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Island Fever 4: Paradise
Written by: JeremyDCP@hotmail.com

M/F, F/F and a whole lot more
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Chapter 20: "Dani Grace"
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              -*-  Sunday, August 2, 2015  -*-
                 -*-  Sandvika, Norway -*-
          (Seven weeks after the previous chapter)


   After Amy and I returned home from an otherwise routine 
trip to the grocery store, she began to experience some 
pretty severe back pain and, as a family, we tried to figure 
out whether or not she was in labor.  Amy, who was 38 weeks 
into her pregnancy, took one step into the house and suddenly
complained that she could barely move, and it was difficult 
just to breathe.  Scarlett, a delivery nurse at the university 
hospital in Oslo, listened as Amy explained she was not having 
any contractions, but was suffering excruciating back pain.
Scarlett said that the local hospital here in Sandvika would 
welcome her in, day or night, if she wanted to get monitored.
   Amy decided to wait things out a bit.  She took a hot bath,
which made her feel a little better.  Scarlett suggested 
that she wait another 20 minutes and if the discomfort did
not fade by then, it would be best if Amy went to the 
hospital for observation.
   Kaden, who had his first birthday just four days ago, came
rumbling over and both hugged and kissed Amy's massive baby
bump when she lifted her t-shirt to her midriff.  Kaden loved
to dote and bop his head against Amy's belly.  Really, could
anyone blame him?  Kaden wanted to meet his baby sister.
   Amy was stubborn, though, and was pacing back-and-forth
45 minutes later.  "My back feels raw," she complained.
"But I don't want to go to the hospital again unless I'm 
sure I'm in labor.  I want to be absolutely positive."
   And then, in her next breath, Amy changed her mind.
   "Right there," she whined.  "I can feel it.  It's worse
than it was just two seconds ago.  My back really hurts.  
Let's just go.  Let's go to the hospital."
   Kristanna and Pamela helped me pack a few bags to take to
the medical facility here in Sandvika just in case Amy was in
labor.  Trish and Lindsay got the honor of tagging along
with us.  We did not want to cause a public scene by having
six women and one man (not to mention two very special guests)
all hovering and fawning over Amy at once.  Nor did we want to
overwhelm her with too many people and voices, so I capped the 
number of wives and visitors for her to two at a time.

