Hope for All- chapter 37
Tony spent the week prepping the nursery so that he could paint it over the weekend. Angela kept to her schedule of resting as much as possible during the week. As promised, they took Samantha to see the baby furniture and started picking out the decor. A new movie was set to come out in the fall called The Little Mermaid, so baby stores had plenty of sea themed items. Samantha and Angela were thrilled to find matching sea themed curtains, bedding for the cribs and a carpet. Despite Tony's protests, they started looking at the other accessories and baby gear. He relented and agreed to get two car seats plus some of the basics- diapers, blankets, onesies and other baby items.
"Alright you two! I think we've got enough right now! I've got to get the nursery painted and the furniture in so we actually have some place to put all this stuff!" laughed Tony.
"But Dad! This stuff is all so cute! Look at these booties! And these hats! To think the babies will be this small to fit into some of these things! I can't wait until I have a baby!" squealed Samantha.
"Yes you can!" shouted Tony and Angela at the same time. Tony's face started to turn a bright reddish purple as the vein in his forehead started to throb. Angela quickly got in between the two.
"Let's go pay for this stuff before your father starts looking for a chastity belt for you, shall we?" said Angela as she led Samantha away from a stewing Tony. They made it through the check out lane and put all the stuff into the car before heading home.
Friday morning came bright and early. Angela had her follow up doctor's appointment in the morning and both Tony and Angela were nervous about her blood pressure. Samantha and Jonathan had their final week of school and were wrapping up finals. Jonathan was scheduled to leave for camp the following week. In between painting the nursery and moving the furniture with the guys from Brooklyn, Tony had plans to take Jonathan shopping for everything he would need for camp.
"Alright Angela! We have to go!" Tony yelled up the stairs. A few moments later, Angela waddled down the stairs, ready to head out the door.
"Sorry Tony… I had to use the bathroom again and I am starving! Fasting for that glucose test while in the third trimester with twins should be outlawed! Did you pack snacks Tony?" she asked.
"Yes I did and they are already in the car, hidden so you can't see them! You'll be able to eat soon I promise!" said Tony as he grabbed her purse and helped her out the door.
Once at the doctor's office and signed in, they sat down in the waiting room. Tony rubbed her back and shoulders to try and get her as relaxed as possible before her blood pressure reading. After a few minutes, Angela was called back to the room.
"Hi Angela! I'm going to take your blood pressure and other vitals, then I will draw your blood for the glucose test. I have the glucose sugary drink for you to drink and then you will meet with the doctor for the sonogram. An hour afterwards, I will draw your blood again. The doctor will review your results and if you need to come back for the three hour test, we will scheduled you in" said the nurse.
"When do we know the results of the glucose test?" asked Angela.
"In about two to three days we will call you with the results" she said as she put the blood pressure cuff on Angela's arm. She took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to relax. Tony held onto her other hand, giving it a little squeeze as she took the reading.
"Blood pressure is back in the normal range! Good!" said the nurse as she took off the cuff. Both Tony and Angela let out audible sighs of relief as he leaned over and kissed her. The nurse took her blood and gave her the drink.
"I know this doesn't taste the greatest, but try to drink it as fast as you can" said the nurse. Angela took a large sip and almost gagged.
"You're not kidding… that is sweet and strong!" said Angela. She managed to finish the drink a few minutes later as the nurse took them into the room for the sonogram. Tony helped Angela get changed for the sonogram and onto the table. Soon the technician and doctor came into the room.
"Angela! Tony! Good to see you both! I see your blood pressure is down! That's great news! Okay let's see how these two are doing!" said the doctor as Baby A came up on the screen.
"Baby A is looking good. I'd say about fifteen inches now and about two and a half pounds. He's an active one! See that's him kicking right there" said the doctor as he pointed out the baby's leg.
"Wow Angela! Look how active he is! Maybe he will be a soccer player!" said Tony with pride in his voice.
"Okay let's look at his sister! Okay there she is! I'd say she's about thirteen inches and a little over two pounds. Look she's sucking her thumb!" he pointed out on the screen. Both Tony and Angela smiled lovingly at the screen as Tony leaned down to kiss her.
"Alright everything looks to be right on track. Let's talk more when you get dressed" said the doctor as he walked out of the room.
"They are getting so big Angela! Kicking his legs and sucking her thumb! I just can't wait to meet them- just not quite yet okay little ones!" said Tony as he rubbed her belly. Angela smiled and placed her hands over his as she leaned in for a kiss. They headed in to meet with the doctor, taking the seats across from his desk.
