Hanging on a Moment II

Chapter 14

Authors Note: Hey Pretty Little Readers. I did take awhile to write this chapter but I did so because I really needed to take a few moments to educate myself on this whole scenario. I'm one of those readers who get super pissed if I see a blatant error when reading a story. I have never had a baby so the knowledge I have obtained from birth was from my sisters and friends and whatever I have read about it. I really didn't have an extensive knowledge on cesarean births, so I watched a few online and read some health journals so this chapter would be worth your time. As for the gender, I tallied up the last set of comments I had to make the choice. As it turns out, both boy and girl were tied up so I just made the final call. Enjoy. –Brostow

The faint beeping of the machines and smell of disinfectant pierced the new mother-to be as she lays stiff on the operating table. A small turquoise curtain was draped between her and the large staff of nurses and doctors who would be performing this delicate surgery. She held completely still waiting for Caleb to be able to join her.

"Hey Babe." Caleb greeted as he sat on a small swivel stool next to his wife's head. He was dressed head to toe like the medical personnel in the room with a set of full scrubs, booties, hair net and face mask to keep the surgery room as sterile as possible. He removed the face mask and gave Hanna a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Alright Hanna, we are going to begin now. You will feel pressure and tugging but you shouldn't feel any sharp pains, ok?" Dr. Nesseti stated perched above the curtain. Hanna shook her head and shortly the Doctor disappeared.

Doctor Nessti and the nurses spoke as they passed equipment back and forth as Hanna could definitely tell there was major jostling of her middle going on.

"Alright Dad, if you are ready." Nurse Emily called over for Caleb to watch his fourth and final child being brought into the world.

Hanna was now experiencing a lot of pressure as the doctor had made the incision and was un-wedging the baby from under her pelvis.

"Wahhhhh."

A very small, yet audible cry was heard as baby River's was finally born. Even though Caleb's face was covered by a medical mask, Hanna could still see he was grinning ear to ear.

"It's a girl!" Dr. Nesseti announced as the tiny baby was passed over to NICU staff that began assessing the little girl right away. Hanna's eyes filled with tears and they began streaming down her face. She was relieved and still terrified at the same time. Hanna was now a mom to four little girls.

Caleb sat back down giving Hanna another kiss on the lips. "She is perfect." He noted.

"Is she ok?" she frowned worriedly waiting for a response.

"They are working on her now." Caleb informed her gently stroking her cheek.

"Hi, my name is Amanda." One of the nurses on the NICU team greeted the couple.

"We are going to take baby River's up to the NICU. She weighs 2.9oz and is 15.3" long, so that is pretty good for a preemie at her gestation, but as expected, she needs some assistance with breathing. We will let you meet her here for a second, and then we need to get her upstairs, ok?"

Another nurse with the NICU team rolled the incubator over to Hanna and Caleb and took the little infant out and let Hanna and Caleb gave her a quick kiss before they exited down the hall.

"Oh my god, she is so small." Hanna sighed as the waterworks continued.

"She is, but she is a fighter just like her mom." Caleb smirked at his wife lovingly blotting her cheeks with a tissue.

"Alright, Dad. I am going to have you step outside as we finish up in here. Hanna will be in recovery in room 32B in probably twenty minutes or so." Nurse Emily prompted the new dad.

Caleb gave Hanna one more kiss. "You did great babe, I'm so proud of you. I will see you in a little bit."

Caleb exited the surgery area and made his way to the waiting room which was now full of friends and family. Everyone stood up and gave the new daddy a quick congratulatory hug.

"Where are the girls?" he asked as he embraced Spencer.

"Toby has them." She replied quickly.

"So…" Ashley butted in.

"It's another girl!" He announced with a toothy grin. "She weighs 2lbs 9oz, 15.3" long, she has a little bit of light colored hair but we didn't get to see her for that long." Caleb stated pulling out his phone to show the crowd a picture he took quickly before she was whisked away.

"She is gorgeous." Claudia smiled proudly at her son.

"We have a journey ahead of us." Caleb exhaled.

"How is Hanna?" Ashley piped in.

"She was amazing. They are just finishing up with her right now and she can have visitors in about an hour or so after she checks into recovery."

Spencer chimed in again as Caleb's phone was passed around for everyone to get a good glimpse of the fourth River's beauty.

