NOVEL NEXT One thing is for sure: giving birth the second time is a lot easier than you’d think.
I’m not lying, seriously.
Of course, right before giving birth, I still had some tummy aches, but it was bearable.
The actual process of giving birth was almost pain-free, right?
Painless delivery is divine, and modern medicine is definitely a gift from the heavens.
“I’m so glad the baby was born healthy.”
“Right?”
“Corbin was really worried lately, so I think it’s a relief.”
“…I could worry a bit, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
Corbin was truly worrying a lot.
Even though he had already experienced childbirth once, he treated me as if it was the first time I was pregnant and giving birth.
No, honestly, it was worse than the first time.
“Lindera didn’t seem to worry at all. So I kind of… overdid it.”
“You overdid it a lot.”
“Haha…”
It was a fact that Corbin was really anxious.
Well, I hardly worried after getting pregnant with the second one, so that was a fact too.
I kind of knew that there was really no need to worry, and it was much better to just relax.
After all, worrying too much when we already had Charlotte as our daughter wouldn’t be good for her.
There really was no problem at all, was there?
I truly had no issues with my body since getting pregnant with the second one.
In fact… I felt much worse during my periods than when I was pregnant.
“So how’s the baby…?”
“They’re being examined now, but everything seems fine. They said we shouldn’t worry too much from the beginning, right?”
“That’s true, but after childbirth, you never know.”
Really.
I couldn’t help but worry if something goes wrong.
I didn’t stress while being pregnant, but seeing that fragile little newborn after birth felt so different.
When the doctors laid my second daughter beside me for a moment, she looked so tiny.
Seeing her scrunched-up little face crying made it impossible not to worry.
“Anyway, I’m glad there are no issues.”
“And you? Are you okay?”
“Umm… I’m fine. I had painless delivery after all…”
“Then that’s good.”
I pretended like everything was perfectly fine to Corbin, but honestly, I wasn’t feeling great.
After all, I couldn’t feel fantastic right after giving birth.
“Umm… Corbin.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Have you decided on a name?”
“Of course, I’ve decided. How many times has Lindera talked to me about it?”
“Well, that’s a relief. As long as it’s not as bad as with Charlotte.”
“I really have decided, so don’t worry.”
“Yes, understood.”
Honestly, I had no worries about the name.
I had made my preferences clear plenty of times before.
There’s no way Corbin would’ve forgotten about names at this point.
If he did, I was ready to scold him.
“…Corbin? Why not go see the baby for a bit?”
“Huh?”
“They’re still probably being examined, but just go check on them.”
“Ah.”
I was purposely telling Corbin to go outside.
Actually, there was no real need to step out, and we didn’t have to go and hover around the doctors and nurses who were busy examining.
It might be good for the baby, but it would probably be annoying for the medical staff.
But… today was a special exception.
I intentionally told Corbin to step out.
“The baby might be waiting for you, right?”
“They’re probably just sleeping while being examined.”
“Anyway, I’m telling you to hurry. You probably might need to be a guardian, so just go and watch over them.”
“Got it… If anything happens, definitely call me, okay?”
“Yes, I know. I’m not an idiot, of course I would.”
With that, I pushed Corbin outside and lay quietly in my hospital bed.
Ugh… it hurts like hell.
Not to the point where I couldn’t stand it, but still, it hurt a bit.
“Ugh…”
Even though I had painless delivery and it wasn’t painful during the birth, I still didn’t feel great.
The process of giving birth… well, that’s how it is.
“Ah, man.”
I should’ve asked for more painkillers.
I really regretted it.
It wasn’t bad enough to make me cry, but it had been uncomfortable down there for a while now.
I was relieved that the baby was born healthy, but the pain was unavoidable.
By the second one, I thought that was enough; two kids seemed plenty.
“…Sigh.”
I pulled the blanket over my head and tried to rest comfortably.
Charlotte was being taken good care of by the boss and my mom, and Corbin was taking care of the second one.
So my job was to relax and recover my body by resting.
Of course, just a bit of sleep wouldn’t fix my condition instantly, but it still felt better than not resting at all.
I remembered when Charlotte was born; it took quite some time due to checks.
I figured I should try to rest and recover while I could.
But first…
…should I request just one more painkiller?
*
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Charlotte, if you bother your little sibling too much, they’ll cry again.”
“Cry?”
“Yeah, they’re fine now, but they cried a lot at first.”
“Okay…!”
After all the examinations were finished, the second one came back to my room inside a little cradle.
And in came Charlotte and Corbin, so the whole family was together.
Somehow… it felt good.
“Daddy, Daddy. But why does the baby look so scrunched up?”
“Charlotte looked like that at first too, you know?”
“Really?”
“Of course. Newborns always look scrunched up.”
