I know you guys are probably wondering why I am posting these chapters like crazy, and the truth is I am several chapters ahead in this story! That, and I'm trying to move the story along, this has to be one of my favorites that I've ever written. I have so much fun writing it. Anyways, please enjoy!
*There is a time jump in this chapter! Not a huge one, but it pushes the story along!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
After mine and Edward's talk a few nights ago, I dropped the whole second baby thing. It was upsetting and frightening him, so it was better to let it go. I didn't like it when Edward was upset.
I started counting the days and today marked number eight since Edward and I have officially mated. I never really noticed how many days passed by, but now that I was pregnant and my belly was growing each day, I started to notice.
I was awoken this morning the same way. Edward would very gently flip us so that we were laying on our sides and then he would proceed to gently rub his hand over my belly. It was really sweet, so I pretended to sleep for a little while as he rubbed my belly gently.
"It's getting bigger each day," I grumbled this morning as his hand rubbed my belly again.
He chuckled very softly and pressed his lips against the back of my neck. "It is supposed to get bigger. You are carrying our son. He is going to be a very big boy."
I sighed and shifted uncomfortably; laying on my side… or my back, or my stomach, was starting to become too uncomfortable. I didn't think I would be uncomfortable until the last trimester of pregnancy.
Edward helped me to a seated position. As he did, I looked down at my stomach and shook my head. As I expected, it has grown another finger size.
"Will you grab the paint?"
"It is only a little bigger, I do not think we need to measure it again." Edward argued.
I gave him a look which made his sigh before grabbing the rock with the paint. Since there weren't any tape measures, I was using my pointer finger to measure the growth of my belly. Each day we needed to add half of my finger to my belly.
While I held my finger against the space without paint, Edward would paint just above my finger. I groaned when he had to add two full fingers to the measurement.
"Two finger sizes," I hissed. "Two! I am only eight days pregnant; I should not be growing like this!"
"It is nor—," I shot him a look that made him snap his mouth shut really quickly. I didn't like using the word normal because we had two totally different definitions of normal.
I recounted the paint marks across my belly. They spanned between my hips and across my lower belly. Even though I knew what number I was up to now, I still had to count to make sure.
"Twenty-two." I shook my head. "I started with only ten, and in eight days I've more than doubled it. That's crazy."
Edward rubbed my belly. "It is good though. Your belly should be growing as big as it can so our son will have plenty of room. A big belly means a healthy baby."
I rolled my eyes; Edward didn't understand my frustration. He wouldn't be able to.
"Good morning," Esme said gently as she walked into our hut with a large bowl of food. "I thought I heard that you two had woken up."
I looked up at her. "Twenty-two."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Let me take a look while you eat, my love."
Even though I had decided to stop talking about twins, I was still freaking out about my pregnancy. I mean I came from the world of modern medicine and maternity care. That's what I was used to. Or what I had always heard about. And I've never been pregnant before, so I think I reserve the right to be a little freaked out.
Esme had been great though. She came by every morning and every night to check on my progress. She was extremely supportive and gentle with me. While I was very appreciative of her, it still didn't ease my nerves.
I leaned back against Edward while Esme checked me over. Edward fed me the bowl of mixed food while she did. My diet had changed a lot since I've been pregnant. Instead of eating just two large meals a day, I had to eat three large meals along with three or four snacks. I hated eating so much because it always made me feel a little too full, but Esme told me that I needed the nutrients to keep myself and the baby healthy, so I forced the food down.
"Hm," Esme hummed as she pressed against my belly.
"What's wrong?" I asked quickly as I shot up, looking down at her hands.
"You are a bit bigger than normal," She said, her head cocking to the side as her hands massaging my belly now. "However, Edward was very massive as well."
"So, me being this big already is a cause for concern?" I asked Esme as I narrowed my eyes at Edward.
"Yes, but it is not something to worry about now," She smiled at me. "It will be something to worry about closer to birth though."
"What are you thinking, mother?" Edward asked as he quickly placed another piece of meat into my mouth before I could say anything.
"Perhaps, since the baby is growing very fast, we should start prepping your body now for it." Esme said as she gently rubbed my belly now. "I usually wait until the women are closer to birth but it will not hurt to start now. Perhaps it will make you feel better as well."
"What do I need to do?" I asked.
"The first thing we want to do is massage your belly with that scatha oils. These oils will help the muscles in your stomach grow stronger, which will help you push the baby out when the time comes. Edward can do this for you. It is better to massage the oils into the stomach with very cold hands. It will be slightly uncomfortable, but it will help you greatly."
"Okay, what else?" I asked, reaching over, and grabbing a pencil and my sketchbook out of my bag to make a note of it. I knew Edward would remember all of this, but I wanted to be extra cautious.
"Practicing deep breathing," She said. "That may not seem important, as you do it now without thing, but when it comes time to push, you must be to take in deep breaths and hold them while you are pushing. They also help you to stay calm, as well."
I nodded, making note of it. That was easy enough.
Esme tapped her chin as she thought. "You have already adjusted your diet. I will give you plenty of scatha oil. Practicing your breathing… oh yes, another one that will help you greatly when it is time to give birth. I usually do not start this until the women are about two or three weeks from birth."
