Living Again (66 page)

“Yes, it’s next to the rocking chair. I’ll grab my bag while you do that. Should we call my mom to come here, or should we wake up Alexis?”

Ben looked again at the clock, now that he was more coherent. “Why don’t we just have your mom come here? She can tell Alexis when she wakes up, and she can bring her up once the baby is born.”

Kayley nodded, and she went to her phone to wake up her Mom for the second time to tell her that her new grandchild was coming.

“You’re doing so great,” Ben soothed, wiping her brow with a cool washcloth. Kayley moaned, gripping his hand tightly. “Do you want some ice?”

She nodded, her eyes tightly shut, and he put a few small chips in her mouth. Kayley had been in active labor for a few hours now, and she was incredibly uncomfortable.

Dr. Moore opened the door. Seeing Ben, he smiled, extending his hand. “Dr. Nichols, how are you? How’s Kayley feeling?”

“Dr. Moore, good to see you. She’s in a lot of pain now. The contractions are coming closer together for sure. Baby’s heartbeat seems strong, though.”

“Hey, I’m almost not needed here,” Dr. Moore joked. “I can go grab a golf game, right? You got this.”

Ben laughed. “No way, man. I’m not an OB, and I can’t help Kayley if I’m delivering our baby all alone! But, you know I want to help once he’s crowning, right? You still okay with that?”

Dr. Moore looked at Kayley, her eyes still closed. “Of course, Ben. I’m so glad this time it’s different for her,” he said softly, so only Ben could hear. “It felt like a funeral in here when Alexis was born. Not that I blame her, but this is how it should be for her. She’s a wonderful woman.”

Ben took Kayley’s hand as she began moaning. “I’m as happy as anyone that this time will be a wonderful occasion.” Dr. Moore put gloves on.

“Kayley, I’m going to check you, okay?” Dr. Moore leaned over, gently moving her legs apart. Kayley opened her eyes a slit to look at him, then nodded. “Okay, you’re about 4-5 centimeters. You’re doing great. You can get the epidural now if you want one.”

Ben looked at Kayley, who didn’t hesitate at all. “Yes,” she whispered. “Please.”

Dr. Moore took off his gloves, throwing them into the garbage. “I’ll page Dr. Osborne right away. We don’t have too many laboring moms this morning, so he should be here pretty quickly. I’ll be back when you’re ready to deliver.”

Ben thanked him, then turned his attention back to Kayley. “Do you want to sit up? It might help.”

“No,” she bit out. He looked at the monitors and saw that she was in the middle of a contraction again. She gritted her teeth, holding him tightly. As she started coming down from the pain, she opened her eyes, so beautiful but full of pain. “It hurts,” she whined. Ben smoothed her hair back and kissed her parched lips.

“I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”

“Push, Kayley. You got this, baby. He’s going to be here soon!” Ben supported her shoulders as she pushed. She was exhausted. Their baby boy was just happy as pie inside his mommy, and didn’t want to come out. After she had her epidural, there was a point where they thought they were going to have to take him by caesarean section because his heart rate didn’t look very good. But, after moving her and stimulating him a bit, his heart rate had returned to normal.

However, it had been hours since she had been given the epidural, and almost ten hours since they had arrived at the hospital. He had been keeping everyone updated throughout the day, since he and Kayley had decided to be the only ones in the room for his birth. After what Kayley had been through before, he wanted her to know that he was there for every single moment of this day. Several of their family members were out in the waiting room and had been all day, including his Mom and Dad, Kayley’s mom and dad with Alexis, Emily, Rachel, and his sister, Lindsay.

Dr. Moore met his eyes and nodded. The baby was coming. “Kay,” he whispered in her ear. She turned bleary, exhausted eyes to his. “I’m going to deliver our baby, okay? Are you alright? He’s coming in the next push.” She nodded, and he still wasn’t sure if she really knew what he said.

“I’ll hold her hand,” the nurse offered, and he smiled at her kindly. Trading places with her, he got suited up to help deliver his son.

“You ready, Kay? Push!” Ben coached, sitting next to Dr. Moore, ready to help catch him. Kayley pushed, grunting loudly as she tried to overcome the pain ripping through her. She honestly didn’t remember this much pain with Alexis. She tried not to scream as she felt like her body was being split in two.

“He’s crowning, baby! Keep going! Breathe, honey!” Kayley would’ve found it funny that Ben was coaching her from between her legs, if anything was funny at this point. She sucked in a huge breath and bore down, feeling sorry for the poor nurse’s hand. “I see his head! He has fuzzy hair! Oh baby, he’s almost here!”

Laying back against the pillow, she wanted to cry in pain. Panting like she just ran a marathon, she steeled herself for the coming contraction.

