Jake awoke to the buzzing in his pocket. When he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he noticed the Miri was no longer in his lap and that someone had laid a blanket over him. He fished his phone out of his pocket and lay back against the back of the back of the chair. “Hello?” he asked sleepily.
“Dr. Draiman, this is Dr. Carver”, said a young man’s voice. “The lab is locked and we need in so that we can finish the research in your absence.”
“Mmhmm, ok. Do what you’ve got to do”, Jake responded with a yawn as Miri started crying to be fed. “I’ve got to go. My newborn daughter wants to eat. Do whatever you want to do. Good bye.”
“Good bye, Dr. Draiman and congrats.”
“Yeah, ok.” Jake said and hung up his phone. After shoving it back in his pocket, he stood and walked over to the incubator that held his little angel. “Shh, Miri. It’s okay. Daddy’s here. I’ve got you.” He took her out of the little bed and checked her diaper before grabbing one of the premade bottles of formula, screwing on a nipple, and putting it in her mouth. As she drank the warm liquid, he smiled at her. “There you go, baby girl. Drink up and get big and strong so that we can take you home.” He bounced her a little bit in his arm as she sucked down the bottle. When he tried to take it from her, she cried. “Hold on, Little Miss demanding. Let me ask the nurse if it’s ok to give you the whole bottle.” His eyes searched for a nurse. When he found one, he spoke. “Nurse.”
She turned. “Yes, sir?”
“She wants the rest of the formula. Is it ok to give it to her?”
“You’re a first time Daddy, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I have no idea what I’m doing and my parents are busy with my other siblings right now or I’d call them.”
“Give her what she thinks she can drink. If she can’t drink too much more, then take it from her. Just let her drink her fill. The more she drinks, the stronger she gets and the more quickly she goes home.”
He stuck the bottle back in his daughter’s mouth. “See, little one? That’s all it took.” He looked back at the nurse. “Thank you.”
“No problem”, she said with a smile.
He smiled down at the little girl in his arms. “I can’t wait for you to meet your Mama. You look a lot like her, but you have my nose though.” He placed a kiss on her nose. When she finished her bottle, he put her on his shoulder and patted her back gently until she got up the gas in her little tummy. “There you go, sweetheart.” He gave her another kiss, then laid her back in the incubator. “By the way, I’m sorry about not putting you back in here last night. I couldn’t move from my chair. I hope you’ll forgive me.” After leaving her another kiss on her little head, he closed the incubator. “I’m gonna go check on Mama now and see if she’s ok. If she’s feeling up to it, I’ll bring her down here so that she can meet you. And, maybe she’ll even get to hold you. You’re going to be so spoiled by the time we get you home.” He chuckled and walked away.
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Jessi had been wearing a shit eating grin since she got home with her mother the night before. She’d gotten to hold her little niece. Every time one of her brothers or sisters asked what the little girl was like she just winked and told them, “Don’t worry. You’ll get to see how precious she is eventually. Just you wait.”
When they left for the hospital late that morning, she had to put in her iPod to block out the whining of her older siblings; including her twin brother. She turned on her music, pulled out her Kindle digital reading pad, and ignored her brothers and sisters all the way to the hospital. She was certain that she’d be hearing more about it when they met up with Malachai and Mandy, and Jordan and her new girlfriend Davina- a pretty Polynesian girl. She couldn’t figure out why her siblings were so damn jealous. Jake would let them all hold her at some point. She just happened to be there and asked. But, she was also sure that if her brothers and sisters made too much of a stink about it, Jake would tell them all to shut the hell up and go to hell. They could all wait until little Miriam came home for good and he would decide if they got to hold her then. Jacob, like their father, didn’t play around.
When they walked into Delilah’s hospital room, they found that she and Jacob weren’t there. “I wonder where they could have gone”, Makayla asked.
“I’ll tell you right now where they are”, Brie said to her daughter. “They’re in the N-ICU with Miri. They’re trying to get her set up on a feeding schedule.”
“Then what do we do?” Marc asked.