“Ah…”
As she gazed at the second child, Charlotte had this shocked expression as if she had just discovered some profound truth.
I guess Charlotte was also scrunched up at first.
Sure, day by day she grew cuter, but…
“Charlotte, what do you think of the baby?”
“Umm… I don’t know!”
“Right?”
“Yup.”
“Probably by tomorrow or the day after, the baby will look cuter. You were like that too, right?”
I patted Charlotte’s head and said that.
After all, it was her first time seeing a newborn, so it was only natural to be fascinated.
The difference between a baby right after birth and the next day is definitely apparent.
When I see my second child tomorrow, I knew I’d definitely think they were cute.
Given how Charlotte was, I couldn’t help but feel that way.
“Corbin.”
“Yeah? Need something?”
“Not that, but it’s about time you revealed the baby’s name.”
“Now?”
“Yes, if not now, when? It’s not like we’re keeping the name a secret.”
Since the whole family was gathered, there was no reason to delay the name reveal any longer.
I just wanted to say it already.
In fact, I thought about saying it when Corbin and I were alone in the room, but Charlotte was there too.
I was just waiting for her to hear it together.
“I thought of names like Sophia, Victoria, Stella, and Ariana…”
“Thinking?”
“Even though Lindera told me to decide, I wouldn’t want to choose completely on my own.”
“…….”
I shot Corbin a side-eye, but it was already too late.
I had clearly told him to choose.
He was just considering names instead of deciding.
“…Sigh.”
There was no helping it.
He had already said he didn’t want to decide entirely on his own.
Besides, he had thought of four names, so I had no complaints.
In fact, I was kind of impressed that he came prepared more than usual.
“Charlotte?”
“Yup, Mommy.”
“Which name did Daddy say that you dislike the most?”
“The baby’s name?”
“Yeah, Daddy asked to name the little sibling but didn’t do it properly.”
“Bad Daddy!”
“Right?”
“Yup!”
Since Charlotte was there and had seen the second baby, I decided to ask for her opinion.
It wasn’t common to ask your daughter for advice on naming her sibling, but it didn’t matter now, did it?
It wasn’t a problem at all.
Anyway.
“From what Daddy said, which do you think sounds the worst?”
“The fourth!”
“Ariana?”
“Yup! It’s long!”
“Oh…”
Sure enough, that was a child-like approach.
I had just thought they were all pretty names, but Charlotte had a valid point with her reasoning.
“Umm… So it’s down to Sophia, Victoria, and Stella.”
“…Isn’t Ariana also okay?”
“You just said it’s long and you don’t like it.”
“…Then let’s ditch Victoria too.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Honestly, I thought both names were fine, but since our eldest daughter disliked them, I decided to go along with her.
We were all chatting in the bedside with the second baby peacefully cooing in the crib beside me.
“Corbin, have you seen the baby’s eye color?”
“Yeah, I have.”
“It’s black like yours.”
“Right.”
“So I thought it over a bit… Charlotte has black hair and wall-eyed, right?”
“Exactly.”
Charlotte was a cute daughter resembling Corbin with her hair, though she took after me more overall.
But generally, she seemed to have both Corbin and my traits equally.
However, unlike Charlotte’s blue eyes, the second baby had black irises.
So I started to guess and deduce.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if so, that would just be unfortunate.
“It kind of feels like the second baby will grow up to have blonde hair, right? Like… doesn’t it feel that way?”
“Opposite of Charlotte?”
“Yes.”
“That could be possible, but blonde hair is less likely than black, right?”
“When have we ever focused on scientific probabilities anyway?”
“Oh.”
It was just a wild guess on my part.
My intuition, just on that level.
But still, it felt… like it could be a thing.
“So anyway… I thought the name Stella would also be nice.”
If Charlotte had said she liked longer names, I could have easily picked Victoria, but that option had already been eliminated.
So I opted for the name Stella.
A name shining bright like a star, isn’t that lovely?
If the baby turned out to be a blonde, it would strangely fit well.
But if she wasn’t a blonde, I could always simply come up with another reason saying something like her eyes shined.
It might sound a bit flimsy, but the name is pretty enough.
Plus, it was my own feeling, but I seriously thought the second one might end up blonde.
“Charlotte.”
“Yup, Daddy.”
“How do you feel about the name Stella, which Mommy picked? Do you think it will suit your little sibling?”
“I think it’ll be good! It’s short!”
“It’s just one letter difference…”
Anyway… it was a silly process, but we finally settled on a name for the second child.
Stella.
Though she was just a tiny newborn who could only sleep, cry, and make little messes right now… I felt like it’d pass by in a heartbeat watching her grow up.
Just like when Charlotte grew to four years old.
Honestly… I was excited for the future.