It had been a week since Gabrielle had been born and Toni and Janet were still on cloud nine. They couldn't stop looking at her and kissing her. The rest of Janet and Toni's immediate family had seen the baby, but no one else. Once again, Toni had a list of rules for everyone to follow. One main one being, that no one was even allowed in their bedroom, except for their parents and the midwife. The baby was just too new and they didn't want too many people holding her.
Their families understood where the young parents were coming from, though and they politely waited until Janet and Toni would bring her out of the room.
Since she was still sore, Janet didn't go downstairs at all, so when she visited with people, they hung out in the upstairs living room. However, that wasn't often, seeing as how Janet was still pretty exhausted from having her.
Right now, Toni slowly walked around the room with Gabrielle in her arms while Janet slept. She had gotten fussy and Toni knew Janet needed her rest. Plus, she just liked holding her baby. "You feeling better?"
Gabrielle looked at Toni. "Yeah, you are."
Toni went to the little bottle area they had and got some of Janet's breast milk out of the small fridge they had. Luckily, Janet had a great milk production, so they already had plenty. Toni, made a small bottle and sat on their couch to feed Gabrielle. She sat back and covered herself with a cloth as she slowly fed her.
Gabrielle began drinking the milk with no problem. She was definitely a hungry baby.
"Toni." Janet lifted her head and looked around before her eyes landed on Toni. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine. Just hungry." Janet sat up and smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Still tired." She yawned and stretched. "How are you?" Toni just smiled and looked back at the baby. Gabrielle was looking right at her.
"I'm in heaven right now." Janet watched Toni's interaction with their daughter and it made her heart fuller. Watching Toni care and love their daughter made her love her even more. "She knows me."
"Of course she does."
"That's amazing. How does she even know that I'm me and does she know who I am to her? Does she just know or do you think she figures it out?"
"I think she just knows. I feel that way too, but I read that babies know their mothers because of the heartbeat they heard while in the womb."
"That's amazing. I just...." Toni felt herself about to cry. "I just love her so much." A few tears fell. "Like she's mine and she's yours and like...I just don't understand, but I don't care." Toni looked over at Janet. "Did I thank you, yet?"
"Yes, several times."
"Well, thank you." Janet chuckled. She knew Toni was going to have a big reaction to the baby, but she didn't expect this many emotions. "You've given me such an amazing gift."
"You're welcome, sweetie." Gabrielle finished eating and Toni sat down the bottle to wipe her face.
"You're all done. Did you enjoy your food?" Toni spoke to her. She lifted her to her shoulder to burp her. "Yes, you did."
"Did she drink all of it?"
"Yeah."
"It's a good thing my supply is good, because we have a really hungry mama on our hands."
"Not too much on my princess." Janet shook her head.
"I'm already losing you to her." Toni laughed.
"Sorry you had to find out this way." They laughed. When they stopped, Janet just watched as Toni burped the baby. She moved a little bit and decided to get up.
"I'm going to the bathroom. I need to clean up and change my pad."
"You need help?"
"I think I got it." Janet eased out of the bed and made her way into the bathroom. She got everything she needed and relieved herself. Using some clean warm water, she cleaned her area. She was still being very careful about wiping. Once she finished that, she got everything ready to do her sitz bath. She set up a little tub that goes over the toilet and gently sat down in it.
At first, it stung and she was in some pain, but eventually the pain subsided and she felt a cool wave of relief. She stayed for a little while before getting up and gently rinsing herself with water. After drying off, she grabbed one of her pads and put it on with one of the adult diapers followed by a night gown.
Going back in the room, she saw that Toni had put Gabrielle in the bassinet and was just watching her. Gabrielle was looking back at Toni. They both seemed so intrigued by each other. Janet sat back down on the bed and just watched. "I love you." Toni spoke quietly to her. "Mama loves you so much. I will always be there for you." Toni gently played with Gabrielle's hand. Gabrielle grabbed and held onto Toni's finger.
Toni laid her head on the side of the bassinet and continued to look at her. Janet took a few pictures and added them to the album she created on her phone.
Eventually, Gabrielle fell asleep and Toni covered her before getting up. She moved the bassinet to Janet's side of the bed and did some straightening up. Even though she loved having their daughter, it was definitely a handful. There were pieces of trash and a few diapers, along with some of their clothes. She wiped down and sanitized their furniture and baby items before washing her hands and getting into the bed next to Janet.
"How's my other favorite girl doing?" Toni pulled her into a hug.
"I'm doing good. I'm still having some pains, but I think I'll get through it."
"Good. Now remember we talked about postpartum things and how you can feel depressed right?"
"Yes, I'm not depressed Toni."
"I know, but if you feel yourself becoming that way, let me know."
"I will." Their conversation ended and they just watched tv on a low volume before they both fell asleep.
"Toni. Janet." A knock came on the door. Katherine peeked in. "Are you guys.." she noticed they were sleeping and eased back out, but not before looking a little longer.
————————————————————————————
New parents are so cute!!! My heart!!!
Thoughts???
Follow Me!!!
