Jude watched the monitor that showed the progress of the contraction, wincing as it went on for what seemed like forever. Finally, he could see the line on the monitor begin to drop.
The nurse had come in and approached them once the contraction was over. “Dr. Ellis will be here in a few minutes to check your dilation.”
Angela wrinkled her nose but nodded. It was a necessary part of the birthing process.
“Alright, my dear,” the middle-aged female doctor said a few minutes later after checking Angela. “You’re at ten centimeters and fully effaced, so whenever you feel the urge to push, you can.”
Angela’s eyes widened. “Really?”
The doctor smiled as she helped put the sheet back into place over Angela’s legs. “Really.”
Angela turned toward him. “Jude, we’re going to meet our baby soon.”
“I can’t wait.”
“And then we’re going to have to decide on a name.”
“I think, after all you’ve gone through, I’m going to let you pick the name.”
The smile she gave him faded as she once again reached for his hand.
A few contractions later, Angela grimaced. “I think I need to push.”
The nurse hadn’t left the room since the doctor had last checked her, and she came over to the bed at Angela’s words.
Over the next several minutes, the atmosphere in the room changed.
Jude was used to being in control, but he willingly relinquished it in that particular situation.
If he’d thought things were intense up to that point, he was in for a rude awakening. The intensity ramped up as the contractions seemed to come nearly one on top of the other.
“You’re doing so great, love,” Jude murmured as Angela fell back against the bed after having gone through another pushing contraction.
“It’s a lot,” she panted as she looked at him, her eyes glazed with pain.
“But it’s almost over,” he told her, hoping it was the truth. “And you’re doing so well. I’m in awe of how you’re handling all this. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the doctor said the baby was crowning. From that point, things seemed to go very quickly.
Soon, the doctor lifted the baby out and placed it on the blanket on Angela’s stomach. Jude leaned over and pressed his head to Angela’s.
“You’re amazing.”
She was gazing down at the baby, her hand resting on its back. “What is it?”
“Congratulations! You have a beautiful baby girl,” the nurse said with a smile.
“Oh, Jude.” Angela looked up at him with damp eyes. “We have a daughter.”
The joy and wonder in her expression connected with something in Jude, and his own eyes pricked with tears.
The nurse rubbed the baby with a blanket, and soon their little girl let out a squawk. With his head close to Angela’s, Jude looked down at their baby, taking in her scrunched-up face and plump little body, along with a shock of brown hair on her head.
“She’s beautiful,” Angela said. “And I think we should name her Danielle Joy.”
The name hadn’t been one that she’d mentioned before, but Jude got choked up.
