First Time

Having the bath and nap helped, but it didn't slow down my contractions. I glanced at the clock. 2:12am. I groaned and threw my head back. It had been nearly 7 hours since my first contraction and all the did was get closer and closer and hurt more and more.

"How long since the last one?" I asked Joe, who looked at me through tired eyes. I felt sorry for him; he had only got few hours sleep whilst I managed my contractions. He rubbed his eyes and then looked at the clock himself.

"7 minutes. You've got another 2 to go before we can go to the hospital." I nodded my head.

"Sleep." I said, dropping a kiss to his head. He smiled at me and moved further down the bed, resting his head against the pillow. "I'm going to get some water." I shuffled awkwardly out of the bed and put on my slippers. I looked back at Joe, who was already half way to being unconscious. I turned the light off and shut the door as I walked out. I walked down the stairs, turning all the lights on as I went.

"Can you stop giving mommy such bad back ache please Sophie?" I spoke as I rubbed my belly. I grabbed a bottle of water, sipping it as I walked around the kitchen. I couldn't believe that I was going into labour. It felt like the 9 months I was carrying her for had gone so quickly. I was going to miss the bump, feeling her flutter and kick. I paced around the kitchen, making some attempt to rub my own back.

"Ugh." I grunted as the back pain increased. I leant against the counter, glancing at the clock. It had only been 3 minutes since my last contraction so I hoped that they hadn't suddenly jumped a few steps. "Oh." I said, as I heard a low pop and then liquid pour through my pyjama bottoms. My waters had broke. "Joe!" I shouted, gripping the counter. I didn't move, worried that if I did, I would slip over. "Joe!" I repeated after not hearing any movement from upstairs. I listened closely, hearing a loud bang and then heavy footsteps down the stairs.

"Allie, what wron-" Joe said as he ran into the kitchen. It was slightly obvious what had happened seeing as I was standing in a puddle of liquid with soaking wet bottoms. "Oh."

"I think my waters have broken." I said, as Joe stared at me. He nodded his head slowly, not taking his eyes off me.

"Yeah, me too." He laughed. He held his hand out to me and I grabbed it. He helped me around the puddle, making sure I didn't slip. "Okay. We have to go upstairs." He told me. I nodded my head, agreeing with him. "Are you in any pain?"

"No more than usual." I replied, smiling softly at him. He leant forwards, pressing a kiss against my forehead.

"This is it." He whispered. I grinned, a mixture of excitement and pure terror. Joe copied the smile, probably feeling as terrified as I was. "Ready?"

"I'm waiting on you." I joked. Joe rolled his eyes but we started to walk towards the stairs. It felt horrible, walking with wet bottoms on. I screwed my nose up, feeling rather uncomfortable. Joe patted my back, smiling softly at me. We walked into the bedroom and I took off the pyjama bottoms, tossing them onto the bathroom floor.

"Sit." Joe demanded, as he laid a towel out of the stool in the room. I sat down, rubbing my belly, grinning to myself. "I'm just going to ring the doctor. See if it's okay to bring you in."

"That's fine." I whispered, smiling at him. I took a glance at the clock. I had 2 minutes until my next contraction. I just hoped that Joe would get off the phone to hold my hand.

"Hi, it's Joe." I smiled as he paced around the room, his phone lodged between his ear and his shoulder as he found more clothes for me and him. "Aleah's waters have broken. Her contractions? They are 7 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds." I was glad Joe knew all of this because I wouldn't have remembered. "Bring her in? Okay." I felt panic rush through my veins. This was it. She was going to be here at any time. "Thanks. We'll see you there." Joe hung up, tossing the phone onto the bed.

"I'm going to have a quick shower." I said to Joe. He nodded his head, arranging the clothes on the bed. "Let me get this contraction out the way first." Joe's attention came away from the clothes and he grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb against my knuckles.

"How you feeling?" He brushed the hair out of my eyes.

"I can't describe it. I feel happy, terrified, nervous-" My sentence got cut short by the tightening of the muscles in my uterus. The pain wasn't as bad as I knew it would be later so I squeezed Joe's hand as he kept telling me to breath. "And overwhelmed." I said as the contraction went. Joe burst into laughter, shaking his head at me.

"You're doing so well baby." He whispered, pressing a kiss against my lips. I smiled as he pulled away. "Right, go and get in the shower. I'm going to grab the last few bits and then we will be going." I nodded my head and walked into the bathroom. I avoided my wet bottoms and stripped as quickly as possible. I tied my hair up, before getting into the shower.

