Sweet Pea

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She was hoping for a quick labor. After all, this was her third delivery and She was being induced after already being in mild labor.

Boy was She wrong.

It was the same length as the other two and just as hard. There was a nice surprise when She got a free massage during labor. Only to those Moms who were not having drugs! It really didn’t help all that much…but it did take Her mind off the pain a little for a while.

Finally it was time to push. Both Baby Girl and Little Man only required a few pushes so hopefully this time it would be the same. It was. A few pushes and here he was. Only the cord was wrapped around his neck several times. He was purple. He wasn’t breathing.

Daddy-O got weak in the knees and almost fainted. He just went limp and fell into a chair. She didn’t really know what was going on and was wondering why on Earth the nurses were paying attention to Him when She had just given birth!! Seconds later the most beautiful sound on Earth rang in Her ears…Sweet Pea’s cry. A loud and strong cry. He pinked up. He was beautiful. And Him? He was ok too. The nurses gave him some juice and some crackers and He perked right up.

She was able to hold Sweet Pea right away. He nursed with no problem. They cuddled and cooed at each other and got to know one another. It was bliss. She felt so calm this time. There weren’t any nerves. She felt confident and sure of her mothering abilities.

The other two times, He had stayed with Her at the hospital. This time? He went home. It was fine with Her. She was sending Sweet Pea to the nursery this time and going to try to get some sleep before She went home to the chaos. They cracked up at themselves though. It was like “High five! We had a baby! Now let’s sleep!”

She and Sweet Pea went to their room. He nursed again and then off he went to the nursery. She slept in between feedings. Visitors came and went. They went home the next day. They had a house full of visitors for days. Sweet Pea was such a good baby. He hardly ever cried or fussed. He slept for a couple of hours at a time.

Baby Girl was fascinated by him. She wanted to hold him and kiss him and pull on his toes. Little Man was so excited he was finally here. But Little Man was very angry with Her. He had major trouble adjusting to Her attention being on Sweet Pea. She did everything “right” in order to make Little Man feel better…but it didn’t work. Little Man was out of control. He would destroy his room, mouth off like only a 3 year-old can, be so mean and nasty, She couldn’t take it. It broke Her heart. She was unprepared for this reaction. He loved Sweet Pea…but hated Her. He said it would just take time.

He was right. Like usual.

After two weeks, Little Man was fine and happy again and everyone had adjusted to life as a family of five. She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to soak up every moment with Sweet Pea. She knew how fast it would go. She was going to savor every single second with this baby as it was probably Her last.

Sweet Pea indeed.