   Sometime later, Amy's eyes were closed and she was in dire
pain as she lay in a hospital bed with a nurse beside her,
explaining the situation.  "You're dilated to a four, so what
we will do is watch you for about an hour or two... see if it
changes, see if it's labor and if you have any contractions,
and then go from there.  Okay?"
   "I was at a three two days ago when I went to the doctor,"
Amy told the nurse.  "Is a three to a four not that big of a
jump?  Is that not a big deal?"
   "We need to see how you are in one to two hours," the
nurse reiterated.  "Then we will go from there."
   As things turned out, Amy was indeed in labor.  The ensuing
contractions were fairly light, but the hospital staff made
the decision to admit Amy and prepare her for an I-V to
administer antibiotics to combat _Group B Streptococcus_, an
infection that was found in her vagina during a prenatal
examination two weeks ago.  The "Strep B" bacteria was found in 
about one out of every four healthy, adult women, and a mother
could easily pass the infection to her baby during delivery.
With the antibiotics, however, the chances of doing so went
down to about one in 4,000.  I was not concerned at all.
   After her I-V was in place and she was given some pain
medication, the doctor actually suggested that Amy get out
of bed and walk up and down the hallway.  He wanted to get
her blood flowing and see if the activity would help her
progress at all.  Amy was in a lively, chipper mood; she
danced and bounced throughout the hospital corridors, but
suddenly stopped and finished with a slow walk back to her
room.  "My stomach hurts all of a sudden."
   Amy had since dilated to a five, and was well on her way.
It was time for me to call in the cavalry.
   This story is not the place for me to explain details and
everything that transpired, but during my trip to Ohio with
Lindsay nearly two months ago, I made it a point to go to the
home of Amy's parents, Robert and Kathleen, and tell them
that their daughter was pregnant and she was having a rough
go of it.  I knew that Robert and Kathleen had issues with
Amy (and vice versa), but I implored to them that she was
their flesh and blood, and their presence when she gave birth
to Dani Grace in Norway would mean the absolute world to her.
Long story short, they agreed to be here when the time came.
Convincing them felt like a major victory for me.
   So, Robert and Kathleen arrived at the hospital from their 
hotel in downtown Oslo after I called and informed them that 
Amy was in labor.  I did not know if this was the beginning 
of a true reconciliation or not, but Amy cried and became 
overly emotional when her mother gave her a hand-made blanket 
with flower designs all over it, saying it was a present for 
Dani Grace.  "I made it myself for her," Kathleen told us.
   Past dinner-time, and with Amy having not eaten since
lunch, the doctor allowed her to snack on some potato chips,
pretzels and jello before telling her _no more food_.
Robert and Kathleen sat in the corner and shared friendly
chatter with their daughter as Trish and Lindsay took turns
holding the video camera.  Four guests in the room (five if
you count me) was excessive and pushing it in my opinion, 
but I let it slide because two of them were Amy's parents 
and I could not leave all of our wives out in the cold.
   Once she was dilated to a six, the nurse broke Amy's
water.  She was definitely relaxed and in a good mood as
they pumped more medicine into her.  I must have asked the
doctor three or four times if they gave her the antibiotics
for the infection that she had (I was worried after all).
_Group B Streptococcus_ is harmless to adults unless they 
have extreme medical conditions, but it can cause a disease
in newborns if passed from the mother during birth.
   Amy fell asleep for a spell past midnight, and I could not
help but to smile at the image of her in the same room with
her estranged parents, who were now camped out in the corner
on a pull-out sofa bed.  When she woke up, I held and kissed
Amy's hand, telling her how proud of I was of her, how much I
loved her, and that our little girl would soon be here.
   Amy later cried as a hospital employee stood behind her as
she sat up on the bed, inserting an epidural - a long, thin
needle - into her lower back.  The numbing medicine would
provide her relief, decreasing the pain and sensations, but
not eliminating them completely.  I stood right there with
her, holding her hand, and wiping away her tears.
   Moments later, Amy appeared scared and pale as a ghost, so
I gave her a foot massage.
   At 1:00am, Amy was feeling really nauseous and the doctor
gave her medication for it as well.  Things were progressing
slower than anticipated; she was now dilated to a seven and
we were playing the waiting game.  We turned off the lights
in the room and everyone tried to catch a little sleep.
   At 2:20am, Amy was checked, and she was now at a ten.  We
had been here for over 12 hours, but now it was in the final
stages as the staff began to prepare her for delivery.  Amy
was shaking and trembling like crazy, complaining of constant
contractions, but also felt an incredible sense of happiness
and relief.  Her pain was mostly gone thanks to the epidural.
I awoke her parents and told them the wonderful news.
   The doctor and an entire band of nurses and assistants were
in Amy's room, tending to her, by 2:35am.  I held one of her
hands, and her mother the opposite one, as the doctor coached 
and guided her along to the pot at the end of the rainbow.
   "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten... GO GO GO!  And big breath.  One, two, three..."  He
must have counted one through ten probably 10 or 15 times,
but when Amy let out a loud, harrowing shriek, my senses
went into overdrive and I knew that the time was at hand.
I was about to become a father yet again!
   In that exact, split-second, something amazing happened
to me.  As I held Amy's hand and did my best to encourage
her along, everything that I had ever experienced with her
over the past two-plus years since we first met on the island
flashed in my mind's eye.