"Allie." Joe shouted, walking into the bathroom. "Where's my wallet?"

"Downstairs, kitchen table." I replied, washing myself. I tried to do everything as quick as possible so that I didn't have a contraction in the shower. I jumped out and wrapped the towel around me. I walked into the bedroom, to see Joe packing up his satchel with his phone and the charger, wallet, iPad; all the little things he needed.

"Is there anything you want to bring?" He asked as I changed into my clothes. I slipped on the sweatpants Joe left out for me and t-shirt.

"Not that I can think of." I replied, waiting on him. He looked around the room once more, checking everything. "I think I'll have other things on my mind."

"Okay." He nodded his head, walking over to me. I smiled as he rested his forehead against mine. "You ready to have this baby?"

"As I'll ever be." I replied, leaning up to press a kiss against his lips. "You're doing great baby." I told him, grinning to myself. "You don't seem to be panicking at all." He slipped his fingers through mine as we walked out the room.

"Inside, I'm shitting myself." He admitted as we walked down the stairs, making me laugh. "I'm just trying to stay calm for you." We stopped at the bottom of the stairs and Joe picked up his car keys.

"I'm okay. I'm not panicking too much. I think I'll start when we get there." Joe held the door open for me and after I walked out, he locked it. It was dark out and Joe hadn't turned on the outside light. I grabbed hold of his arm as he led me to the car. He helped me in first before checking that he had the bags in the trunk. "Got everything?" I asked as he climbed into the drivers seat.

"If I've left anything behind, it couldn't have been that important." He replied, looking at his watch. "You're due a contraction any second now." I nodded my head and he offered his hand to me. I smiled at him, he was being so kind and caring even though he was terrified. I squeezed his hand as a contraction rippled through my body. I groaned, concentrating on Joe's voice as he told me to breath.

"Okay." I assured him that it had gone. He smiled at me before starting the car. "Have you rung our parents?" I asked as he made his way down the drive.

"Not yet." He replied, handing me his phone. "Set it through the loudspeaker of the car, that way if a contraction hits, I'll still be able to talk." I fiddled with the buttons on his phone and the car system until they were connected. "Who are you ringing first?" He asked.

"Your mom." I replied. "Because she will have to ring Kevin and Nick. It gives her more time." Joe nodded his head as he heard the phone ringing.

"Joe." Paul answered the phone, tiredly. I looked over at the clock of the car. 2:31am. Even I stifled a yawn as Joe spoke.

"Dad, Allie's waters have broken. We are on our way to the hospital now." Joe said, glancing over at me. I had 5 minutes until my next contraction.

"Okay son." Paul replied, the sound of shifting was heard done the phone. "We will meet you there in about 20 minutes."

"Okay dad." I heard the excitement in Joe's voice rush through. "See you there." As I went to hang up, Paul started to talk again.

"Oh, and congratulations you two. You're going to be parents." I grinned over at Joe, who rested his hand on my thigh.

"Thanks." I replied, still smiling to myself. I hung up the phone after we had said our goodbyes. "Okay, now my mom." I dialled the number, hoping that a contraction wouldn't hit as I was speaking to her. We listened to it ringing before she picked up.

"Is it time?" She asked, not even saying hello. I burst into laughter, shaking my head. Joe smirked to himself.

"Yeah, it is." I replied, still laughing to myself. "My waters broke about 15 minutes ago."

"Okay baby." My mom replied. I could hear my dad talking in the background, clearly my mom had woken him up. "We will meet you there."

"See you soon." I said. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair, making Joe look over at me. I smiled at him, reassuring him that I was okay.

"Good luck." She said before hanging up. I looked over at Joe, rubbing his arm.

"That's the parents sorted out."

"All we have to concentrate on is you and this baby." Joe replied, giving my thigh a squeeze. I gripped his hand, feeling the start of a contraction coming. "Another?" He asked.

"Mmm." I replied, breathing through it. I kept my hand in Joe's, squeezing it whenever I needed to. "It's gone."

"Thank god." Joe replied, breathing out. "I couldn't concentrate on driving and making sure you were okay."

"I'm a big girl, I can look after myself." I replied, smiling to myself.

"I'll remind you of that when you want me to rub your back, or hold your hand." Joe said as he drove into the hospital. I felt sick as Joe pulled into the maternity block.

"I don't want to go in." I admitted as Joe drove into a car parking space. He switched the engine off and looked over at me. "Can't we find a way of keeping her in there?"

