[[[-IF6-P18.TXT-]]]
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Island Fever 6: Sanctuary
Written by: JeremyDCP@hotmail.com
M/F, F/F and a whole lot more
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Chapter 18: "Peyton"
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From : Pammykins
--- Text Message ---
Jan 04, 2017
Babe small chance I might be in
labor. Just saying.
I stood in the middle of the local grocery store here in
Sandvika and stared at the text message which had arrived
seconds ago on my smartphone from my wife, Pamela, whom I had
just left at the mansion no more than 20 minutes ago. Pamela
was a mere two days out from her due date of giving birth to
Peyton, our son, and I had been sent to the grocery store on
this late Wednesday afternoon in search of pickles. We were
out of them at home, and Pamela had a serious (crazed) craving.
She needed pickles, and in a hurry.
I immediately called Pamela and asked if she really thought
she was in labor. Pamela felt a few contractions early this
morning, but she had been experiencing a ton of Braxton Hicks
as of late, so we did not think too much of them. Pamela told
me that the moment I left to go to the supermarket, she began
having contractions again, and had a feeling this time around
that they may actually be the real thing. I told her that I
would be back home in ten minutes, pickles in hand.
When I returned, I found Pamela relaxing on the sofa, with
Kristanna kneeling and holding her hand beside her. Kristanna
informed me that Pamela's contractions were about five minutes
apart, which is generally around the time a pregnant woman
would go to the hospital. Still, Pamela resisted temptation,
and did not want to go all the way to the university hospital
in Oslo again. We had been through two false alarms already, and
she did not want to go to the hospital and have them tell her
to go home again. She really wanted her water to break first.
After retrieving our two-year-old daughter, Piper, from
elsewhere in the mansion (she had been playing games with Amy
and Dani Grace), I went back to the central room and found
Pamela seated on the floor now, with Kristanna giving her a
back massage. She had another contraction, this one much more
serious and painful than any of the ones previously, and said
that we needed to leave right then and there, and go to the
hospital. But just as quickly it faded, and Pamela said never
mind, perhaps it was best that we wait.
With further discussion, we came to a conclusion.
"I don't think I want to sleep here tonight, so I guess we
might as well go to the hospital," Pamela relented.
"Worst case scenario, we spend an hour and a half there and
they tell us you're still at a two, and send us home again."
Pamela nodded at me as I continued, "Or we could wait 30
minutes, or an hour, and see where you are then?"
Pamela yawned. "Let's just go. Let's go."
Kristanna snatched Piper from Pamela's lap and told her,
"Mommy may have her baby tonight, honey! What do you think
of that? You're going to be a big sister for Peyton! Yeah,
let's take you back to Aunt Amy and Dani Grace so you can
play with them while Mommy and Daddy go to the hospital. Are
you going to be a good girl for Amy and Lindsay tonight?"
I sidestepped the scattered pile of books on pregnancy all
around me; labor, breastfeeding, motherhood, and retrieved
the laundry basket full of birth supplies, and loaded it into
the car. I checked to make sure that all of the video cameras
and smartphones we would use to record the birth were charged.
I had been through this entire process many times before in
the past, but it never stopped being memorable. Special.
"Hi," Pamela greeted in a friendly but strained voice, at
7:10pm that evening, as she stood at the main admittance desk
at Oslo Universitetssykehus HF (Oslo University Hospital).
"Hi," the receptionist responded in perfect English.
"What's going on tonight? What can we help you with?"
"I've just been... I think I've been in labor pretty much
all day today..."
"Okay."
"My contractions are getting worse. They're like every..."
"Two to three minutes," I said, standing alongside her.
"What's your name?"
"Pamela [Last Name]."
A few moments later, Pamela was smiling - actually, she
was glowing - as she and I, along with Kristanna, walked down
the corridor from the admittance desk and toward an assigned
examination room. Tonight would not be another false alarm,
Pamela was now certain, and we would finally get to meet our
little, baby Viking. Hopefully, she was right.
"I feel like a house," Pamela suddenly complained.
"If it helps... you only look like a cottage."
Pamela's wicked gaze snapped into a smile. "I love you."