   That very first night, when she showed up at my bedroom
door and seduced me like no one ever had before.  Amy had
some mental issues back then, and I remember coming close
to arguing with her later that week when I suggested she
seek professional help.  As the days and weeks passed, Amy
began to dominate and take advantage of a young and very
impressionable Lindsay, although all she really wanted was
to be taken care of, loved, and controlled herself.  I 
seized control and made her seek the help that eventually 
set her on the path to wellness.  I vividly recalled our 
visit to Dr. Humala in Peru, the psychiatrist, who diagnosed 
and treated her.  I also remember how beautiful Amy looked 
in her classy, yellow, business-style outfit that day.
   How about the night on the boat, when Amy professed her
love for me, and her willingness to enter into the _family_
that Kristanna and I were just starting to build?  And oh,
months later, our wedding.  Amy looked so divine in her
bridal gown; we got married on Valentine's Day, 2014.
   It was less than a year ago when Amy went to the hospital
to get surgery to correct a mistake from her past.  With
Kaden already born and Piper well on her way, Amy desperately
wanted to be a mother herself.  In my mind's eye, I recalled
watching the medical team wheel her off to surgery, hoping to
undo the fact that she got her _tubes tied_ a decade earlier.
   After months of trying to conceive a baby and nearly giving
up hope, Amy came home from the doctor one day last December
like a ball of fire, telling anyone and everyone who would
listen that she was finally pregnant.  I had never seen her so 
worked up and happy before!  The evolution of her belly as it 
continually grew and expanded was pure magic to me, and I let 
her know that during every step of the way.
   I also recalled just over two months ago, after Trish's 
father died in an automobile accident in Canada, Amy took the 
news really hard and complained of extreme stomach pain.  She
was rushed to the hospital and, for a time, I honestly
wondered whether or not our baby would survive.
   Then, in recent weeks, I devoted everything I had to Amy
and making sure that she was comfortable, and at ease.  All
of my time, my effort, was focused on her.  And rightfully
so.  Just last night, as she lay in my arms, Amy told me
that our daughter could not have a better father in the
whole, wide world than me.  I felt so warm inside!
   All of those thoughts and images - from the very first day
I met Amy up to and including last evening - flashed throughout
my mind in a millisecond, an instant.  Yet the memories were
vivid and clear, and I remembered every minor detail.  It was
the ultimate precursor, perhaps a sign from God Almighty, for...
   "Let's go for it.  Big breath, everything you got!  And
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Atta girl, and right back at it... PUSH!  One, two, three,
four... push push push, harder, harder!"
   "OH MY GOD!" Amy screamed out.
   "I see a little hand and arm coming out!" a nurse said.
   "OH MY GOD!  OH MY GOD!"  And with that, there was the
beautiful sound of a newborn baby crying.  I broke down and
started sobbing myself at the first glimpse of my daughter,
Danielle Grace, born at 2:44am on Monday, August 3, 2015.
She looked exactly like Amy!
   "Do you want to hold her?" the doctor asked, grinning.
   "YES!  YES!" Amy roared as her own mother hugged her neck
and shoulders from above, standing over top of her.  Robert,
her father, had the biggest grin as he patted my shoulder in
congratulations.  Wow!  Her parents were actually here!  I 
still could not believe it.
   Amy was so happy; she was babbling as she took her baby
into her arms for the first time.  "I DON'T... I... OHHHHH...
I... she's so little!"  Amy cradled Dani Grace to her chest
and shoulder, skin to skin, as the nurse put a small blanket
over top of her.  "Oh, hi there!" Amy squealed, kissing her
forehead for the first time.  "Are you breathing okay?"
   Overcome with raw emotion, Amy momentarily turned her focus
to me and began laughing.  "JEREMY!  We have a BABY!"  Dani
Grace continued crying, though, forcing Amy to look back at
her.  "Hey, it's okay!  It's okay, honey... I'm going to take
care of you from now on!  I'm going to take care of you!"
   "Good job, Mom!" I encouraged Amy, squeezing her arm.  "I
am so proud of you right now... you have no idea!"
   "You're so little!" Amy whispered at our daughter, hugging
her.  "Tell these doctors and nurses to stop moving you
around, it won't be so bad and you won't cry so much!"
   Amy then looked up at me again, tears gushing down her
face and reluctantly said, "I could do this five more times."
   "Oh, I'm sure you could!" I laughed back at her.  What,
Amy being the mother of six children?  If all of the women in
my life had six babies each, I would be the father of 42 - an
entire brigade!  Amy was merely joking, of course, but it
made for a good laugh regardless.
   A few moments later, Lindsay had the video camera pointed
right at Amy as a relaxed and subdued Dani Grace, all swaddled
up in a blanket, was resting upon her shoulder as she sprayed
kiss after kiss across her face and head.
   "This is little Dani Grace," Amy told the camera.  "She is
so fresh, she hasn't even been bathed yet.  She's so perfect!"
   "She's an angel!" Trish commented.
   When the nurse momentarily took Dani Grace away, Amy had a
serious pout.  "I want to hold her!"  But Dani Grace needed
to be weighed.  She came into the world at six pounds, five
ounces.  Her little eyes were open and she let out a big
yawn on the scale; Dani Grace was so adorable, such a 
treasure!  They measured her head at 33 centimeters around.
   "Let's allow Dad to hold her for awhile," the nurse said
to Amy, handing Dani Grace to me.  "We need to get you all
cleaned up, then you can hold your baby again."
   "She's so precious!" Lindsay whispered in my ear as I
cradled Dani Grace in my arms for the first time.  Lindsay
patted her own stomach - she was nearly three months pregnant
herself - and proclaimed, "I can't wait until it's my turn."

