The baby experiment

Part 14

Bebe found out pretty quickly that everything in Anna and Leo's house was strictly scheduled. Everyone woke up before 8, and was down for breakfast by 8:30. They usually finished breakfast at 9 and went off to do any activity they wanted.

It didn't take long for Bebe to realize that her days were scheduled differently.

Anna or Leo would come to wake her up at 9, change her and get her ready for the day, then take her to the kitchen for breakfast. They would feed her and then bring her to the couch with a bottle. After the bottle was empty, she was burped and held for another few minutes.

She could always hear the other kids playing and having fun, which made her kinda sad. Anna and Leo didn't usually let her play with the others, seeing as she was 'so little'.

Ash and cole always took time to come into the living room or nursery to play with her, mostly just giving her different stuffed animals or reading to her. She likes that a lot. Kelsey and jake weren't very nice to her, but only when Anna and Leo weren't around.

Speaking of jake, that's who walked into the nursery that afternoon. He walked up to bebes basinet and looked down at her. She winced, kicking her legs once or twice, fidgeting a bit.

Jake reached into the bassinet and picked her up. Bebe didn't like this, and started crying. Jake tried to quiet her but to no avail. When Bebe saw Leo walk into the room, she was actually relieved.

"What's going on, jake, why is the baby crying?" Leo asked. He took Bebe from jake as he stammered out an excuse.

"She needs a change. She woke up cranky too." Jake lied.

"Alright, go play with the other kids." Leo said. Jake nodded and ran out of the room. Leo looked down at Bebe. "Okay sweetheart, let's get you changed." He cooed, carrying her to the change table. He laid her down and she started fussing. "Oh, it's alright. Papa will be done in a minute." Leo said. He got to work on changing Bebe, cooing the her the whole time. When she was in a new diaper and onesie, he picked her back up and held her against his chest. 

Bebe pushed herself away from him with her arms. She did not stop until Leo popped a soother in her mouth. She froze, sucking the soother a few times. It felt comforting, and at this time, Bebe needed comfort more then ever. She relaxed and Leo took this opportunity to adjust his grip. He placed one arm under her rear and the other on her back.

Leo carried Bebe over to the bookshelf and picked out a book. He went to the rocking chair and sat down, now holding Bebe in one arm. "Alright kiddo, papa's gonna read to you and then you're gonna finish up your nap. You were only asleep for 10 minutes." Leo said.

As Leo read, Bebe felt her eyes grow heavy. She didn't want to go back to sleep, not now. She was scared she would have a hard time keeping out of headspace if she napped to much. She started whining behind her pacifier, hoping to get Leo to stop reading. He started to rock, but kept reading.

Bebe eventually got too sleepy to fight, so she closed her eyes. She felt safe, leaning against Leo's chest, the vibration of his words soothing her further. 

Soon, Leo stopped rocking and stood. Went over to the bassinet and kissed ebbed forehead before laying her down. Leo turned on the baby monitor and left, shutting off the light and closing the door.

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Jen and Doug , along with the kids, were very scared for Bebe. They didn't want to think the worst, but they were starting to lose hope.

Lucy, Antonio and Mark couldn't regress knowing their friend was likely in danger. They gathered in the basement to think of a plan.

"Okay, I say we go door to door and ask if anyone has seen her." Antonio said.