"I know." Kristanna pulled the bulk of her long, luxurious
blonde hair behind her back and stepped close to offer Pamela
a reassuring kiss on the forehead as we strode into the
examination room. "I'm so proud of you. I love you so much,
Pamela, and am so happy you agreed to go through with this
second pregnancy after all the problems following your first."
Kristanna was referring, of course, to Postpartum Depression.
Pamela had a nasty case of it once Piper was born in 2014.
Once we got settled in, the nurse had Pamela change into a
hospital gown and the staff checked to see how she was
progressing. Pamela was dilated to a four, nearly a five.
That was borderline for being admitted into the hospital.
The nurse informed us that they were going to wait an hour
to see if she progressed any further. If not, they would
then call her primary doctor back in Sandvika and ask if he
wanted her to stay and be admitted or not.
As a precaution, they wheeled Pamela off to the labor and
delivery ward where, as luck would have it, her primary nurse
turned out to be... Scarlett. Yes, Scarlett - our wife -
still very much employed here as a labor and delivery nurse
at the hospital, who was in the middle of one of her infamous
3:00pm to 3:00am shifts. We originally met Scarlett here on
July 29, 2014; she was Kristanna's nurse when Kaden was born.
Scarlett kept her personal life separate from work, though,
and only one of her co-employees (a close friend of hers) knew
that she was married to us. Scarlett still used her maiden
name too, by the way. No one throughout the delivery ward
knew that she was a part of our family, and we intended on
keeping it that way. Obviously, we wanted Scarlett to help
deliver our baby. Scarlett said she really pushed her boss
to be Pamela's primary nurse, claiming "...that guy she is
with is really kind of cute, and I like him."
Once the hour had gone by, Scarlett checked Pamela again.
She was now dilated to a six, almost a seven. Scarlett rushed
out of the room and came back with an I-V telling us that not
only would Pamela be staying, but the baby was coming soon.
We made all of the necessary telephone calls. Pamela's
family - parents Tom and Carol, and sisters Paula and Candice -
had been staying with us from since before Christmas, and they
promptly began making their way to the hospital. Devon, Trish,
Lindsay and Amy wanted any and all updates, no matter how minor
or obscure, as they stayed home and looked after all the kids.
Everything started happening very quickly. Several members
of the staff began bringing in various pieces of equipment.
Pamela was actually in a little state of shock; this was the
real deal! Peyton was going to be born very, very soon!
But two hours later, the mood was very different.
Pamela was propped up in her hospital bed, shivering, with
a heated blanket pulled up to her neck. I was standing beside
her, holding her hand, while Kristanna was off to the side
with a video camera, documenting everything. Pamela had an
oxygen mask on and was not in the best of shape.
"I just hurt," she sobbed.
"Squeeze my hand," I told her. "Squeeze it."
"Okay."
"Why don't you let them give you the epidural?" I asked.
Pamela originally did not want to have an epidural; a long,
thin needle that would be placed into her lower back, and
pump numbing medication into her that would greatly alleviate
the pain and extreme discomfort of labor. She wanted to try
and give birth without it.
Finally, though, she caved in.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Pamela cried, succumbing to
the pain, when the doctor asked her (and strongly suggested)
for probably the tenth time if she wanted an epidural. The
anesthesiologist was summoned, but was busy with another
patient at the moment. He would be here soon. Poor Pamela;
she could not withstand any more of the discomfort.
"Make a tight fist and keep it that way for me?" Scarlett
asked Pamela, prepping the back of her hand for an I-V.
"I'm going to have a contraction. Can you wait a minute?"
Scarlett nodded. "Tell me when."
"You're doing so good, honey," I praised Pamela, caressing
her forehead with my palm. "So good, keep it up."
"Can you scrunch into a pike or fetal position for me?"
the anesthesiologist asked Pamela moments later. "On your
side? All it is, is a little tube, that we put into the base
of the epidural." I knelt down beside Pamela and held both
hands and watched as tears just streamed from her eyes while
the anesthesiologist did his thing. Pamela had been dead-set
on not getting an epidural beforehand, but simply could not
proceed without it when push came to shove.