"So how have you been feeling?" he asked.
"Well I've been resting a lot which I've found has really helped because between the fatigue and frequent trips to the bathroom, that's been about half my day! Other than that, things have been going well" she said.
"That's good. You can go back to work but only part time, three days in the office at the most. Still take breaks whenever possible and if your blood pressure increases again, it will be working from home or early maternity leave I'm afraid but we can cross that bridge if and when we get to it. Let's see you are twenty eight almost twenty nine weeks. I want you to strongly consider stopping work altogether by thirty three or thirty four weeks and resting at home until you deliver" said the doctor.
"You sure she shouldn't just be working from home moving forward? It kept her blood pressure down and she could rest more…" said Tony.
"You heard him sweetheart I'll be fine. I will only go in two days a week and I will make sure to rest as much as possible. Mother will be there to make sure I don't over do it" said Angela.
"I think this is the best plan for now. Like I said, if anything changes, we can readjust. Okay we will call about the results of the glucose test and then we will see you back in two weeks. Feel free to sit out in the waiting room until the nurse calls you back in for the second round of bloodwork" said the doctor.
Tony and Angela headed back out to the waiting room and spent the next half an hour planning out Angela's work week. She decided going in on Tuesdays and Fridays would work so she could have a couple of days in between to rest. Soon Angela was called back and the bloodwork collected. They headed back home so Angela could get to working from home and Tony could do his errands.
The next day, Tony and Angela headed to their third childbirth class. Angela had picked up some baby things for Mary's baby and brought it to the class. Rose thanked them for the gift and told them both Mary and the baby were doing well. Tony and Angela sat down as the group was beginning to start. Tony was nervous about the class because they would be talking about complications of childbirth, which was something he tried not to think about.
"Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Today we are going to cover some of the more common complications that can occur during childbirth. We all hope that you end up having a complications- free delivery, but there are times when things don't go as we planned. What you need to remember more so than anything else is that the most important thing is that you and you baby are safe. If you need interventions like a cesarean section, it doesn't make you less of a mother. Your safety as well as your baby's safety is the top priority" said Rose.
Tony took some deep breaths as he prepared to hear all the things that could go wrong. Angela could sense his worry and fear. She took the pen and paper that he had been religiously writing in for the past two classes. Tony gave her a questioning look as she put them back in her bag.
"Let's just listen today alright? I'm sure we will be told what's going to happen if any of this is necessary" she whispered to him as she pulled him closer to her and placed his hand on her stomach. He moved his chair as close to hers as possible and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They spent the rest of the class listening to all of the different complications that could occur and how the decision and subsequent process would go if a c-section was required. All the couples had similar looks of apprehension on their faces as she concluded the group.
"Okay everyone! Take a collective deep breath! Remember, the likelihood of you having your baby the natural way is greater than these potential complications but there is always the chance and it is important to have as much knowledge as possible so you can feel as prepared as you can be" said Rose as she wrapped up the class. Tony helped Angela up and they headed to the car. They got in the car and were about to head out when Tony turned to Angela.
"Thank you Angela. If I had written all of that down, it would have made my worrying even worse. I just can't help but worry about the three of you being okay. When we first started this whole thing back with the clinic, thinking about something other than both you and the baby being healthy and safe wasn't even a thought. It wasn't until we were in the ER that I had thoughts that something could go wrong and it has scared me ever since. I'm trying not to dwell on it and just focus on what we have control over" said Tony.
"I know Tony. I can't help but worry about them too. It's terrifying to think about something happening to either one of them, but we have to focus on the things we do have control over like you said. I'm healthy and so far so are they. I'm going to make sure I spend as much time as possible resting and not letting my work get the best of me. That's all either one of us can do…" she said as she leaned over to give him a kiss. The kiss intensified as Tony ran his hands through her hair and pushing himself as close to her as possible in the confines of the car. After a while, they pulled back, the smiles on their faces lasting for the whole ride home.
Later in the day, Tony's friends Philly, Joey and Eddie stopped by to take the furniture. Both Jonathan and Samantha opted to each take a piece of the furniture and swapped it with their own. Joey was going to take the rest for his apartment since his wife was expecting another baby too. They got all the furniture into the rented truck. Before heading back to Brooklyn, Tony opted to treat them all to pizza and beers at a local pizzeria.
