First Steps

David held his wife’s hand as she screamed giving birth to the little girl that they had waited nine whole long months to meet.

“I can’t do this…I can’t push anymore…I’m so tired.” His wife was sweating, breathing hard and obviously in pain.

“Yes you can babe, keep taking deep breaths.”

“Mrs. Desrosiers,” the midwife that was there said, “Would you like some gas and air?”

“Y-Yes…P-Please.” She stuttered. The midwife gave her the gas and told her how to use it. David's wife got a contraction and immediately took in a deep breath inhaling what the midwife had given her. She instantly felt light headed and pushed when she was told to.

“You’re doing great babe…it’ll be over soon.”

His wife pushed and screamed starting to cry “I-It h-hurts.”

“I know baby, I know…You’re doing absolutely amazing.”

“I can see the head…give me a big push.” The midwife piped up.

His wife pushed down and slammed her head back on the pillow as tears streamed down her face. She took a deep breath inhaling the gas and air again as she felt a contraction.

“Stop! The head’s out.” The midwife let the stressed out woman know so that she could relax for a few seconds. But a few seconds couldn’t go by any faster because before David’s wife knew it she was being told to push again. She screamed as she pushed down to her bum and the room was suddenly filled with a baby’s cry. The midwife took their daughter and put her on her mother’s chest making sure they had skin to skin contact. Both David and his wife got tears in their eyes as the baby calmed down after being led on her mother’s chest.

“Mr. Desrosiers? Would you like to cut the cord?”

“Yes…Yes of course.” The nurse put a clamp on the cord and gave the scissors to David. David cut the cord in a swift movement and sat back down looking at their tiny daughter. She was sleeping peacefully on his mom but the midwife wanted to take the tiny baby girl’s measurements. David’s wife gave the little girl to the midwife and she went away for a few seconds to take the measurements.

“You did great baby.” He kissed his wife on the lips in a sweet kiss just as the nurse came back.

“Your baby daughter weighs a very healthy six pounds seven ounces and she is sixty center metres long.” The midwife gave the baby girl to her daddy gently. David made sure her neck was supported by resting it on his arm while she slept peacefully.

“She’s got your eyes.” He looked at his wife and she was smiling sleepily at him.

“She’s so beautiful…How could anything so beautiful be created by us?”

“There’s only one answer to that babe.”

“You…You are extremely beautiful and I wouldn’t change you or our beautiful daughter for anything.”

His wife’s mouth turned up in the corners into a smile “She was a pain to give birth to that’s for sure.”

David laughed “Get some rest…You need it.” David passed over the little girl to his wife and she settled their daughter gently on her chest stroking her back gently closing her eyes.

~~~~~

A year had passed since the birth of David’s baby daughter. She had become a menace ever since she had started crawling five months previous. They had decided to call their daughter Grace and she was now twelve months old. David was in the living room teaching Grace how to walk. David had seen her stand up but she hadn’t been able to walk just yet. Grace was a bright child and was always trying to do different things with her parents. Although she couldn’t walk she crawled over to whatever she wanted to do. She loved painting and the thing she liked most about it was getting her hands and feet put in the paint. David had seen that she loved the textures and how the paint felt. David had put several pictures up in the living room of her painted hands and feet and they were getting bigger and bigger as Grace got older.

“If daddy sits here…Can you walk over to him?”

Grace gurgled and got up on her feet wobbling before she grabbed the side of the couch. David stretched out his arms looking at his daughter “Come on Gracie you can do it…Move your leg forward.”

Grace looked down at her feet and lifted up her leg putting it in front of her wobbling slightly “Ada.” Grace could talk a little bit but not much. She couldn’t say her words properly and could only say about two words as she was still so young. She slowly put the other leg in front of her putting it down next to the leg she had just moved. She was extremely wobbly on her feet. She started getting excited and moved a bit faster but ended up falling down onto her front. Her lip started to wobble and David shot up as fast as he could picking his daughter up before she started to cry.

“Don’t cry baby…Daddy hates seeing you cry Gracie…It’s okay.”

Grace looked at her daddy starting to stand up again still being wobbly on her feet. She made little frustrated noises as David moved away from his daughter. She started putting one foot in front of the other as she started on her path towards her daddy. David extended his arms as she got closer and closer to him.

“You’re doing it Gracie! You’re doing it!” He smiled at her as he could see that she was getting better and better with every step she took, “Your mommy will be so proud…So will daddy baby.” David was so enthusiastic that his daughter was finally taking her first steps. When she got to her dad she ran into his chest giggling to herself. David wrapped his arms around his daughter’s tiny body holding her close.

“Well done Grace…You’ve done me proud.” David kissed Grace’s head as he balled his t-shirt up into her tiny hands.

“What’s going on here then?” David looked up and there stood his wife with a smile on her face.

“Grace can walk sweetheart…Show mommy what you can do Gracie.” Grace look at her mom and started taking slow but sure steps towards her mom.

David’s wife gasped loudly putting her hand over her mouth “David! She’s walking!”

“I told you babe.” David got up and walked over to his wife as she bent down catching her daughter as Grace got to her.

“I’m so proud of you Grace,” She said as she picked up the little girl and turned to her husband, “And you David…I’m proud of you too…you’re the best father any little girl could hope for.” David’s wife smiled and placed her lips on his in a quick peck.

“I love you too…We make a great team…Grace is going to grow up to be a fine young woman.”

“I know I know,” David’s wife smiled and looked at her daughter kissing Grace’s head as she closed her eyes obviously exhausted from what she had just learnt how to do, “I love my little family.” She said as David put his arms around his wife’s waist in a close embrace with his family.