Kristanna passed me more tissues to dab at Pamela's eyes
and face. "That wasn't so bad, I guess," Pamela relented.
Dr. Reitan was the longest-tenured physician in the labor
and delivery ward at the hospital and, amazingly, he told us
that Peyton would be baby number 7,447 he would deliver. It
should also be noted that Dr. Reitan was the one who oversaw
and delivered Ariel, my daughter with Kristanna, ten months
ago when she was born four weeks premature. Ariel had a few
complications, but she ultimately turned out perfectly fine,
so I had total trust in Dr. Reitan and his abilities. Not
surprisingly, he did not seem to remember Kristanna or I.
How could he if he had done this 7,446 times before?
However, Dr. Reitan also had a student doctor with him,
and Peyton would actually be the first child that she helped
deliver. How cool is that?
"This machine will give you a constant fusion to help you
and keep giving you medicine until the baby is here," the
anesthesiologist told Pamela.
"Sometimes labor can be painful and really awful, but when
your baby is born, it was worth it, right?"
"Yeah, it's totally worth it," Pamela answered Scarlett.
The numbing medication literally took effect immediately.
Pamela felt much more relaxed and at ease and, when she was
checked next, she had dilated to a seven. Scarlett ran an
ultrasound test, keeping a close eye on the baby.
"I'm feeling so good," Pamela said an hour later, resting
on her side. "I just feel like a million bucks right now."
"Like you could do this a thousand times?"
"Yeah, I feel like a baby-making machine pretty much," she
said to Kristanna. "Oh, I love these drugs they gave me. I
don't know what they are, but I love them." Pamela glanced
over at Scarlett and grinned at her once no other staff were
present in our room. "I feel so lucky that I actually got to
have you as my nurse, Scar-Scar. I love you so much, and you
being here to help deliver Peyton makes his birth - this whole
experience - all the more special. It makes it magical."
"Oh, I'm glad too, honey," Scarlett assured her. "You're
doing great! I love you as well."
"I can feel you touching something."
"You're at an eight now. I'm touching your cervix."
Exhausted and loopy, Pamela broke out into a wild rage of
laughter and looked over at me. "Jeremy, I'm at an eight!"
"I'm going to get you another warm blanket like I've been
promising," Scarlett announced.
"You're going to have a baby in no time!" Lindsay exclaimed
moments later over speakerphone.
"How are you feeling?" Trish inquired.
"I feel good. I can't believe it, but I feel like a million
bucks. I feel so much better after the epidural."
"I thought you would ultimately get one," Devon said.
"It's so awesome because I have the best nurse ever."
"We're so excited here at home!" Amy chirped. "Keep us
updated, guys! Piper is fast asleep, but says that she wants
to meet her baby brother first thing in the morning!"
"Will I get to hold my baby right away?" Pamela asked Dr.
Reitan an hour later, when the time was almost at hand.
"Ideally, yes," he responded. "We're going to move really
fast; we will suction his nose and make sure his breathing is
okay. A trained, specialized team will watch him for a few
minutes to make sure everything is okay and, if all is well,
your baby boy will be back with you. It's a precaution on
our part, but you really don't want to have that meconium
aspiration syndrome. It's like a pneumonia thing. It's a
bad deal. Hopefully little Peyton comes out crying - that
means his lungs are probably in good shape and his airway
clear - and I'll bulb syringe him real quick, the team will
monitor him, and get him up on your chest as soon as possible."
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is a neonatal, delivery
room complication that can happen before, during or after
labor when a newborn inhales a mixture of meconium and amniotic
fluid (the fluid in which the baby floats inside the amniotic
sac). The inhaled meconium can partially or completely block
the baby's airways. Although air can flow past the meconium as
the baby breathes in, the meconium becomes trapped in the
airways when the baby breathes out. The meconium irritates
the baby's airways and makes it very difficult to breathe.
Unfortunately, the hospital staff - through the wonders of
science - had detected a small amount of meconium in Peyton's
lungs. Scarlett insisted that we not worry, however, and we
tended to trust her. She claimed that very few of these cases
were ever severe, and there was simply not enough of the
buildup within Peyton's lungs to be too concerned about.
Plus, there seemed to be no undue stress for Peyton right now.
