Ethan stood.
“What’s wrong?”
Nobody gave him a clear answer.
One of the staff members gently moved him farther from the bed.
“Sir, we need some room.”
“Is my wife okay?”
He looked desperately between me and the medical team.
“Please. Just make sure they’re both okay.”
After that, my memories became scattered.
Bright lights.
Urgent voices.
People moving around me.
And then darkness.
At 3:17 that afternoon, our daughter Lily was born.
Healthy.
Breathing normally.
And crying loudly enough that one of the nurses smiled.
“She already knows how to make herself heard.”
When I was fully awake again, morning light was coming through the hospital window.
Lily was asleep beside me.
I carefully lifted her from the bassinet and held her against my chest.
I immediately started crying.
After all the waiting, worrying, and hoping, she was finally here.
I was still recovering from a long, exhausting delivery when my husband finally walked into the hospital room and leaned over our newborn daughter.
