“Ugh. What did I eat,” Carrie wondered to herself as she heaved the remnants of her dinner. She had been feeling slightly nauseous approaching a week now and it just seemed to be getting worse. She knew that she should go to the doctor but having a husband who worked at the hospital made it easy to wait and just ask him when he got home from work. After dinner that night though, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, completely forgetting to ask her husband about her illness.
“Shane, I’ve not been feeling well. Do you think I could have the flu,” she accosted him as he came into the kitchen the next morning.
After feeling her lymph nodes and listening to her vitals, he gave her some news she hadn’t expected.
“Carrie, you don’t have the flu. I think we’re having a baby.”
“Oh my goodness. This is fantastic news. We weren’t even trying. I wonder what it will be; a boy or a girl? Is there a way to tell yet? When will it be due?”
Her questions came fast, like bullets…bam, bam, bam. He didn’t have the answers to most but had an appointment set up with an OB down at the hospital. Though he could tell she was excited, he was more than a little nervous. They barely had afforded the kitchen, the bedrooms were only furnished with a bed , and the single bathroom was already cramped between a working man, a teenager, and a fashionista. How much more cramped and expensive would it get when a baby came along?
Shane headed off to work while Carrie, mind suddenly overwhelmed with baby things, hurried to write her thank you notes. She needed to get those out before news of the pregnancy got out. If people thought we got married because of a baby, I’d be mortified! She knew that if the thank you notes arrived before the baby news, people would, hopefully, keep things mentally lined up as they should be.
It was so hard keeping a secret from everyone. She and Shane would joke together and make lists about baby names and things they would need but as soon as Tanner would walk in the room, they would quickly pretend to be making a grocery list or awkwardly stop the conversation about the pros and cons of Carrie quitting her job to stay home. It also seemed that this pregnancy may be a rough one. Even before she was showing, she was having achy backs and her morning sickness hadn’t eased up one bit.
Shane and Carrie decided to wait until she was showing to make their announcement to everyone. They didn’t want to jinx the pregnancy or have to explain if something went wrong. Of course, the first people they told were family. Carrie decided to host a dinner for both families and have everyone over to celebrate. Of course, considering her lack of cooking skills, she hired a caterer. No need to break the good news over burnt food.
As she straightened the house, she was dismayed by the large pile of clothes by the door. She was really going to have to convince Shane to get her a washer and dryer, especially with a new baby coming soon. Who knew how many onesies the baby would go through in a day? She quickly stashed them in her bedroom and waited for the first guest to arrive.
It was quite obvious to everyone upon arriving that Carrie and Shane were expecting the stork soon. Tanner, not completely as oblivious as his brother had thought, skipped the party, choosing to spend his time at the gym instead. Ever since figuring out the secret, he had spent more and more time away from home. Not because he wasn’t happy; he was, he just felt that he was in the way of things. He really needed to figure out what he was going to do so he could move out on his own when he turned 18.
“Dorothy, what are you doing,” Carrie asked her older sister who was scrubbing the bathtub.
“Cleaning. Obviously, it’s beyond your…capabilities at the moment,” she replied with a sneer.
“What is wrong with you? Why can’t you be happy for me?”
“Maybe if you had bothered to tell us before you were halfway done with this pregnancy. We’re your family and you can’t even share basic news with us. I told you about both my sons as soon as I found out.”
“Well Dot, that’s your prerogative. Shane and I wanted to keep things a surprise until we were well enough along. If you don’t like it, tough,” and with that she headed back out to the rest of her guests.
“Daddy, you’re going to be a grandpa” she exclaimed, giggling at the look on her father’s face. He certainly was a family man and she knew another grandchild would make him smile with excitement.
As he leaned over and felt her belly, he quizzed her on what books she had read and if they knew the gender of the baby yet.
“No, we decided to wait until the big day. A surprise, you know?”
They ate and danced and ate some more, all sharing stories of big moments. Goodwin told stories of each of his children’s births, telling them that there was no moment more precious than that for him.
Without a ton of money, Shane and Carrie didn’t have enough money to prepare a room for the baby so they set up a little corner in their room as the nursery. It wasn’t much; a crib and dresser with changing pad along with some much needed diapers and supplies. Since they were waiting for the birth to find out the gender of the baby, they had chosen a neutral green that either gender could grow into. Hopefully they would afford to get more as their child grew into a toddler.
“Shane, I don’t know how much longer I can wait,” Carrie exclaimed one night at dinner, about 33 weeks into her pregnancy.