"What is it?" I asked impatiently.
"It may cause you some embarrassment, but it is very necessary and helpful." She smiled. "The muscles inside of your cunnus are strong, but it is best to strengthen them as much as possible before you give birth."
My brows furrowed slightly. "And how does that happen?"
"We strengthen your cunnus muscles by massaging them a certain way with scatha oil. The oil strengthens the muscles and the massage help train the muscles to stretch widely."
I blushed. "Oh… okay, so you need to… put your hands inside of me and… massage me?"
She chuckled. "Yes, my dear. I know that is probably embarrassing for you, but I have done it for several years now. It helps the birthing process. Do you remember how quickly it took Rosalie to deliver Anthony?"
I nodded. "Yeah. That's true."
It was true. As soon as Rosalie went into labor, she gave birth. It all took less than an hour for the baby to be born whereas from the other side, it sometimes took hours, even days for a woman to deliver.
"If that is something you would like me to start doing for you, I can." She said.
I bit my lip as I thought about it; I mean, I had grown very comfortable with nudity. Being naked didn't even phase me anymore. But having Esme's hands inside of my vagina? I mean I knew it would be coming at some point now that I'm pregnant, but I thought I'd have more time to wrap my head around it.
"Would you rather wait?" Esme asked. "It is alright if we wait a little bit."
"I mean… if it will help me." I said as I bit my lip. "I don't know."
"It will help," Edward said as he rubbed my shoulders. "But we can wait, if that is what you want."
I looked up at Esme. "What do you think?"
She thought about it for a moment. "I think it will certainly help you if we start now, but we can wait until you feel more comfortable."
I looked at Edward. "Do you think I should do it?"
"I think it will help you feel more confident about your pregnancy and perhaps give you some peace of mind. All of this worrying is not good for you or our son." He said as he placed his lips against my cheek.
I thought about it for a moment before taking a large breath. "Alright Esme, if it'll help me get prepared to give birth, then I'll do it."
Edward started purring contently, rubbing his nose gently against my cheek.
*Time Jump to Progress the Story Along*
Edward's POV
Bella had fallen asleep in my arms, as she did every night around this time. This process still made her uncomfortable but having me hold her and cuddle her seemed to help. Especially when it put her to sleep. She had been having trouble sleeping, which was beginning to worry me.
"How has she been sleeping?" My mother asked from between Bella's legs. I could only see the top of my mother's head as she worked. Bella's belly had already grown very large, which also worried me slightly. I was glad Bella was large, it meant our son was growing healthy, but I knew his birth would cause her a great deal of pain because of how large he is already.
"She is having a harder time sleeping," I told her as I stroked Bella's hair away from her beautiful face. "It is not because she is uncomfortable with her size, it is because she is plagued with nightmares. Well, her size does not help either."
"She is still dreaming about two babies?" My mother asked.
"Sometimes, but then she has nightmares about a bunch of different things. She dreams about Tanya, frequently."
My mother looked up, her eyes meeting mine. "Tanya? Why would she be dreaming about Tanya?"
"I am not sure," I said, a twinge of guilt rushing through me. "I feel bad for confronting her yesterday. I thought she and Bella had exchanged words and that was why she was dreaming about Tanya."
"It is alright," My mother said as she continued her work. "Both Bella and Tanya understood. You are extra protective because Bella is pregnant."
"Still." I sighed. Bella whimpered in her sleep and turned as much as she could to get comfortable. I placed my lips against her temple and started rubbing her belly soothingly.
My mother only massaged Bella's cunnus for a few more moments before pulling her hands away. She wiped them on the cloth she had brought.
"That should be good for the night." She said before giving Bella's belly a little rub. She smiled softly. "Sleep well little one. Stop giving your mummy such a hard time."
"Thank you, mother." I said as she gathered her things and walked out.
I gently lifted Bella into my arms and arranged us so that she was laying on her side. Once she was settled, I pulled her into my arms and placed my leg over her legs, then wrapped my tail around her feet. Bella had started to become very cold at night now, so I kept her warm all night. It was a job that I certainly did not mind.
She let out another whimper as her stomach rippled. I smiled and rubbed my hand over my son, knowing he was moving. I lifted up slightly so I could look down at her belly; she was so pale that I was able to easily see my son moving underneath the skin. If I was very lucky, I would even see his foot or his hand press against her skin and leave an imprint.
His hand pressed outwards, leaving a very noticeable indent. I smiled and placed my hand over his.
I think he could sense that it was me, because he pressed his second hand against mine. I started purring gently, hoping he would settle down so Bella could sleep comfortably. He was so big that every time he moved, it cause her a great deal of discomfort.
"Go to sleep little one. Give your mother a night of peace."
His hands moved away from her stomach, and she let out a soft sigh. I began to purr for her to help soothe her and hopefully she would have a good night's sleep.
Bella has a big baby inside of her... or maybe two big babies? We will find out when she gives birth! Even I'm not sure, y'all know I just kind of write with no planning and am just as surprised as you guys are with what happens haha. Well, I hope you enjoyed it! I'll probably update again soon! Have a wonderful week!