"Well, you can carry her in your stomach for the rest of your life. Imagine carrying a 18 year old." He said, his eyebrows raised.

"Fine." I grumbled, pushing the door open.

"Hold on!" Joe yelled, climbing out of his side of the car. "I'll help you." He ran around and helped me out. I leant against the car as he grabbed the bags out of the trunk. "Ready baby?"

"As I'll ever be." I replied, grinning at him. He nodded his head, taking a deep breath.

"Well then, let's go and have our baby."

* * *

"I don't think we need a bigger room, do you?" I asked Joe as I walked around the room he had paid for. We had been taken straight into the room and I had all the tests done on me. "I mean, we could fit both families in here."

"Shut up moaning Allie." Joe mumbled from where he was lying on the couch. They had told me that I was in labour, but not very far. They told us both to try and get some sleep whilst we were here. "Seriously, you're going to need some sleep."

"I'm fine right now." I replied. I had my own nightgown on, rather than using one of the hospital ones. "Your phone is ringing." I told him. He grumbled, but sat up anyway.

"Hi mom." He yawned as the doctor walked in. She smiled at me as I walked around the room. Joe looked between us and went outside to the corridor.

"I've just got a couple of questions for you." I nodded my head and climbed into the bed. "Firstly, you're just having Joe in with you?" I nodded my head once more. "And epidural?"

"I'm going to try and leave it as long as possible." I told her. She scribbled down some notes before looking at me.

"Most women want it around 6cm." She told me. "You are already 5 and doing pretty well. You might be able to push it to 7cm."

"I'll see how things go." I replied. She gave me a confident smile before grabbing a piece of equipment.

"I'm just going to have a listen to baby's heartbeat. See if she is happy in there." She wrapped the monitor around my stomach which was attached to a computer screen. "She seems happy. You're blood pressure is good, so is your temperature." I smiled, happy with what I was hearing. "I'll come back to check on you in about 30 minutes. If you need me, press the buzzer."

"Thanks doctor." I said as she walked out and Joe walked in. "Everything is fine. She thinks I can get to 7cm without an epidural and me and Sophie are fine." Joe climbed onto the bed with me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Is that her heartbeat?" Joe asked, looking at the computer screen. I nodded my head and stretched over me to have a look. "I have no idea what those wiggly lines mean."

"Contraction." I announced. Joe leant me forwards and rubbed the bottom of my back, telling me I was doing great. I kept listening to his voice, hoping that it would keep my attention away from the pain. "Okay." I breathed, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"Do you want a hair tie?" Joe asked.

"Please." I replied, with a grin. Joe rummaged through one of the bags before pulling out his washbag. He grabbed one from the many he had in there before handing it to me. I threw my hair into a bun, not bothering to even do it properly. "What did your mom want?" I asked, as he snugged back onto the bed, his arms wrapped around my stomach.

"They had just parked in the car park, they were meeting my brothers and your parents in the lobby and then they were making there way here." I made a noise that told Joe I was listening. "They are probably here now."

"They have to get their visitor passes and stuff." I told Joe, as he rubbed my belly. "They could be waiting here for ages."

"The doctors think she'll be here by lunch time." Joe said. They thought I was doing really well for a first time mom. "That's another 9 hours. It isn't too long."

"No, it isn't." I replied, closing my eyes for a bit. Me and Joe fell silent for a few moments before there was a knock at the door. "Hi." I shouted and the person walked in.

"Your families are here." A nurse told us, looking rather happy and friendly. "Would you like me to send them in?"

"Not all at once." Joe said, shaking his head. "Just the parents. And then my brothers can come in." The nurse smiled at us, before the door shut. "Is that okay?"

"I'd rather not have everyone in here whilst I'm like this. Just a few at a time." I replied, just as our parents walked in. I smiled, the best I could at the four of them. "Hi." They all smiled at the both of us.

"Hi." My mom whispered as she pressed a kiss to my forehead. "How is everything?" Both sets of parents stared at me and Joe expectantly.

"Everything is on track." I replied, shifting on the bed. My dad, Denise and Paul all pressed a kiss to my forehead. I pointed to the couch, just to the side of the bed, and they all sat down. "I'm getting contractions every 4-5 minutes so that's okay. Sophie is happy and so am I." The four of them grinned at me, excitedly.

"It's all so exciting." Denise replied, clapping to herself.

"The doctor told us that she could be here by lunch time." Joe told everyone, grinning. They all smiled back, clearly excited for the birth of their first grandchild. I moved, hitting Joe in the hip with my elbow.

