22 Weeks
After reading more than one book about multiple pregnancies; I had slowly begun to accept the fact that standing on my feet wasn't going to be easy in the upcoming weeks. I had made Jane bring in a chair for me to use while I was doing autopsies and every fourty minutes she would call me and remind me to take a break and move my muscles. She was becoming the perfect partner during this pregnancy. I had never seen her so attentive, so aware or so concerned.
I was painfully aware of how much harder life was about to get. 22 weeks was a good time, I wasn't so big that I couldn't do things, but I was big enough that my back and feet were starting to hurt if I moved around too much.
Just as I was about to start my first autopsy of the day, one of the babies decided it was time to flutter around in my stomach. I pulled the blade away from the skin in front of me, sighing as I looked down with a disapproving frown, wondering if the babies were deliberately waiting until I was about to cut before they moved around.
"I appreciate you letting me know you're awake, but mommy really needs to focus." I was staring down at my bump, scalpel in hand as I tried to focus on the task in front of me; though having two babies rolling around in your stomach makes focusing a tad difficult. I sighed, leaning forward from my stool to continue what I was doing when I felt a movement inside me strong than any I had ever felt before.
I put the scalpel down, both my gloved hands moving to rest on my stomach, my eyes wide and my heart racing as I waited for what I knew I was about to feel. Then, without any hint of a warning, I felt a soft bump against one of my hands. My first instinct was to call Jane, to scream her name until she was here to feel what I was feeling; but I couldn't move. I was completely entranced by what was going on inside and now outside of me.
"Hi my little girl." I whispered, pulling my scrub shirt up and over my stomach, removing my gloves before I placed my hands back where the bump had just pushed against my hand. I remembered the sonographer telling us at the end of our last appointment that baby B (boy) was facing toward my back so I would rarely, if ever, feel him kick. "Hi baby girl." I whispered, barely audible as I waited for it to happen again. When fifteen minutes passed without another kick, I called Jane down.
"Did you find anything?" She asked, looking down in confusion at the uncut body on the autopsy table. I smiled across at her, waiting for her to look up at me. "You're smiling…" She pointed out suspiciously, her eyes tightening on my face.
"One of the babies kicked."
"What?! And I missed it?!" Jane exclaimed, moving across to where I stood, pulling my shirt back up over my belly and placing her hands all over it. I placed her hand where I had felt the kick and the room suddenly got so quiet I could hear my own heart beating in my chest.
"Honey, it happened once; it'll happen again." I reminded her when nothing had happened after five minutes. She sighed, leaning back and letting my scrubs fall back over my stomach.
"What were you doing when it happened? What triggered it?" She asked, leading me to the comfort of the sofa I had in my office. She kept one hand on my stomach when we sat down; just in case.
"I was just about to do the Y incision and she kept moving around and then out of nowhere… She kicked." Jane beamed excitedly at my vague break down of what had happened.
"We've got a little future doctor on our hands I think." She said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to my stretched out abdomen.
"Jane I don't think the time when she first kicked will hold any bearing on what she becomes in later life." I told her, earning a chuckle from my beautiful wife.
"Please, she waited until you were about to do an autopsy; we're having a little genius." Jane said, holding her hand up to me, waiting for a high five. I rolled my eyes at her, cupping her face in my hands as I pulled her in and kissed her beautiful face.
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After taking twice as long as I usually would to do the autopsy today, I had never been so excited for my couch, my wife, and a tub of mint and mocha frozen yogurt. Jane had caught a case earlier in the day, and I was hoping to no end that she would be home sometime tonight. To my surprise, she beat me home.
"Hi lover." She said with a smirk when I walked through the front door, Chinese food and frozen yogurt in my hands. She took the two paper bags out of my hands, placing them on the counter before her arms moved to wrap around my middle, pulling me as close as the bump in my abdomen would let her. "I missed you three today." She whispered, rubbing her nose gently against mine.
"You saw us twice today." I reminded her with an affectionate smile, holding her face in my hand as I pressed my lips against hers. I licked my lips, tasting the beer that lingered on her lips. "But we missed you too." I added, sighing contently as I slumped forward in her arms.
"Sit down baby." She whispered, softly rubbing my back until I let her go and moved to the sofa. She joined me two minutes later, handing me a plate with more food on it than I was ever going to be able to eat.