"So thanks guys… this really helps me out a lot. I'm hoping to start painting tomorrow morning and get the first coat on. I'm going to recruit Samantha and Jonathan- I'm not going to even bother with Mona!" he laughed as he took a bite of his pizza.
"So you ready Tony to do the whole baby thing all over again, times two?" laughed Philly.
"Yeah Tony… trading beers for bottles!" said Eddie with a laugh as he finished off his beer.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Of course I'm ready! There's nothing I want more! I mean I'm not all that excited to spend the next year or so sleep deprived, but as far as everything else… I can't wait!" said Tony.
"Hey leave him alone! He's living the good life as Mr. Mom!" chuckled Joey.
"And what exactly does that mean?" asked Tony with more than a hint of anger in his voice.
"Whoa easy there Tony! He didn't mean anything by it! Relax!" said Philly.
"Look I went through this with Dennis at Memorial Day, I'm not going through it now. We are happy with how things are going right now. I'll be done with school in a few years and then we will both be working. Until then, I'll be getting a part time job after the twins are born. If anyone has any issues with how I'm living my life, they can go scratch!" shouted Tony.
"Hey it's working for you two! We are happy for ya Tony! Besides… who are we to judge? Eddie and I haven't had a girlfriend in forever and Joey spends more time sleeping on the sofa than he does with his wife! I'm surprised you're having another kid!" laughed Philly, causing the whole group to start laughing. They finished up their beers and pizza and took the truck with them furniture back to Brooklyn.
The next day Tony spent the morning prepping the room for painting. By mid- morning, he finished trimming and put the first coat of paint on the walls, with the help of an excited Jonathan and a less enthusiastic Samantha. By the time dinner rolled around, two coats of paint were drying in the nursery. After dinner, Tony and Angela took a quick look inside the nursery, Tony not wanting her in there too long as the fumes of the paint were still potent.
"Oh Tony it looks wonderful! I can't wait until the furniture is here and everything can be set up!" said Angela enthusiastically.
"I know! It's one step closer to having these little ones here! It's so exciting! You hear that guys! Your room is almost ready! In the next few weeks everything should be ready! It's going to be a great summer and then the very best fall getting to meet you two!" he said as he knelt down to kiss her belly.
"Alright… I think the four of us need to get some rest. Monday morning will be here before we know it…" she said as she helped Tony up and headed into their bedroom. They got themselves ready for bed and then snuggled under the covers.
"So I know you said we should rest but…" he started to say as he took his hand and slowly moved it down from her belly down to her upper thigh.
"Well the doctor didn't mention this being off the table yet so if you want to…" she started to say with a smirk before Tony leaned over and captured her mouth with his own. Rest would come much later as they enjoyed rediscovering each other over and over again.
The next week seemed to fly by. Tony ran out of time over the weekend to take Jonathan shopping but took him first thing Monday after school. He was scheduled to leave right the following Monday. Angela returned to work that Tuesday. Tony was in overprotective mode as he read Mona the riot act, making sure she kept her eyes on Angela during the day to make sure she rested. He packed her lots of snacks and took them to the train station, even going so far as to walk her on to the train. While Angela saw it as endearing, Mona couldn't help but roll her eyes.
The day went well and they made it home earlier than expected, to Tony's delight. Angela was happy she agreed to work from home the next two days before going back on Friday as she needed the days to recover. By Friday morning, she was ready to head back to the office. They pulled up to the station and parked as close to the train as possible.
"Listen Tony… you don't have to walk me to the train again. You have a class starting in a half an hour and you need to get ready. Mother will help me… right?" she said to Mona, who was busy filing her nails.
"Oh yes dear… whatever you say…" said Mona as she got out of the car and walked up to the platform, without Angela.
"Eh oh, oh eh! That's not giving me much confidence!" said Tony as he got out of the car to help Angela out.
"Tony I'm fine. She's right there and the train is almost here. I'll be home tonight and maybe we can pick up where we ended Sunday night…" she said seductively as she leaned in for a kiss.
"You don't have to ask me twice!" he chuckled as he pulled back from their kiss and embrace. Angela started to walk up to the platform as Tony walked to the driver's side of the car, waving as she got to the platform. He was just about to get in the car when he saw a figure running on the platform, heading right towards Angela.
"Angela!" said Tony as he watched the man run into her, sending her falling to the ground.