“With this one, he should be born,” Dr. Moore encouraged. “The shoulders are next, and after that, we’re smooth sailing.” Kayley sucked in one more breath, tucking her chin to her chest and pushing with all her might.

“There’s his face! Oh my god! He looks like Alexis! Hi, baby! I’m your Daddy!” Ben rambled, trying to soothe her but not really accomplishing that goal. “One more, baby. Come on.” She screamed in frustration as she forced her body to do it, just one more time. “He’s out! He’s out! Our baby is born, Kay!” Ben looked at her, his eyes wild with excitement.

Looking down at his newborn son, he allowed the nurse to wipe him down while he cut the umbilical cord. With that, their new baby wailed, sucking in his first lungful of air. “He’s beautiful,” Ben stood up to take him over to Kayley. He laid the baby on her chest, and she immediately put her hands on him.

“Our baby,” she cried, tears of relief and happiness overtook her. “He’s here, babe. We have a son.”

Ben’s throat closed up, and he nodded, tears in his eyes. He had a son.

After the baby was weighed and cleaned up and the doctor was finished with Kayley, Ben made his way to the waiting room, leaving Kayley with the baby, attempting to nurse him. As they saw him striding purposefully down the hallway, they all stood up, waiting.

“It’s a boy! He was born at 4:22 and weighs 6 pounds and 7 ounces. He’s doing great and so is Kay, though that little thing sure didn’t want to come out!”

“My baby is here?” Alexis said. At three, she was talking clearer every day. “My brudda?”

Ben kneeled down, grabbing her in a hug as she squealed. “You have a baby brother, Lexi! You ready to go see him?”

She nodded her head. “I’m a big sister.”

“Yes, you are,” he said, “Now let’s go show him who the most awesome big sister in the world is.”

Ben walked down the hall, holding Lexi’s hand. He had told everyone else to wait a little bit longer, that Kayley was trying to nurse and he wanted Alexis to get some time to spend with her brother before he was passed around like a football to their family and friends. This was going to be a huge change for her, and he wanted to make sure that she felt included.

They walked into Kayley’s hospital room, and Alexis took off for Kayley. “Mommy! My baby is here?” Kayley grinned at the sight of Alexis.

“Yes! This is your baby brother! Come see him, but be gentle, okay? You have to be even more careful with him than you do your Princess baby.”

Alexis’ eyes got wide, and she nodded. “Yes, Mommy. Babies are not toys. Babies can get hurt.” She sat carefully on the side of the bed, peering over the blanket to try to see him.

“Here, let me lay him on my lap and then you can see him better.” Kayley struggled, and Ben reached out his hand to help her sit up. She laid the baby in between her legs, unwrapping the blanket. Alexis sat, still as stone, waiting to examine her baby brother. “See?” Kayley showed Alexis. “He’s very small. You were this small when you were born. See his little fingers and toes?”

“He asweep, Mommy?” She leaned over, her face close to his. “He small. Smaller than Pwincess.”

“He’s tired, Princess,” Ben answered. “He had a rough day today. And babies sleep a lot so they can get big like their big sister.”

“What his name?” Alexis reached out her finger, touching him on the hand gently. He moved reflexively, and she looked at them, her eyes wide. “He like me?”

“He loves you, baby girl. You’re his big sister. And his name is Benji.”

Alexis processed the name, then tried it out. “Benji. My brudda Benji is small.”

“You know what, Lex? Benji brought you a present.” Ben walked over to their things and brought out a wrapped box.

“He did? Pwesent for big sister?” Alexis looked from Benji, to Ben, and back. Ben laid it carefully on the bed, and Alexis started tearing the wrapping, stopping to look at her brother several times.

As she saw what it was, she screamed, making Benji jump, his arms and legs flailing. Immediately, she put the box down and put her little hand on his chest. “Benji, I sowwy. Big sister no scare you. Love you.” And with that, she leaned over his face and kissed him gently on his teeny lips.

Kayley put her hand over her mouth, not able to stop the tears from coursing her cheeks. That had to be the sweetest thing she had ever seen in her life. Looking at Ben, he reached out and took her hand, wiping the tears away, and he nodded. “We have the best kids in the world.” He kissed her, his heart about to burst with how full it was at this moment. Everything he had ever wanted was right here in this room.

Not long after, the party began in Kayley’s hospital room. When someone walked in the room, Alexis had to first show them her new Bitty Baby that looked like Benji, and then take them by the hand, directly to her brother, and tell them that this was her new brother, who was really named the same thing as her daddy.

“Ready to go home, baby boy?” Ben changed his diaper before they left the hospital as a family of four. He squirmed, scrunching up his little face in disagreement to the diaper change. He let out a small wail, and Ben leaned over him, close to his ear, and began soothing him. He stopped, his face turning towards his daddy.