He was going through his own personal progression quite nicely.
Kaylee, Lindsay's baby, had the same condition when she was
born. It was a scare at first, yes, but all turned out fine.
"It's nice to be prepared and know ahead of time that there
is meconium so that we have that extra, specialized help, and
almost never is it an issue," Dr. Reitan said. "But it is
nice to have the folks here just in case."
"You are at a ten," Scarlett announced at 1:52am on January
5, 2017. What was astounding was today, believe it or not,
was Pamela's 34th birthday. Pamela was going to give birth to
Peyton on the very same date she was born back in 1983.
Pamela squealed in delight. "That's crazy! A ten!"
"So start pushing?"
"Yes," Dr. Reitan said to Scarlett.
"I'm going to take out your catheter and we're going to
talk about pushing, and bring that baby into the world."
Scarlett had done this with others so many times in the past,
it was all second nature to her. "Okay, first off, let's
make sure that you're as comfortable as you can be."
Pamela and I would sit together alone at night in the weeks
and days leading up this, and we would both talk to Peyton.
Simply speak our mind; say whatever was in our hearts, as he
nurtured and grew within her womb. As Pamela soon began to
push and enter the final, most difficult stage of labor, I was
vividly reminded of those talks.
One thing that I had stressed to Peyton was that above all
else, above anything he ever did in life as he enters our
family and grows up in it, he needs to respect his mom. That
is something that is very important to me. Others respect
Pamela and I certainly try my absolute best to do the same.
That is the ONLY thing which I ask that Peyton does - is that
he respects his mom, and does whatever he can to help her.
Pamela is pretty special. Being able to see her overcome
Postpartum Depression the way she did - absolutely refuse to
have a second child in fear of it happening again, only then
to change her mind after some loving coaxing and prodding
from Kristanna and yours truly - and then to see everything
she had been through in the past nine months. It was really
impressive, and made me love Pamela even more.
I thought back on my own childhood and growing up, and I
just wish that I had respected my own mother more. Just kids
are dumb, they make mistakes, but now that I'm grown up and a
father myself, that is the one thing I would tell Peyton - he
needs to respect his mom. I tell that to all of my kids.
Kaden, Piper, Dani Grace, Jackson, Kaylee, Ariel, Dylan. They
need to love their mom and treat her like the angel she is.
"And push!" Scarlett coached Pamela, who had me holding one
of her hands, and Kristanna the other. "Deep breath. One,
two, three... there you go! That's the way! Four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten! There you go!"
"So close, you're doing so good, baby!" Kristanna sobbed,
tears in her own eyes, kissing Pamela's hand.
"Push again! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten. That's the way! That was a good set of
pushes, baby is doing great."
"So we're going to keep pushing, baby is doing fantastic,"
Dr. Reitan agreed. "Great set of pushes, that last set. Now
Pamela, if I think it will help the baby, and help you not
tear, are you okay if I do a small episiotomy?"
"I would rather you not," Pamela responded.
"The main reason I think about it is if it helps him come
faster for any dips in the heart. Let's not think about that
now, and have you push again. I'll try to really get this
petition to stretch for you. And push!"
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."
"Okay, good work! Deep breath, and go again!"
Surprisingly enough, Pamela did not seem to be in any sort
of extreme pain or discomfort. She was not really breathing
hard or grunting heavily after each set of pushes, which was
very unlike when Piper was born. Back then, she was very loud
and emotional. Perhaps Pamela was an old pro at this by now?
"You're a champion!" Kristanna whispered, leaning down and
getting right in Pamela's face. "It's so easy for you - look
at you - you're laughing, and you're about ready to have a
kid. This is so surreal right now!"
As delivery time came closer, though, Pamela's defenses
broke down and she began to show some discomfort.
"Look at that!" Pamela's mother, Carol, said. "I think
his hair is blond... just like his mama's."
"...eight, nine, ten. I know you can do this, Pamela.
I know you can. You're doing so great! He's almost here.
C'mon, Pamela. One more time... make it happen!"
And with one final, excruciating set of pushes, Pamela
cried out at the top of her lungs... and our baby was born.
