My Little Family <3 | Doah Story

part 14 | harder than it looks

Dixie's POV-

The last few hours were spent in bed, getting used to this whole mom thing. Normally, you'll be discharged from the hospital within 24 hours after having a regular birth but we have to stay an extra couple days. Kinnley was born around 37 weeks, and was smaller than they'd like her to be. As long as she can eat on her own, and cry if she needs something there's no reason for her to be in the NICU.

It scared Noah and I a bit if I'm being honest, but our little princess is already doing so well for only being born a few hours ago. Dr. Steff left the three of us alone for an hour before more nurses came back to check on Kinnley and I, which we really appreciated.

The nurses let me know that they'd take Kinnley for testing 12 hours after being born... so there was a possibility to being discharged earlier. I was expecting to go into labour earlier in the night, but she ended up being born in the early morning... this meant we had the whole day to get her used to us, and to overall spend time with each other.

I have to admit, being a mom is already so hard and I don't think it's completely hit me yet. Once Dr. Steff left the room, Noah spent some time with his little girl while I tried my best to sleep. The only problem was.. if Kinnley started crying I would instantly wake up and want to calm her down as it's a motherly instinct. Noah would have to wake me up if she was hungry so I decided against sleeping as it was way too difficult.

We each switched out with who held her, and just laid with each other admiring how special our daughter was. Both of us fell in and out of sleep, getting startled by the little cries of Kinnley who just wanted to eat.

"Shh it's ok sweetheart, daddy's got you." Noah spoke softly while he rubbed her back. She continued to cry but Noah tried everything he could to calm her down. "Baby when was the last time she ate?" He asked me still rocking the baby. "Probably a couple hours ago, here I'll try again." I said making grabby hands towards Noah.

Getting the hang of nursing was a chore in itself. Kinnley would get so frustrated with herself and would unlatch after a couple seconds. I had gotten somewhat used to her feeding cues, so I'd try to get her settled and calm before latching so everything would go smoothly.

"Oh sweet baby come here." I said as I laid her down in my lap. She was still screaming and it broke my heart. "Baby, want me to help again?" Noah asked making his way to the open side on our bed. "Please." I replied.. my voice sounding desperate as I was on the verge of tears. Noah kept her head still as she latched on after a couple seconds. "There you go Kinn." I said moving my fingers around in little circles on the top of her soft head.

"The little noises she makes Dix." Noah said with a pouty face. "I know she's literally perfect." I replied with a smile. Noah laid his head on my shoulder, watching Kinnley eat. "I love you." I said as I rested my head on his. "No, I love you so much." He replied back. "I still can't believe we made that babe." I said to him as a few tears ran down my cheeks. "I know, she's so beautiful just like you." He said looking up at me.

"What's with the tears baby?? Is everything ok?" He asked, concern in his voice. "Y-yeah I'm fine, I just love you both so much, and the p-pain is just a lot to handle right now." I said taking deep breaths. "Of course honey, I understand. We both love you so much. You've gone over the moon to make sure we're happy, so if there's anything I can do to help please tell me, ok?" Noah told me, caressing my cheek and giving my head lots of kisses.

I just nodded letting out a small giggle. Knowing that you've made someone happy, especially your family is the best feeling a mother can have. A few minutes later, Kinnley's suckling got slower and she was fighting sleep. She unlatched slowly as I laid her on my chest. "Baby can you pass me her blanket, please?" I asked Noah who was texting our family group chat. "Here you are my love." He said handing me the one with her name on it. I seriously can't wait to take photos of her wrapped up in this.

"I wanna send a picture to our family group chat with her blanket so they can find out her name." I told Noah just above a whisper. He smiled, and came back over to lay beside me on our bed. I gently folded the blanket so the writing would be seen on her upper back. I placed it overtop of her tiny fragile  body and she let out a long sigh. "My sweetheart." I said kissing her head.

Noah took a picture of all of us together. I didn't even notice that Kinnley was smiling until Noah pointed it out. "What caption should I send it with? Meet our little- wait no how about hi everyone my name is-" I gently took the phone from his hands and wrote my own caption. It read...

"Kinnley Grace Beck, 03/17/24 💗"

I handed the phone back to Noah and he read it aloud. "It's perfect bub." He stated, kissing my cheek. Once it was sent, he turned his phone off and placed it on the side table. It was expected that people would freak out over the news, considering only several people knew that she's actually here now. We heard the vibrations go off, one after another. All three of us just laid there cuddled up together, not bothering to check the replies.

•

I must've fallen asleep, because I woke up to Noah changing Kinnley into a new sleeper at the foot of our bed. One thing I knew was that she hated being cold.. even the slightest breeze in the room would make her scream bloody murder. Noah was being extremely gentle with her, trying to change her as quickly as he could so she wouldn't start crying. His warm hands covered most of her body, and she was content for the time being.

"Hi my princess, daddy's trying his hardest to be soft and quiet because I don't wanna scare you." I heard him say. I could cry right now. "Mommy's asleep so we're gonna go cuddle in the big chair once I finish up here ok." He spoke to her. I had been keeping my body movements very mild so Noah didn't know I was awake, but I couldn't resist watching them bond.

Kinnley started to lightly fuss right as Noah zipped up her sleeper. "There we go, shhh I'm all done now." He said picking Kinnley up and holding her in the crook of his neck. He brought a blanket to the chair and placed it over Kinnley's back, her cries being silenced once she was comfortable with her daddy. I pulled out my phone still staying quiet, and took a few pictures that I later sent to my family.

Noah and I took turns during the night with her. She only slept in mine or Noah's arms, and woke up every few hours to nurse. Noah would sleep while I fed her, and then he would change her and put her back to sleep. There was a couple times where he couldn't settle her down, so I had to give in and nurse her back to sleep. We haven't tried any pacifiers yet, so we might try that tomorrow.

Dr. Steff came in every once in a while to check on us, but it was overall a very peaceful night. I was exhausted, but really enjoyed the company of Kinnley. I would talk to her while she nursed, which was so sweet and calming. Breastfeeding was something that I feel strengthens our bond, and it was a very special moment. Her bright eyes would look up at me, hearing the sound of my voice.. giving me a little smile every once and a while.

I grabbed my phone after getting Kinnley back to sleep. Opening our group chat to everyone congratulating Noah and I was the sweetest.

~

~ view attachment ~
Kinnley Grace Beck, 03/17/24 💗
seen.

char:
dixie she has my middle
name are you serious 🥺

mom:
Dixie honey she's precious.
I just can't wait to snuggle her 💕

amy:
Congrats you two!! She's
so adorable <3

~

There was way more responses but I was way too tired to read the rest. I looked down to see Kinnley's fast little heartbeat moving on my chest. Her breaths were short and soft, every so often moving her hands in front of her eyes. I moved closer to Noah resting my head on his as I closed my eyes. Just the three of us together safe and sound.

A/N ———-

hello! 2 updates in one day?! that's a first lol. this was a very sweet chapter and i hope you enjoyed reading it! i have some plans with how i'm wanting this story to go but please let me know how you like it, what you don't like / what i could change etc :)

please vote/comment, and i hope you all have a great day/night 🤍