“We wait, Marc Christopher”, David said sternly. “Now, sit yourself down and be patient.”
Marc huffed, but did as he was told. Jessi looked over at him and pulled one of her ear buds from her ear. “Dude, just chill. Relax. Why do you think I told you to bring something to read with you? This place is boring as hell.”
“I know, Jess, but I want to go hold Miri. You got to hold her.”
“Because Jake was feeling generous and Delilah was passed out from the pain meds. What are you whining about, Mr. Centerfield and captain of the Jr. Varsity baseball team? You’ll get to hold her at some point. You have to keep in mind, though, that Jake probably hasn’t slept and isn’t going to put up with ANYONE getting shitty, except MAYBE Mom and Dad.” She pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair and fixed the mess of curls on her head and she turned back to the novel she was reading for AP Lit. for the next school year. She was bound and determined to get a good grade in that class. If she could walk out with an A she’d be a happy camper.
Jake and Delilah came back into the room. Jake was pushing Delilah in a wheelchair. He looked like hell. “There are WAY too many people in here. I have to be able to maneuver to get Lilah back into the bed and I can’t do that with everyone crowded in here like that. If my younger siblings could do me the HUGE favor of clearing out for just a moment, it would be greatly appreciated.” They did just that. It took a little bit, but Jake managed to get Delilah back in bed with minimal problems.
Brie looked at her daughter in law. “So, how did you like holding your daughter for the first time?” she asked as the kids trickled back in.
“It was a little surreal. I mean, yeah, she was right there and solid in my arms but I still can’t believe she’s here”, Delilah said, her eyes tearing up a bit as she spoke.
Jake kissed her cheek. “But you were brilliant with her, baby. She knew you right away.” He looked at his parents. “When we got in there and got Delilah and I scrubbed in, Miri started fussing. When we got into the room with the incubators, I took her out and handed her to her Mama. She calmed down and stopped fussing as soon as she was in Delilah’s arms. When she started fussing again, Delilah instinctively gave her a breast. It took no time for Miri to learn that that’s where the food is REALLY supposed to come from.”
“Have they tried sticking a pacifier in her mouth yet?” David asked.
“Not yet, and that’s because I’ve asked them not to. Should she start crying, I want to be informed so that either I can go down there or I can take Delilah down there to comfort her.”
Delilah put a hand on his arm. “Baby, I’m really tired. Those meds are still kicking my ass. I’m going to get a nap. Wake me when it’s feeding time for Miri again.”
He kissed her hair and smiled. “Of course, love. Get some rest.” He turned his attention to his parents, silently asking if they could move everyone out of the room and into the waiting room so that Delilah could get some sleep. They nodded and had all of their children move out so that their sister in law could rest.
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“Jake, when are you going to let the rest of us see Miri?” James asked.
“Later. She needs to spend some time in the incubator before I take anyone down there. She’s still pretty small and though she’s making progress, too much stimulation could be detrimental in the long run.”
“But, Jessi got to hold her last night”, Meagan complained.
“After she’d been in the incubator for a couple of hours. Keep whining and no one gets to hold her until we get her home and I mean that. The ONLY exceptions to that are Mom and Dad. Now, try me, Leann.”
Meagan leaned back in her chair and pouted.
“So, when are they going to let you guys keep her in the room?” Brie asked.
“I don’t know yet. The good news is that she’s got a hell of an appetite and she’s gaining weight. She’s almost 5lbs now. She eats like a Draiman”, Jake laughed.
“Good, she has a healthy appetite”, David chuckled. “That means when she started eating solid food and she has teeth, she can eat Gramma’s cooking.”
“And Grampa’s, for that matter”, Brie laughed melodically. When she stopped, she asked, “Has she grown any?”
“Maybe a quarter of an inch. She’s going to be a tiny little thing like you, Maddie, and Lilah are. She won’t get taller than 5 foot if she reaches that at all. She’s barely over a foot right now.”
“The little ID card said 15 inches, right?”
“Yep. She’s about 15 ¼ inches now. They want her to be about eighteen inches by the time we take her home.”