"You better sit down," Scarlett told me, fearful that the
emotion of the moment may actually cause me to fall over and
faint. "Sit down, Jeremy! Sit down! Sit down!"
"Oh, Pamela!" Kristanna wailed. "Oh, there he is! He's
just a tiny, little guy!"
"So you remember, we're just gonna take him over there
first to clean him and check him out," Dr. Reitan said, as
the magical sound of my newborn son crying - and crying very
loudly, I may add - filled my senses. I watched as the good
doctor and a group of four specialists all frantically worked
on Peyton to ensure that he did not have a severe case of
meconium aspiration syndrome. With my bearings back, I stood
and walked over to watch them as Kristanna held and comforted
Pamela in the background.
As it turned out, Peyton was cleared to meet his mother.
"Oh, look at him!" Pamela openly sobbed, her arms extended,
as Dr. Reitan put Peyton atop her chest and shoulder for some
skin-to-skin contact. "Look at him! Oh my goodness, look at
him! Jeremy, look at him!" Pamela planted her first kiss on
the crown of Peyton's head. "He's so tiny! He's even smaller
than Piper's favorite baby doll."
Kristanna was beaming beside her. "He looks like Jeremy,
honey, but he has your hair."
Peyton was still crying, but no one could wipe the smile
from Pamela's face right now. Nor stop the endless flow of
love gushing from her heart. "I can't believe he's mine!"
"He knows who you are," I nodded at Pamela, smiling as
well. "He's starting to settle down. He can hear you, he
can smell you, he can tell that you're his mommy for sure.
And it's very reassuring to him."
"He's so cute!"
"He is adorable," Kristanna agreed with Pamela. "Melt
your heart cute. Oh, congratulations Pamela! And Jeremy!"
"Look at his hair," I commented. "He has so much hair."
Pamela laughed. "Like a little spring chicken, all fuzzy!
Oh, look Jeremy! He has your nose! I told you... we saw
that in the ultrasound. His nose looks just like yours!"
She started becoming emotional again. "He's so sweet! Oh,
everything I have been through... it's been so worth it."
"Look at his eyes!" Kristanna exclaimed. "They're wide
open, Pamela, and he's staring straight up at you! Oh, he
loves his mom. He loves you so much, Pamela."
"I love him too!" She splayed a series of gentle kisses
all along his face and head. "I love you, Peyton! I love
you so much! Oh, you're so adorable!"
Peyton Jeremy [Last Name] - 5 pounds, 11 ounces
Born January 5, 2017 at 2:14am - Oslo, Norway
** As healthy as we could hope for **
* * *
"Hi!" Pamela said several hours later, probably around
10:00am, her eyes focused on our two-year-old daughter as
Devon brought her into the hospital room for her first-ever
visit. "Piper! Oh, I've missed you so much. Piper, guess
who's here? Do you want to meet baby brother?"
"Look at her face!" Devon laughed. "She's speechless!"
"Piper, look," I encouraged her. "That's Peyton. Do
you want to say hello to him?"
Devon placed Piper atop the hospital bed but, instead of
going to her mother and newborn brother, she made a beeline
for the tray of breakfast food on the other side. It was a
funny moment that made us all laugh, indeed, but we were
able (through some more coaxing) to get Piper to stop being
so shy, and actually warm up to Peyton. All it took was a
few minutes, and she was kissing his head repeatedly.
"Can I hold him?" Devon asked.
"Of course you can!" Pamela giggled in response. And with
that, Devon placed Piper beside Pamela upon the bed, and
gently swooped Peyton up and into her arms.
"Hi!" Pamela greeted Piper, kissing her on the head. "Is
that baby brother? Is that baby Peyton?" Piper nodded her
head and tossed her arms around Pamela's stomach. "Oh, I
missed you so much since yesterday, honey. It's so good to
see you again! Did you behave for Devon? The others?"
"Yeah."
"Tell Mommy what you and Amy made last night."
Piper gasped at Devon, but then looked at Pamela. "Cookies!"
"Cookies?" Pamela exclaimed. "You made cookies?"
"All by myself!" Piper fibbed.
