baby's position. Her eyes furrowed slightly.
"Piper, where do you feel the baby move?"
"Everywhere, the baby literally moves all day, everywhere." As she said it and the midwife palpated deeper, she felt the baby move under her hands.
"An active baby just means it's healthy," she said with a smile. "Do you feel it more in one spot over others or not really?"
Piper thought about it for a moment, before reaching her hand over the lower part of her abdomen in the center and a little bit toward her left.
The midwife had a wide grip near her pubic bone and another grip by her ribs, but she squeezed her lower hand more firmly, "here?"
"Mmmhmmm."
"Do you know why?"
"No, is everything ok?"
"Yes, your baby's in a breech position right now. Most baby's will turn in time for delivery but there are some exercises and tricks I can give you more information about that you can do at home. When I see you next time in two weeks, I'll check the position again and see if it worked."
"Alright. So I shouldn't worry about anything?"
"Really most babies turn in an optimal position. I wouldn't worry."
"But what if...,"
"You always worry about the what if. If the baby doesn't turn, we can try to move it manually from the outside with our hands but not for another few weeks. And ultimately if that doesn't work, we would recommend cesarean delivery. But let's not get caught up in that now, I want you to be persistent about those exercises, trust your body and trust your baby alright?"
"Okay okay."
The midwife inserted the speculum and reassured her that her cervix appeared closed and gave her precautions as to why she should go to the hospital earlier than their next scheduled visit. As Piper dressed, Alex was handed the information sheets on breech presentation and methods to move a fetus into a head down position.
They arrived home, both feeling pretty tired from a relatively restless night. "Do you want dinner first or you want to try one of these things?," Alex asked her flipping through the pages.
"I can try something in there, let me just change at least." She slipped on a t shirt and loose shorts from the night before.
She heard screeching metal and followed the sound in the living room.
"Are you going to iron?," she asked the brunette looking at the ironing board propped in the living room. Alex tilted it so one end was on the couch and the other on the floor. She tossed a pillow toward the lower end, "you're supposed to lay on it."
"What? Seriously? How?"
"With your feet toward the couch and your head toward the floor."
"Oh lord, alright well don't go anywhere incase I need your help going back to right side up." Alex pushed her knees into the floor end of the board as Piper straddled it and laid back very slowly.
"I used to kick ass at yoga, now I feel like I'm going to fall off the side."
"I won't let you fall, I'm right here. It's pretty sturdy."
Alex moved another couch pillow on the floor and laid on her stomach, putting her head next to Piper. She flipped through the other pages.
"Is it bad that I'm kind of annoyed and jealous that you're able to lay down like that?"
"Sorry babe, I know you're not comfortable."
Piper raised her arms over her head allowing more space for her diaphragm and placed her interlocked fingers behind her head.
"It says if you can do this for 15 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day that it can help. It also says you can use music or an ice pack to encourage the baby change positions. Wanna try?"
"Sure, why not."
Alex gets onto her hands and knees before going over to her phone to pull up some music. They listen to a few songs, when Van Halen's "Jump" comes on.
"Oh this kid doesn't need any encouragement to jump, turn Mookie, turn."
"You know I was named after their drummer," Alex tells Piper.
"Whose? Van Halen? You never told me that."
"Yeah when my mom was following my dad's band around, his band would open for Van Halen, well they used to be called Mammoth. My mom said the drummer always treated her well, and when my dad left, she wanted to name me after someone who made her smile."
"That's nice. My mom was obsessed with Mozart's The Magic Flute when she was carrying me- flute, piper." She shrugged her shoulders. "Have you thought about any names for Mookie? I mean we could always just stick with Mookie, I'm kind of a fan of it now, ha."
"I think Mookie has enough on it's plate, right now, with it's plan to come into the world ass backwards and all. Let's not add to it."
Piper laughed out loud. "Ok so no names yet, I like the idea of naming the baby after something or someone versus just the name for the way it sounds. Are you supposed to be aiming this in a certain direction or something?, the blonde asks pointing to the phone.
"Yeah whatever direction you want the baby to move in, so..." she moves the phone down by Piper's crotch.
"C'mon Mookie this way." She holds the phone playing music right near Piper's pubic bone and continues to talk to their baby. After a few minutes, she instinctively begins stroking Piper's inner thigh, moving higher and higher.
"No way, I've already been assaulted once today, and I feel all gassy."
"Wow that's really hot Pipes, thanks."
She leans on her stomach once again, resting her wrist that holds her phone against Piper's lower abdomen. She catches Piper smiling the sweetest smile at her, her head tilted to the side, still propped on the ironing board. She holds her pointer finger up, leans back and takes a picture.