An hour later we were cuddled up in our bed, Jane distracted by a baseball game on the television I had argued was unnecessary in a bedroom. I was aware of too many studies that showed the detriment to your sleep a television in the bedroom can cause.
"I was doing some studies today and I think you should talk to the babies." Jane raised her eyebrows, looking down at my stomach. "A lot of couples find that the baby kicks more when the belly is being touched or spoken to by their spouse."
I thought I was really going to have to convince Jane that it was a good idea, but within seconds she was laying on her stomach, her mouth inches from my stomach. She placed one of her hands under her chin and the other on my stomach. I leant back to give her better access, picking up a magazine and trying to act as casual about what was happening as possible. Janes shifting eyes told me she was embarrassed before she had even begun.
"Baby girl." I told her, pointing to where I had felt the kicking earlier in the day. "And I think baby boy is over here." I added, frowning at having to guess where one of my children were; even if it was inside of me.
"So I'm just warning you; this feels ridiculous." Jane started quietly. I glued my eyes to the page in front of me, not taking anything in as I intently listened to her talk. "But your mommy seems to think this might work, and I'll do anything for either of you, so here I am." Jane chuckled awkwardly, her thumb stroking my skin lightly. "Can you hear me baby?" Seconds later, I felt that familiar kick I had felt earlier in the day. Jane shot up, both her hands going to the place where she had just felt the movement.
I put the magazine down, no longer interested in giving Jane any sort of privacy. I placed my hands over hers, waiting for Jane to continue talking.
"We're so excited to meet you sweetheart." Another light kick pushed Janes hand into mine. She looked up at me with a look on her face I had only ever seen one another time in our relationship; on our wedding day. "Is mommy taking good care of you?" Jane asked, placing her forehead against our hands. Another kick. Jane chuckled, leaning forward to kiss any skin on my stomach her lips could reach.
"What colour should we paint the nursery?" I mused, watching Jane continue to swoon over my stomach. She pursed her lips, leaning her head against my stomach as she considered the options my question gave her. "People tend to use yellow as a gender neutral colour, don't they?"
"I was thinking we could stick with the earthy tones that are already in there and then just decorate each of the babies things with certain colours if you're into all that." She shrugged, and I knew she was making fun of me with her earthly tones comment.
"I was thinking we could keep the light brown walls and then do like a feature wall with their names on it." I suggested, trying to get a good mental image of what I was describing. Who would have thought trying to decide what colour to paint their room was going to be so hard?
"I think we need to pick names first." She said, chuckling as she went back to paying my stomach attention until we were ready to fall asleep.
I could only imagine how we would look to an outsider; Sitting in our king size bed, giggling and talking over my pregnant stomach. We were a walking cliché; and nothing could have ever made me happier.
I cannot recall another moment in time that I had ever been as tired as I had been this week. Getting comfortable in bed was fast becoming an impossible task. It took multiple pillows placed strategically in places to help relieve the pressure from my growing abdomen and even then; sometimes that didn't work.
It had taken Jane all of four nights before she opted for sleeping in the guest room. I didn't blame her, more often than not I ended up in the middle of the bed with pillows and blankets spread all around me. Honestly, so long as I was comfortable and able to sleep, she could have been sleeping on the sofa for all I cared.
"God damn it!" I exclaimed, feeling Jane jump beside me in the bed. I had asked her to sleep in the bed with me tonight. The day had been far too sentimental for me fall asleep alone; but the longer I tried to get comfortable with her in the bed; the more I was regretting asking her to stay.
"What can I do?" She asked, turning the lamp on her side of the bed on. Her hair was a mess and her under eyes were dark enough to tell me she was exhausted. I sat up, sighing as I ran a hand through my long honey blonde hair.
"Get them out." I begged, looking down at the growing bump in my stomach. She smiled across at me sympathetically, softly nudging my shoulders until I lay back down on my right side.
"Roll over, the books says you should lay on your left side." Jane whispered, sliding a pillow between my legs as she spoke. I pursed my lips, trying to fight a smile at the fact that she had read the baby book without me knowing. "Here." She said quietly, kissing my shoulder blade as she placed another pillow at the bottom of my bump, lifting it slightly off the bed. I felt the pressure taken off my back instantly.
"I love you." I told her, stretching my neck backwards. She was upside down, but she was perfect. She smiled down at me, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips before she rolled back to her own side of the bed; giving me the space she knew I needed.