Chapter 6 Time to be Born (1/2)

”See you on the outside!!” Kylie managed to shout before she got stuck in the passage-way out.

Kylie felt a huge pressure at first upon her head, as the soft part at the top of her head was pushed in to accommodate going through the narrow passage way. Kylie closed her eyes instinctively, to shield them from the pressure and the bright light that would naturally come. It was a struggle at first, and she could hear screams and shouts with the doctor telling her Mother to push. Kylie could feel the pressure push her through once more.

Once her shoulders got through, it was like she popped out. From total darkness, bright lights burned into her eyelids and she shut them tighter. She took her first breath of air and wailed in protest. From being in a warm, safe place, she was out in the cold, bright place.

”It's a boy!!” The doctor yelled, as he then cut the umbilical cord, and made a neat tie. He handed Kylie to the waiting nurse before turning back and saying, ”One down, another to go. Push! You can do it!”

Kylie was wailing non-stop, as the nurse wrapped her up, weighed her then cleaned off the muck before wrapping her again in a clean blanket. Kylie was hardly paying any attention to all of this, and was anxiously waiting for the birth of her twin. She stopped for a while to listen anxiously, then started crying out again in agitation for the lack of sound.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she heard the doctor shout, ”YES! It's a girl!!” as another wail pierced the air.

Kylie stopped wailing for a while. ”A girl?! Darn twin. Wanting to surprise me even until then, huh?”

**********

The nurse was holding on to a small baby, swaddled in a blue blanket as she watched her fellow nurse taking the other baby to be weighed, cleaned and wrapped. Both of the babies were crying non-stop, and was brought to the waiting new parents whose faces beamed with pride. The small, petite woman looked utterly worn out as she waited. Her dark hair was wet, sticking to her face as she watched the two nurses with her babies. Beside her was a good-looking young man, who had the face of wonder and tears in his eyes as he looked at the two small bundles being carried over. He was holding onto his wife's hand at that time, and slowly let go as he reached over to take one into his arms. He gazed into the wailing baby's face with a smile, cooing and rocking him as he brought his son over to his beloved wife.

The other nurse placed the baby wrapped in a pink blanket beside the mother, under the crook of her arm. The couple looked at each other, then at the wailing babies in their hands. Initially, they were so full of awe and love for their babies that even the red, crying faces were beautiful. However, even after rocking them and soothing them, their cries did not stop. In fact, it was getting louder. They seem to struggle in the blanket that swaddled them, as if they were uncomfortable.

The new parents looked at each other in worry. Were they in pain? Was something wrong? The doctors looked on quietly for a minute, observing the situation before deciding that something might be wrong. They didn't want to alarm the new parents, however, so he signaled towards the attentive nurses who then came over to take the babies.

”Mr and Mrs Smith, let us take the babies for now. They need to be fed.”

”No, I want to breast feed them,” said the woman in determination. The nurses nodded, and explained, ”Do not worry. We will not bottle feed them but will give them some milk with a spoon first. This is so that they don't get used to the bottle and refuse to be breast fed. For now, however, you're too exhausted to feed, or pump any milk, so we will care for them first. Once you have recovered, you can start feeding them yourself.”

The man patted the woman's hand, and said softly, ”Listen to them, honey. It's okay.”

The woman nodded, agreeing reluctantly, her eyes showing displeasure nonetheless. The man then went closer to kiss his wife on the forehead, when at that moment, the twins bumped into each other. Each already had a hand out and their hands quickly grabbed the other, holding on tightly and they went quiet. The sudden silence in the whole room made everyone look at the entire scene in shock. Even the doctors had never seen such a phenomenon. Perhaps it was all a coincidence, and the babies holding on to each other's hand was a mere reflex action.

Shaking out of their stupor, the nurses then took the babies. This caused their held hands to be separated, and they started wailing again. This time, even louder than ever before. The nurses brought the babies together, and once they touched, they were quiet again.

”Put them together,” Patrick, the father of the twin instructed. The nurses nodded, and did as was told. Once the babies were lying down, they turned towards each other instinctively and held hands again.