"How are you feeling, Allie?" Paul asked as he looked around the room.

"I'm okay. A little tired." To prove my point, I ended up yawning. Joe rested his head against my shoulder, closing his eyes.

"She is doing so well." He told everyone, mumbling into the side of my stomach. "She has stayed calm and hasn't started to yell at me yet." I laughed, dropping a kiss against his head.

"Yet." My mom pointed out, making us all laugh. I looked over at the four parents, soon to be grandparents. "What?" My mom said as she saw me staring.

"I don't know." I replied, scratching my head. The four of them stared at me, their eyes widened. Joe, however, didn't even open his eyes to look at me. "It's just odd thinking that one tiny person is going to bring two families together."

"Allie." My dad chuckled, shaking his head. "We thought it was something serious."

"Joe clearly didn't." I said as he snored against my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his hair, making him sigh contently in his sleep. "Poor guy."

"Poor guy?" Denise laughed. "You're the one about to push his baby out." I laughed along with the others. "He should be awake." I glanced at the clock, seeing that it had been nearly 5 minutes since my last contraction.

"He'll be awake in a minute. I should be getting a contraction any second." I told them. All four of them looked slightly scared. "You've all seen and experienced child birth. Try not to look too terrified."

"It's a little different when it's your own daughter." My mom replied, making me smile at her. I gritted my teeth as I felt the contraction rip through my body.

"Joe!" I shouted, making him wake up. It was the worst contraction I had felt since I'd got the first one. He grabbed my hand, allowing me to squeeze it tight as I could. The pain was indescribable. It was almost too much to bear. I groaned my way through it, hoping that it would hurry up and go.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked, wrapping his arms around my shoulders once the contraction had gone. I nodded my head, pressing my face into his neck. I'd forgotten that our parents were in the room. "Was that a bad one?"

"Yeah." I whispered. He dropped a kiss against my forehead, letting me go. I shifted on the bed so I was sitting up slightly so that the heart monitor for Sophie wasn't digging into my stomach.

"You're doing good baby." He whispered, rubbing my back. I smiled back at him and then looked over to our parents. The four of them had the look of total shock on their faces.

"I'm fine." I said, trying not to laugh at them.

"I'm glad I'm not in here with you, Allie." My mom said, still looking shocked. "I don't think I could bear to watch you in that much pain."

"Me either." Denise shook her head. I smiled at the both of them, I knew they meant well. "Joe's doing a good job anyway." I patted his thigh.

"I don't know what I'm doing half the time." He admitted, rubbing his eyes.

"You're here. That's good enough." He leant forwards and pressed a kiss against my lips.

"You won't be saying that later." My mom mumbled, making us laugh. I tried to hide a yawn behind my hand but everyone saw.

"We will send your brothers in for 5 minutes." Denise said as they all stood. "And then the both of you can sleep." I nodded my head and thanked them. "Good luck sweetie." She pressed a kiss against mine and Joe's forehead.

"You'll do great." Paul said, copying his wife.

"You're strong baby, you can do this." My mom said, making me want to cry as she pressed a kiss against my head and then Joe's.

"Knock it out of the park princess." My dad said, making me laugh. "I love you."

"We will keep you up to date. I'm sure I'll kick Joe out of here at some point." I nudged him in the ribs as everyone laughed. "See you later." I waved as they walked out of the room.

"Are you up for my brothers?" Joe whispered as he brushed my hair back. I sighed and nodded my head.

"Dani is going to be scared if I have a contraction whilst she is in here." Joe laughed softly as I leant back into his arms. He rested his head against my shoulder, his breath tickling my skin. "I love you." I whispered.

"I love you." He replied, grinning at me. I leant back, pressing a long kiss against his lips.

"Jesus you two." Gabby shouted as they walked into the room. I rolled my eyes and took my lips off Joe's. "You're having a baby!" She cheered, hugging me.

"Well observed." I replied, as Nick hugged me, followed by Kevin and Danielle. I assumed that Denise and Paul didn't want Frankie coming in, which I totally agreed with. I didn't want him to see any of this.

"How are you?" Kevin asked as they sat were our parents had sat not 2 minutes ago. "What's that?" He pointed to my stomach.

"I'm fine. And that's a heart monitor." I answered his questions. "Any more?" I offered around. Joe patted my leg, sensing that I wasn't totally up for this.

"So." Nick asked, hesitantly. "What did the doctor say?" I closed my eyes and let Joe answer the question.