                           * * *

   "Oh my Gosh," Amy sighed, perhaps two hours later.
   "She's doing so good," I observed.
   "This is... OHHHHH..."  Amy began to get emotional again
as Dani Grace was in the middle of her very first meal.
"She latched onto me RIGHT AWAY.  Like, she had no issues,
she just... did it."
   "This is amazing," I grinned.
   "She has your ears," Amy swooned, looking down at her as
she breast-fed.  "You have a little M shape in your ears,
Jeremy, and so does Dani Grace."  She again kissed the top
of her head.  "I can't wait for you to meet your big brother
and big sister, Kaden and Piper.  Oh, Jeremy... look at her
eyes!  She's just lookin' around, taking everything in."
   "Probably wishing she was back inside of you!" I chuckled.
   Kristanna and Pamela arrived shortly after 8:00am, and got
to witness Dani Grace getting her very first bath, courtesy
of the attending nurse.  She was laying atop a bundle of
towels at the very foot of the bed as all three ladies stood
and openly fawned over her.  The nurse applied soap and
scrubbed Dani Grace with a sponge, then wrapped her up in warm
blankets and took her over to the sink.  She applied a light
lather of shampoo to the red wisps of hair atop Dani Grace's
head, then rinsed it off by holding her over running water.
   "She is such a doll!" Amy sobbed once the bath was over,
with Dani Grace back in her arms in bed.  "Look at that little
pink beanie hat they put on her head!  Dani Grace laid on my
chest for most of the night and I just, I rubbed her back and
I snuggled her to me, and she just... she LOVES me already."
   "Hopefully she will learn to love me, too."
   "Oh stop it, Jeremy!  She already does."
   "Dani Grace grabbed my finger earlier and I just started
bawling," I admitted to Kristanna and Pamela.
   "How cute was that!" Amy exclaimed.  "She reached her tiny
hand out and grabbed Jeremy's finger, and would not let go!"
   "Oh, you are in Heaven, aren't you?" Pamela asked Amy.
   "I just love laying here with Dani Grace," Amy nodded.
"Skin to skin, layin', cuddlin', this is... like, this is
Heaven.  Our family is Heaven to me, and I am so grateful
for Dani Grace, and everything all of you have done for me.
I... I feel so lucky."
   "We are grateful for you too, Amy," Kristanna purred,
squeezing her wrist for emphasis.
   "Who got you those?" Pamela wondered, pointing toward a
bushel of red roses on the night stand next to the bed.
   "Let me read the card again," Amy swooned, grabbing the
filled vase and inspecting it.  "It says... to my sweet wife,
I love you so much."  Amy began sobbing once more as she
continued reading, "I'm so proud of you, and I can't wait to
raise our perfect daughter with you.  Love, Jeremy."
   "What an awesome husband we all have," Kristanna said to
Amy, but wrapping her arm around me from the side and kissing
my cheek.  "Who would have ever thought in a million years
that when Jeremy went on vacation to Cincinnati with Lindsay
back in June, he would also seek out your parents and somehow
convince them to come and be here for Dani Grace's birth?"
   "I think I've talked more to my mom and dad this week than 
I have in the past 15 years combined," Amy remarked, dabbing 
at new-found tears with a tissue.  "It was so special, so very
wonderful, to have them here.  I don't know how he did it.
How did you do it, Jeremy?"
   "We need to make sure that Robert and Kathleen have a
firm spot in Dani Grace's life going forward," Pamela said.
   "Oh, I think they will," Amy nodded.
   Kristanna patted me on the shoulder.  "But your own mom,
Jeremy, opted not to come.  Are you okay?"
   "I'm fine," I assured her.  "Mom wanted to stay home and
not cause any ripples or trouble with the rest of the family,
my brother and sister, by coming here.  It's fine."
   "No, it's not," Pamela frowned.
   "My father is flying in from California and will be here
tomorrow," I reminded them.  "I'm really excited to see him,
and for him to meet his new baby grand daughter."
   "You hear that?" Amy whispered at Dani Grace, stroking her
cheek with a thumb.  "You get to meet your other pa-paw soon!
Pa-paw Dale is flying 5,500 miles to say hello to you!  I bet
he wants to hug and kiss on you, too!  Just like I do!"