“And about how long do they estimate for that?” David asked.
“A month at the outside. If she keeps progressing like she is, then they might let us take her home earlier than that. Her neonatologist, Dr. Firestein, is fairly certain that we might get to take her home early. Of course, that’s pending any complications that might pop up.”
“Well, was she healthy when she was born other than being premature?” Brie asked.
“For the most part. She’s on oxygen, as you both know.”
“Is she breathing any better?”
“Better and better every hour.”
“Soon she’ll be breathing totally on her own?” David asked.
“That’s what her doctor says.”
“Then we should be seeing you all at home in about two weeks because something tells me that Delilah was further along than we know. Miri’s only about a month early and not a month and a half”, was said, giving her son a look.
“The OB/GYN estimated her conception date to be two weeks after the wedding.”
“And I’m saying to you right now, I think she was conceived on your wedding night.”
---------------
Jake decided to spend a little more time with his wife rather than run his siblings to and from the N-ICU. If he had to go he’d take one of them or one of his parents with him unless it was feeding time. That’s when he’d take Delilah. Though pushing the wheelchair hurt his back, he still did it with a smile in his face. When they got back home he’d be at her beck and call until the cast came off. After that he’d help her get up and around again. His wife was much like his mother in that she couldn’t stand not being active. It drove them both batty.
Upon returning with Delilah and getting her back in bed, Jake had to break up a fight amongst his siblings. His parents were trying but noting they said would put an end to it. He could see that he needed to step in because it was obvious that they were arguing over who went down to the N-ICU next. When he stepped out of the room, his face said that he meant business. “Enough!” he barked quietly. “If you guys don’t straighten up and act like you’ve got some common sense, NO ONE else will go down to see Miri and I’ll have Mom and Dad take you all home. I do NOT have to tolerate this. You’re all shouting like you’re at home. This is a hospital. There are people who are sick here. In the ward we’re in there are women recovering from having babies over the last few days, Delilah included. Show some respect and keep it down or find somewhere else to make your noise and have your fight.”
“We’re sorry Jake”, Jeremiah said, the fact that he was ashamed of himself evident in his voice.
“Don’t apologize to me, ‘Miah. Apologize to the women in these rooms that you guys have been bothering with your arguing.” He sat in one of chairs and covered his face with his hands with a sigh.
“What’s the matter, bro?” Jordan asked, tearing herself away from Davina to talk to her twin.
“I’m tired, Jord. I’ve been here for over 24 hours. I fell asleep with Miri in my lap last night. I positioned my legs to make a cradle, laid her there, and passed out from exhaustion. This is like one of those nightmares that no matter how hard you try to wake yourself from it, you can’t. The only bright spots are that my wife isn’t very badly hurt and that my daughter is healthy.”
“Why don’t you try to focus on those positives instead of thinking of this as a nightmare, Jake?”
“Because I’ve gotten no sleep, Jordan. My body’s decided to go into the emergency reserves of energy to handle this as it would if I were working a multiple.”
“I’m still trying to figure out why medicine.”
“Because I share Mom’s passion to heal people, Jord. That’s the path I chose. You and Malachai, much like Dad, empower people. Not my gig. I love music, but I want to help people and try to have some semblance of a normal life away from the limelight.”
“You don’t think my life is normal, Jacob?”
“I didn’t say that, Jordan. What you’re doing is normal for YOU. You thrive in the limelight. Onstage in front of millions is where you belong. Not me. I shine when I’m helping those men and women who have put their lives on the line to protect our civil liberties and have come back less than they were. That’s my niche.”
She nodded. “Here’s an idea. The next time it’s time for Miri to be fed, I’ll take Mom and Dad’s wristband and take Delilah down to the N-ICU, that way you can get a little bit of rest.”
He sighed. “It’s a good idea, Jord, and I could use the chance to close my eyes, that’s for sure. But, I don’t know if they’ll allow that in the N-ICU. Let me call down there to ask and I’ll get back to you on that.”
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