The Truth by Katrina Alba Page A

points to his arm, and I can see he has nail marks dug all up and down it. “Please, please, get her the epidural. Hurry,” he begs.
    “I will try to get the anesthesiologist in here as soon as possible. You’re doing a great job, guys. It will all be over soon.” 
    It is two hours later when we are ready to push. April has a serene smile on her face now. With the epidural in place, she isn’t feeling much other than pressure.
    “Okay, April. When I say push, Bob is going to push one leg back and Nurse Denise is going to push the other one back. When I say, I want you to curl over your belly, bear down, and push as hard as you can through it. Then we’ll take a breath and do it again.
    Denise gives me a nod to inform me of an impending contraction showing on the monitor.
    “All right, April, it’s time to meet those babies. Take a deep breath in and push as hard as you can for me when you release it. Good, just like that. Push. Push. Take a breath. That was great.” April is heaving in breaths and recovers perfectly. “Okay, we’re going to do it again, April. Take a deep breath and then push. Just like last time.”
    After about thirty minutes, Baby A is crowning. “You’re so close, Mom. The head is almost out. Give me the hardest push you can, and I will get this baby out!”
    “Get it out, get it out!” she begs.
    “I will, April. I need one good push.”
    April takes a deep breath in and screams a deep, guttural scream as I guide the first baby out the rest of the way.
    “Our girl is here! She’s perfect, Mom. Good job.” I hold her up so they can see her while the cord is being cut before I hand her off to the neonatal team.
    “She isn’t crying, why isn’t she crying?” I can hear the panic in April’s voice.
    “She is perfect, April,” I say, commanding her to look at me. “We have one more. You can do this. You are almost done. Are you ready to meet your other baby?”
    “Yeah, I’m ready,” she says weakly.
    “Convince me. Where is that fire you had earlier? Find it again and use it. You can do this—say it.”
    “I can do this,” she says with vigor.
    “Say it again!”
    “I can—do this!” she screams through tears as another contractions starts.
    “Okay legs, ready?” Bob and Denise nod to me and I make eye contact with April once more. “April, let’s meet your little boy. Take a deep breath and push just like before.”
    Twenty-minutes of pushing later, April is beyond exhausted. She pushes one more time, and the peach fuzz on the head of Baby B peeks out at me.
    “That’s it! You’re doing it! His head is coming out! You are so close. A few more big pushes and you can be done! Take a few seconds and breathe. That’s it. Okay, now one big, deep breath, April.”
    She pushes so hard I swear a vein is going to burst in her forehead.
    “Good girl! His head is out.” That’s when I notice he has a double loop around his neck. Holding eye contact with April so she remains calm, I guide her as if nothing is wrong.
    “Deep breath, April, I need one more big push right now! Go! Push for me! As hard as you can.” As she pushes, thank God he comes down enough so I can untangle him. I unwrap the cord, once, twice, and then I guide him the rest of the way out.
    “You did it, April!” Baby B takes a gulp. He’s blue, but he breathes. I look at him as the cord is cut and realize he is a she. I hand him to Neo and turn back to April and Bob.
    “Mom, Dad, Baby B has a surprise for you. He is a she. You have two beautiful, perfect little girls.”
    “What? Two girls?”
    “Two girls,” I confirm. “Surprise! The first of many that will come with parenthood.”
    “Two girls,” she repeats. “Two girls. I only have one girl name.”
    “I’m going to massage your stomach so we can get everything else out, April. Let’s get you finished up so you can get to your sweet girls.”
    “Two girls,” she repeats again. I can’t help but smile at her bewilderment.
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