   Personally speaking, I could not have been more thrilled
with how the day had gone.  Everything about it had been so
incredibly amazing.  I cannot express just how proud, and
how grateful, I was for Amy.  She did such a great job from
the very onset of her pregnancy, but especially today, and I
felt fortunate and blessed to be able to call her my wife.
   It was fun to look back and reflect on everything that
had happened, but it was even better to think about all of
the changes that were going to take place going forward.
Our lives were forever changed because of Dani Grace, and
we were excited, thrilled, and could not be more grateful.
Truly, the best was yet to come.

   "Well, I think for the last time tonight, I am going to
ask you this one question, Amy," I said to her much later
that evening, as she relaxed in her hospital bed and ate
dinner.  Salad and french fries?  "How you doing?"
   "I am doing wonderful," she simply responded.  "I feel
like a million bucks.  Like, I have... Dani Grace is just
so beautiful!  And I think one of the reasons why I feel so
good is... I was really nervous to feed her.  I was thinking,
you know, she was not gonna eat.  But she... the moment I
tried, she latched on like a champ.  And she has probably
eaten every two hours since five o'clock this morning."
   "I feel so blessed right now because of our family."  I
reached out and squeezed Amy's hand.  "I love you."
   "I love you too, Jeremy.  And I love our family.  Our
little baby girl was born perfectly healthy, with no
complications whatsoever, and I get to take her home in
two days!  Mom and Dad came by for another visit, as did
Devon and Scarlett."  Amy splayed kisses along the crown of
Dani Grace's head yet again.  "And first thing in the
morning, little sweetie pie, you get to meet big brother and
big sister!  Oh, I know you're looking forward to that!  And
Pa-paw Dale, too!  You get to meet your daddy's daddy!"
   Amy had waited so long for this day to finally come.  I
cannot even begin to express how happy I was for her.  Amy
had turned her life around in the two short years we had
been together.  She deserved all of this, and then some.

                           * * *

   On Wednesday, when Amy and Dani Grace were scheduled to be
released from the hospital, I had a surprise waiting for my 
amazing wife at home.  She and I were going to stay in bed 
and cuddle all day and all night long (with Dani Grace 
included, of course) while the other ladies waited on us hand 
and foot, and tended to our every need.
   As I come to a conclusion on this chapter and the story
itself, I realize that I better get used to hospital visits
and new children being born because they were soon going to 
become quite commonplace for me.  Not only were Trish and 
Lindsay each expecting their first child in February 2016,
but Scarlett was five weeks pregnant now as well.  So that
means that when I wed Scarlett on March 11, 2016, she will
be eight months pregnant.  Wasn't that her plan all along?
Scarlett wants to marry me in a maternity bridal gown
because she knows how attracted I am to pregnant women.
   And oh yeah, before I forget... we had a little surprise
on Kaden's birthday last Wednesday.  Kristanna came home
from the doctor with news that she was four weeks pregnant
herself with her second child!
   Our family keeps growing, and getting bigger!  That's okay;
it just means that there will be more for each of us to love.


       <<<- THE END, of Island Fever 4: Paradise ->>>


==---- -- -- -- - --- -- --  -  - --- -- -- --- - -- - - - - --- -- ----==
"Island Fever 4: Paradise"

(c) 2015  JeremyDCP

- JeremyDCP@hotmail.com

Feedback is always appreciated!