Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Being pregnant while having SCD is never an easy task. She had been through crisis upon crisis. She spent almost half of her pregnancy days in the hospital. It got to the point that Daada came to Qatar and took her to egypt with him, and there, she had her first ever blood transfusion. After that, she felt a better. Eventhough it happened sometimes.

She was in her first week in the ninth month of her pregnancy, and since Ummu heard that SCD can cause early unprepared childbirth, she had been sending her packages of home remedies. Some times it's islamic medicines while some times it's herbals.

She was seated on the sofa in their living room, they're going to start their second semester exams in year two. Sadeeq was in his third year already. She got pregnant when they were weeks away to start writing their first semester exams in her first year.

Ihsan was on call with Ummu, while zhe explained to her how she was going to use the medicines Sadeeq brought for her. Her face had swollen and she had pimples all over, which she always complained to Sadeeq for. She fondled her bulged belly and smiled, she had never loved anything like she had loved her baby.

"Ummu, what of this honey? It's just like the ones you've been sending?" She asked, moving her slightly swollen legs.

Ummu smiled and answered her, "Ihsan Habibti, you're yo use it just like the ones I've been sending. And also, that brown powdered medicine, you're to drink it every morning with milk or yoghurt." She kept explaining things to her and all Ihsan did was nodded her head at her.

They finished the call and Ummu gave the phone to Manal, whom told her how she couldn't wait for her to give birth so she could come to Qatar and take care of the baby. Ihsan could only laugh, because no one could be eager to see her baby as she could.

Sadeeq walked in the living holding his drawing materials, he couldn't wait to finish his assignment before exams came and his head would be bombarded. He found her seated, smiling at her phone. The last time he saw her thrilled was when Qamar gave birth to a baby girl, and now; whenever her baby is mentioned, she couldn't help but be excited.

He sat down on the sofa beside her and placed his materials on the table. She turned and smiled at him before she continued her phone call. When she was done, she turned and looked at him, "Sadeeq, let's go out on a walk. My legs are wobbly."

"Whatever you wish, Vardah. Has it moved today? Does it call my name often? You know, it loves me more than you." She smacked his shoulder playfully and he laughed. What irritated her the most was the statement Sadeeq found amusing, that their baby loved him the most.

"It has moved an hour ago, that kind of slow move, but it spoke to me that it wants nothing to do with you, I should get rid of you before it comes." She laughed at the painful face Sadeeq made and tried standing up. He helped her sat up and wore a big Hijab Ummu send in her numerous packages before she wore her slippers, which had now became the love of her life. She no more fancy any kind of shoe but a slipper, it made life easier for her.

He locked the house and together they began strolling with his hand in her hand. Her steps were slow, one step after the other. And how she was walking with her protruded belly, her left hand wrapped under her lower abdomen, she looked matured. Nothing sort of an 18 year old lady walking her life to 19.

"Sadeeq, what do you think I should do if I were to give birth during exams? I know I can't be able to endure that pain and still write an exam. And I also don't want to fail." She made a sad face, even though her face was covered fully in her hijab, some strands were still stubborn that they spilled out.

He pulled the strands back and squeezed her hand a little. He knew she was going through all this pain because of him and his baby. He wished he could take it away from her. She's so fragile to soak it all up.

"Your due date is on 18th September, and you're to finish your exams on 19th. I pray it waits until 20th, I truly don't want you to suffer two pains at a time. But I think while reading for the exams, start reading for the course you're writing its exams last, incase it comes impromptu."

Her face lit up a bit, "I think that's the best idea! I'll start reading for the last course. Baby you can wait for Little Mom to finish her exams first, right?" She smiled and fondled the surface of her stomach. She felt love filling her heart, all those empty ventricles being filled up with the love she had for Sadeeq and their baby.

This was the first time she called herself as little mom while addressing her baby. She still felt like she wasn't the one pregnant and in three weeks to come, she would be a mother. "What's the meaning of this Little Mom? A new name?" Sadeeq couldn't help but ask.

She chuckled, as he helped them sat on a bench to take a breath, she was exhausted from all the walking. They had walked a few blocks away from their apartment, it was quite a journey for her.

"I'm 18 Sadeeq, I still feel I'm young or rather; I'm still young. So Ummu is the actual Mom, She's my Mom, your Mom and will be his or hers. I'm the little mom, I know all I'll do is to give birth to this child, she'll do everything." She couldn't help but chuckle. Little Mom sounded so good to her.

"That makes me..?" He let his question trailed off, as he lifted up her right leg and began massaging it.