Megan smiled handing the device back to Caleb. "Does she have a name yet?"

"She does, but Hanna wants to tell the girls first."

"That's so precious." Megan replied teary-eyed earning a weird glance from Spencer.

"Hormones." She laughed.

"Do you know when you want me to bring the girls up, or.." Spencer added not quite sure how the day was going to take place.

"Well, they won't be able to see the baby for quite awhile. The NICU won't allow any visitors under eighteen. As soon as she is stable, hopefully Hanna and I can get in there. Hanna does want to see the kids though."

Ted looked over to Ashley before interjecting. "We are close anyways. Ashley and I could get the girls from the Cavanaugh house and bring them up around noon."

"That would be great, thank you Ted."

"Hello." A nurse in turquoise scrubs entered the waiting area. "Sorry to interrupt, but Mrs. Rivers is asking for you."

"I've got to go. Give a big kiss to Hanna and tell her we will be back as soon as she is allowed visitors." Ashley spoke as she gave her son-in-law another hug.

"Hey, babe. How are you doing?" Caleb whispered as he set next to Hanna who was fully reclined with a pile of bedding on her. Her teeth were chattering and her lips were a pale blue. Caleb moved up right next to her and smoothed her hair away from her face.

"Doctor Nesseti said this is a normal reaction." She chattered trying not to worry Caleb any worse.

"Are you in pain?"

The blonde shook her head softly. Caleb left the room to flag down a nurse.

"Hi, Hanna. It looks like we do have some pain meds going here, your spinal block is starting to wear off. We ask you to give it a little bit for the relief to kick in before we give you anymore." A twenty something year old nurse with red hair pulled back into a messy bun soothed. "My name is Heidi and I will check back in like ten minutes to see how you're doing, ok?"

"How is she?" Hanna mumbled over to Caleb as soon as Heidi left the room.

"Someone from NICU should be here soon." Caleb stated looking down at his watch. It had been over an hour since their little girl had entered the world.

Heidi came back as promised checking Hanna's stats. "Are you still experiencing pain?"

The color was now returning to Hanna's face and her teeth had stopped chattering tremendously. "Yeah, it's getting there."

"Ok, I'm going to give you some more Toradol." She mentioned as she took out the needle and injected it into Hanna's IV. "In about 10-15 minutes you should be a whole lot more comfortable."

"Thanks." She slurred trying to keep her eyes open. Caleb let her doze off until about thirty minutes later when the Doctor from NICU arrived. Doctor Gehrill informed Hanna and Caleb that baby River's was now stable. He explained how her veins were so small that most of her IV's and tubes were placed on her head which would also be beneficial for when she gets a little stronger so she isn't pulling them out. Baby River's also had a breathing tube and a feeding tube in at the present moment. All this information was overwhelming to the young couple but they knew their daughter was in the best possible hands she could be in at the moment.

"Does baby River's have a name?" Dr. Gehrill asked in his thick accent.

"Peyton Grace Rivers. You like that, right?" Hanna questioned Caleb about the name they had picked out the night before.

"Perfect." The Doctor stated scribbling the name down as Caleb nodded.

"When can we see her?"

"Everything is clear on my end, I will go check with your nurse."

What seemed like a lifetime passed, and Hanna's nurse Heidi entered the room again. "Are you ready to go see your baby?" she smiled pulling the IVs and monitors off the carts and placing them on the bed next to Hanna while she wheeled her upstairs.

Hanna was just allowed to slightly sit up in her hospital bed before the group entered the NICU. She kind of felt like she might pass out, but kept all that to herself because she wanted to see Peyton so bad. Entering the NICU was different then any other wing in the hospital. It was sobering seeing all the tiny, fragile infants that were desperately fighting for their lives.

A smiley nurse greeted the couple beside Peyton's isolate.

"We can't take her out right now, but we encourage you to talk to her and touch her. She will recognize your voices."

Caleb reached his hand through the circular hole and ever so gently stroked his newborns little fuzzy back.

"Hey, baby girl. Daddy is here. You are such a strong girl." He spoke softly as tears formed in his eyes.

Hanna then reached her hand in and did the same. "Your big sister's are going to be so excited to meet you." Peyton kind of moved her head towards the direction in which Hanna was speaking.

"See, she recognizes your voice Han." Caleb smiled.

"Mommy loves you, Peanut Peyton."