"Basically Allie is doing great and Sophie could be here by lunch time." The four of them cheered quietly, making me smile. I knew that they were really excited to meet their niece.

"How are you feeling Joe?" Danielle spoke for the first time. "Excited?"

"Yeah, very." I could hear him grinning. I opened my eyes to look at him, a smile gracing both our lips. "Petrified too. And a little sorry for Allie."

"I'm doing okay now. I'll be having the epidural soon, so I'll be happy." I replied.

"You haven't had any drugs yet?" Gabby gawked at me. I shook my head.

"Not yet. I didn't want the gas and air so I'm just working my way through the contractions."

"How are your contractions?" Danielle asked. I could tell that Nick and Kevin didn't overly want to have this conversation.

"Eh." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "They are horrid and coming about every 5 minutes." I looked around the room, sighing. "Joe, can you get me out of this bed?"

"Hold on then." He replied, climbing off the side he was occupying. He walked around to me, holding his hands out. I grabbed hold of them and he pulled me into a sitting position with my legs hanging over the bed. "You can't go too far with that thing attached to you." He pointed to the heart monitor.

"I just want to stand, I'm getting bad shoulder ache." I told him as I placed both my feet on the floor. I pushed myself off the bed, pulling my nightgown down at the same time. I smiled, feeling the muscles stretch in my shoulder. I turned to face my soon to be brother in laws. I smiled at them as they all looked tired. "Gabby, are you still in our pyjamas?" I asked, looking at the spotty trousers she was wearing.

"Yes." She replied, confidently. "I've brought clothes with me but seeing as you could be ages yet, I thought I'd take a nap." I rolled my eyes at her. Joe sat on the bed in front of me, smiling.

"What?" I asked, turning my head to one side. He laughed, pulling my hips to hug my stomach.

"It's just hit me, we are having our baby." I raised my eyebrows up at him, trying not to laugh at his discovery. "Today."

"Well done Joe." Kevin said sarcastically. I started to laugh, but it got cut short by another contraction. I bent over slightly, leaning on Joe's thighs. He moved his hands around my back, rubbing the bottom of it where I could feel the contractions the most. I moaned as Joe whispered to me. I could feel the seconds ticking away as the pain ripped through my body. My hair fell out, covering my face. Joe pushed it out of my eyes as the pain disappeared.

"If any of you ask me if I'm okay, even you Joe, I will kill you." I said after a few seconds of silence.

"Is it too late to not have this baby?" I heard Danielle say. I stood up properly, looking over Joe's shoulder to see her. She genuinely look terrified. I tried to give her my most reassuring smile, which was hard after having a contraction. "Seriously?"

"It will be worth it in the end." Kevin pressed a kiss against her temple.

"If you tell me that Joe, at any point of this birth, I will chop your balls off so we can't have anymore." He looked at me, shocked. "Cause right now, I can't see myself ever forgiving her for this."

"Nick, if you ever get me pregnant," Gabby stared to say, pointing at Nick. "You will never be able to touch me again."

* * *

"One more push Allie." The doctor said to me. It had been 6 hours since I had been admitted to the hospital and she was now finally coming. "One more push and her head will be out."

"Okay." I panted as Joe brushed the hair out of my face. He pressed a kiss against my forehead, as I leant against the bed.

"You're doing so good baby." Joe whispered as we waited for my next contraction. "And you are so close."

"Ready Allie?" Doctor Coleman asked. I nodded my head and Joe helped me sit up again. "Okay push." She said as my contraction hit. I never experienced pain like childbirth and probably never will. "10." The doctor counted. I stopped pushing, taking a breath. She was so close and I just wanted it all to be over. "Dad, do you want to see the baby's head?" Joe looked over at me, his eyes begging me. I gave him some attempt at a smile but with all the pain, drugs and tiredness, I highly doubted it was a smile. He peered to see where Sophie was coming out, a grin gracing his face.

"Oh my god." He whispered, a mixture of awe and disgust. I wouldn't want to see what was going on down that end either. He stood back next to me, grasping my hand. "She's got so much hair."

"I told you she would." I replied, laughing softly. He leant down and pressed a kiss against my lips.

"Two more pushes and she'll be here Allie." The doctor said. I nodded my head and leant forwards again, ready for my next contraction. "Just a little push this time."

With all the pushing and the pain, I thought she would never come. After the 9 months of carrying her, the sleepless nights and the sickness, she was finally here.

A loud, high pitch scream tore me out of the pain. I burst into tears, having no control over my emotion.

"Congratulations, it's a girl."