“I know, I know. I am ready to meet our bundle of joy too.” Secretly though, Shane was praying for a promotion before the arrival of the newest Avendale. He couldn’t figure out how they would make everything work, especially when it came time for Carrie to start back at the salon.
Fortunately for Shane, his work ethic and brilliance were paying off. He was promoted to resident. That same night, Carrie went into labor. He rushed his wife to the hospital and waited and paced and waited some more while the labor proceeded, slowly.
He knew that first babies could sometimes be difficult but it was taking all of his self-control not to rush in and see what the hold-up was. What if something is wrong? Is Carrie okay? What about the baby? She’s early, what if the baby has to stay in the hospital? As always, Shane’s thoughts took to the worst when he was nervous. And the birth of his first child made him the most nervous and anxious he had ever been.
Finally, the doctor came out to announce that his girls were ready for him. Girls? He walked into the hospital room and was met with the site of his beautiful, yet tired wife and a perfect, pink bundle.
‘She’s a miracle, isn’t she,” Carrie asked, exhausted but perfectly euphoric.
Shane could just stare in awe at his lovely daughter. Shortly after, flowers starting arriving from family members and friends. Goods news sure did travel fast.
“Shane, what do you think about a name,” Carried queried, pulling him out of his reflections.
“I don’t know. I want something different and special, just like her.”
They started tossing names back and forth. None of the names they had previously chosen, before meeting their daughter seemed good enough. It was so hard to choose the name that their daughter would have throughout her life. Finally, they settled on Uviana though, within minutes, they were already calling her Uvie. As they packed up to leave, Shane realized that he had remembered Carrie’s hospital bag with change of clothes but he was still in his pajamas. Oh well. He had to be at work in a few hours anyway and, luckily, had some scrubs in his locker here. He walked his precious family out, making sure they got safely in a cab since he didn’t have time to go home and then come back.
Ever since being promoted to resident, Shane seemed to be on call all the time. He would get home from work late in the evening to find his wife painting or resting in bed, his daughter fast asleep in her crib. It was a rarity to even get to kiss his wife hello in the evenings.
Exhausted, he would fall asleep only to be woken in the middle of the night by his beeping pager. His relationships with all of his family members seemed to be failing because of it but, with Carrie staying home with Uvie now, he really needed to keep bringing in the money.
Carrie was certainly no fan of her husband’s hours. She rarely got sleep as it was, though she certainly wasn’t complaining, so staying awake waiting up for her husband so they could spend time together or, heaven forbid, have an ‘adult’ evening was almost out of the question. One particular night, a few months after Uvie’s birth, she was feeling particularly interested in a romantic evening. Her doctor had finally given her the green light to make love to her husband again and she was determined to stay awake. She made sure to take a late nap and, right before Shane was scheduled to be home, she took and shower and began preparing for her seduction.
Walking into the bedroom to wait, she discovered Shane already asleep. “Oh, he must be so exhausted”, she thought but was figured that he certainly wouldn’t mind getting woken for what she had in mind. She was right. It seemed she had not been the only one willing to stay a little more exhausted for a little married fun.
Tanner jogged along the old bridge, not really seeing any of the scenery around him. He loved his niece but he was certainly felt in the way. The feeling had intensified since she had been born and every day as she grew bigger, he knew that the day would come when she would need her own room. How long could a child spend in her parents’ bedroom? With just over §300 in the house fund, Tanner knew that expanding the house for an extra bedroom was out of the question. They didn’t even have the rooms they had filled.He didn't know how much longer he could go on being a burden for his brother.
He jogged his way to the stadium. Earlier that week, exercising in the sports club gym at school, he had seen an announcement for another junior Olympics competition. If nothing else, it would at least get his mind off of the situation at home for a while as he sweated out the worries on the field.
Little did Tanner know at the time, but the house was going to get even smaller. Carrie was hit by an unexpected wave of nausea.
Having just become a mother in the past couple months, she hadn’t yet forgotten the horrendous experience of morning sickness. Is it possible that I could be pregnant again, so soon? Even though Uvie was still practically a newborn, Carrie couldn’t help feeling excited about being pregnant again. She would have to visit the doctor to be certain but, her newly developed mother’s intuition told her she was right.
She would wait though to talk to Shane about it. She knew that this new addition would probably bring him more stress than excitement with the way his work schedule was right now.
Two babies! Uviana is a beautiful name. I feel sorry for Tanner, he kind of feels like the third wheel...or I guess the fifth wheel now. =/
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