She flashed him a gratuitous smile and laughed a bit hard this time, pinching his cheeks, she said. "That makes you Little Dad you dummy, Abbu and Daada are the real Fathers. Ummu and Maama the real Mothers. We're just a subsequent."

"You are! But I'm not!" They kept arguing on their way back. Sadeeq wasn't ready to believe what Ihsan had said about them being the little parents while their parents are the real ones because they're still young and naive. And he kept arguing that he would be twenty very soon, she will be the only one in the 'Teen' line.

They began writing their exams, every time she was out of the exams halls she would meet Sadeeq waiting for her there. And on days the time clashed for them, she would get tons and tons of his messages. Smiling and with the help of Qamar, she would walk down the stairs and wait for him in one of the huts. Qamar's baby Yasmin was growing up to be one of the cutest kids Ihsan had ever seen, and every time they met, she had this urge to meet her own baby too.

When it was time for reading, he made sure she bathe and wore one of her preggy Mama shirts before they proceeded to their study room. She would read and whenever she was tired, he would massage her legs and wherever she said was paining her, made her something edible for her to eat, and she would get a thirty minutes to an hour nap on his laps as he read.

After every an hour, Maama or Ummu would call, asking her wether she had started experiencing any of the symptoms they told her, she would smile and say none. Even through their tight schedule with exams and all, they had never missed a single antenatal meeting with her doctor. Because for ladies with SCD, antenatal visits to the hospital is very essential.

Today she had been feeling this spasms of pain in her lower abdomen, but she had never linked them with childbirth. Because she had been experiencing that for almost a week now, only that it intensified for today. She had an interval for today, and by tomorrow, she would be done with her exams. She kept praying that her baby would wait for her ti finish before it came, not that she didn't want to see it. She had waited for nine months, a single day could do no harm.

They were in the study room, and Sadeeq had to force her before she took all the medicines Ummu sent to her and the ones doctor wrote for her. She kept complaining that it was drug abuse, she should either take Ummu's or the doctor's. Sadeeq didn't hear a word of it.

She was taking one of her breaks on his laps. Since when they started reading, she felt some unusual activities in her stomach but she choose to ignore. It kept intensifying and kept getting more and more excruciating. She couldn't hold it any longer, she looked up at Sadeeq, whom had his eyes fixed intently on his laptop as he read.

"Sadeeq... I think it's here." She managed to say between breaths, sitting upright, as beads of sweat beautified her forehead.

He turned and looked at her, her she was nibbling on her lower lips and her hands were clutching her lower abdomen, he knew it was there. Swiftly, he ran to her room and took the bag they had long prepared for the baby's arrival and also took out a hijab for her. He was some seconds to going nuts, because he could hear her whimpers and how she was painfully calling his name.

They made it to the hospital after 15mins of drive, and her water had already broke. The nurses rushed to her and she was taken into the labour room. Sadeeq did all things possible and begged those nurses to let him in, but they refused, saying he wasn't an official in the hospital.

He could hear how she was screaming at the top of her lungs, and it took an hour without any response from the doctor in there. He got up the creek, because he had stopped hearing any of her cries.

He went over to the door but the nurse blocked his way "I'm so sorry Mr, but you can't go in here. You just have to wait a little longer, ypur wife will be fine and the baby as well."

His eyes had turned bloodshot, he was infuriated and all he wanted to see was Ihsan, he didn't mind about the baby anymore. "To hell with the hospital rules! Give me way, I need to see my wife, I have to be by her side!" He thundered, and that was what freaked out the nurse and she moved aside, he was rushed into the room by a nurse after he put on the mask and slippers.

As he entered the room, his eyes were fixed on her face that was moving from left to right, she was in so much pain. He could see it. She was even tire of crying all she could do was nibble on her lower lip. He moved towards her and held her hand, wiping away the beads of sweat on her forehead.

"You can do this, Vardah. A little more pushes, and you're done, Little Baby will be here." He whispered into her eyes, and a tears rolled down her cheeks, painfully.

"I can't do it anymore, Sadeeq. I really can't." She wished she can, but it was getting more intense and more painful with each walk of the two hands of the clock.

Sadeeq was all by her side, hushing some words to her as well as encouraging her to push a little more. And exactly by 10:58pm she gave birth to her child. The coolness of their eyes. Their Little Baby. And finally, they could call themselves, Little Mama and Little Baba.

"Congratulations, Sir. It's a boy." His attention was not on the baby but on Ihsan since she gave birth to the baby, and his eyes didn't even wandered to where the baby was taken care of until the nurse came smiling at him and she was handing him a child. A new born baby and she called that baby his own. He nearly lost his balance while he stared at the little bundle of joy, mouth agape.