"Amy helped you," Devon corrected her. "Your favorite type
of cookies, Pamela - snickerdoodles - for when you get home in
a few days. Amy and Piper made a HUGE batch of them." Devon
kissed Peyton's cheek. "Oh, he is so precious!"
"Thank you SO MUCH, Piper!" Pamela smiled. "Oh, I love
snickerdoodles! And you made them for me? Thank you!"
"You welcome."
"Peyton is doing SO good," Pamela told Devon. "He is
nursing like a champ, and the doctors seem to think that
infection he had is now a thing of the past."
"Daddy!" Piper suddenly erupted, hopping up and then
throwing herself into my awaiting arms.
Kristanna, who had been literally glued to Pamela since she
gave birth in the overnight hours, looked up at Devon. "Devvy,
let Pammy hold Peyton, and then have Jeremy get in right next
to them with Piper. Let's get a picture of all four of them
together. Can you smile, Piper, and kiss your baby brother
for the camera? Yeah, that's it... kiss your baby brother.
Yeah, give me a big smile while doing it!"
Soon, more visitors would arrive. Trish, Lindsay and Amy,
Kristanna's parents, even Amy's parents. Our good friends,
Mike, Carolyn and Barbara. All of them, no doubt, wanting to
hold and treasure Peyton, get a photograph with him. We were
going to hold off on introducing Peyton to his other (half)
brothers and sisters until he went home in a few days.
"How are YOU feeling, Pamela?"
"I feel great," she said to Devon. "I mean, I've never
felt better. This is so different than last time after Piper
was born." She slinked an arm around Kristanna and pulled
her close for a kiss on the cheek. "I have my guardian angel
with me. Krissy won't let anything bad happen to me."
Peyton was baby number eight for me. How many men out
there can say that they fathered eight children in the span
of two and a half years? Not only that, but they also lived
with each of them and his or her mother, and both saw and
cared for them on a daily basis? Not many, I am sure.
In fact, I could very well be the only.
Many people are actually quite shocked at the size of my
family. I have seven wives and eight children now, with more
on the way. Four amazing, beautiful daughters, and four
handsome, incredible sons... that is what I am blessed with
thus far in my life. Some people even ask me, how could I
love that many wives and treat them with the care and the
attention they need? How could I love eight little children?
Be the father for them that they need?
To me, those were such silly questions. Love is not, and
never should be, divided. Love is multiplied.
I have loved writing this story for the past three-plus
years and sharing my personal journey with you, the reader.
From the very first chapter until now, 116 chapters later,
I hope you have seen how deep my love truly is for all of my
wives. For my children, for my family. I am in love with
Kristanna, Pamela, Devon, Trish, Lindsay, Amy and Scarlett,
desperately, madly; and cannot wait for the chance to say
those three magical words to them each day in person.
From voyeuristic recluse to proud husband and father, my
life has changed so much since 2013.
The story may be ending in its current, readable form, but
it is not finished. It will never be finished. There are
many blank pages that I hope to fill in together with my
wives as we continue to live out our own romance novel in
real life throughout the coming months and years.
"Just think," Amy told me later that evening, when I held
and comforted Peyton in my arms within the hospital room,
"you get to do this all over again, Jeremy, in May with Trish
when she has her next baby! Oh, I love our family so much."
Devon took a deep breath and smiled triumphantly, happily,
placing both hands upon her abdomen and rubbing it tenderly.
"And with me too, Jeremy, since our baby is due in July."
I smiled at Devon as a sense of pride and love began to...
Oh, wait! Silly me; I suppose I forget to tell you.
Devon is finally pregnant now too, having broke the news to
us last week. Talk about a mad house of happy screams and cries
once she came home from a routine doctor visit and told us.
Kristanna was so overjoyed, I thought my eardrums would shatter.
She went running throughout the house like a raving lunatic!
Indeed, true love multiplies... it never divides.
<<<- THE END, of Island Fever 6: Sanctuary ->>>
==---- -- -- -- - --- -- -- - - --- -- -- --- - -- - - - - --- -- ----==
"Island Fever 6: Sanctuary"
(c) 2017 JeremyDCP
- JeremyDCP@hotmail.com
Feedback is always appreciated!