All of Me

Chapter 1

"I can see the head." Joe beams down at me as my face scrunches up in pain as I struggle to push our baby all the way out. "You've got this baby, just one more push."

The doctor looks up at me, "I want you to push with everything that you have when the next contraction hits."

People always say that childbirth is easier the second time around but it has proven to be a lot more difficult for me. You usually give birth earlier when you're pregnant with twins so I was prepared to go through this again but I was not prepared for the intense pain that came with it.

Joe presses his lips against my temple as I let out whimper as the next wave of contractions hit.

"PUSH!" 

An unrecognisable sound leaves my lips as I use every strength that I have to push out our baby knowing that I can't give up on them while I'm crowning. I've read that childbirth can easily go wrong at any stage and my mommy instincts are quickly kicking in as I realise that I could put my daughter's life in danger.

Moments of silence fill the air as I fall slack before my heart is filled with complete joy as the room is filled with the sound of my baby crying.

"You did it, baby." Joe peppers my face in kisses as the nurse holds up our baby for us to see and a loud sob rips from my lips. "She's beautiful."

"One down, one more to go"

---

"Oh my God."  I open my eyes to see my mom walking into my hospital room with my sons who have their favorite toys in their hands. "Oh Amerie."

"Is mommy ok?" I hear one of them ask and I smile weakly at the sound of their voice. "Glamma."

I laugh weakly at the new nickname that my mother has them calling her. 

"Hey guys." My mother rushes over to me and we embrace in a hug before she helps me sit up as my dad stays at the door with the boys. "I'm fine."

She lightly cups my face, "No more babies for you."

"No more babies." I repeat as a tear falls down my face and my mom wipes it away. "You should let my husband know that too."

"Oh, I will." My mother adjusts my gown before letting her husband know that it's ok to let the boys inside the room. "You need to be careful with mommy."

"Ok glamma." Thomas looks at me weirdly while clutching his grandfathers hand. "Mommy?"

"Hey baby." My smile strengthens as I look down at my boys and they smile widely while holding up their toys. "You brought your toys to meet the babies?"

"Present." Joseph responds and it takes everything in me not to breakdown in tears at their selflessness. "For the babies."

"Hey Ams." Mark wraps his arms around me and I let out a small laugh as he gives my cheek a kiss. "How's my baby girl doing?"

"I'm doing good, dad." His eyes brighten at my words. "Thank you for coming."

Joe and I decided to keep the genders of the babies a secret simply because we wanted to surprise everybody.

"Where's dad and the kiddos?" My mom finally asks as I cuddle up to my boys who are both resting their heads on my chest. "Since you didn't want to tell us the gender, we filled up the home with all types gifts... in every color."

I laugh at her words.

"So, where are they?"

"We're right here." Everyone turns to watch Joe pushing one incubator into the room while Joelle pushes the other and my mom bursts into tears once she spots the color of their hats. "Are you ready to meet your new granddaughter and grandson?"