𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄: Naruhina

𝟑𝟔. 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬

A.N: I'm sorry I delayed this chapter...I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS STORY IS GOING TO END!!!!😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Being new parents was the most exciting time of Naruto and Hinata's life thus far. But the first month of Boruto's life was all about practice and patience.

Crying in spurts and calming down their little one was the new reality of the Uzumaki's. Boruto was an excited little boy from the moment he was brought home. It wasn't easy hearing his wails and learning the difference of comforting him versus when to let him cry it out. Of course it would soothe them to ease their baby's cries but they had to adjust to Boruto self soothing as well.

There were plenty of aspects about parenting that Naruto and Hinata were unprepared for. Of course they'd heard all of the advice in the world, but all of that seems to fly out of the window once one is in the thick of it with a new born baby. The first night they had baby Boru sleeping in a bassinet in their room, but after that they placed him to sleep in his nursery, sleep training as soon as possible with alarms scheduled to keep track. Naruto and Hinata both agreed that they should do sleep training sooner rather than later so that when Naruto goes back to work, their household would function smoothly.

Due to Sasuke becoming a new dad just a week before Naruto, Kakashi could only allow his star players to be off for a month. Once they go back to work, the man would rotate work from home days, late nights, days off, etc. Hinata was grateful for the leniency, considering Sasuke and Naruto worked underneath the boss directly. Meanwhile, she and Sakura were both on six months of maternity leave, however Naruto was secretly hoping that those six months would just become a...permanent leave when it came to his wife.

In regards to his wife, the first few swinging days of motherhood pushed Hinata into a whirlwind of emotions. At first her spiraling thoughts began as bubbles of negativity. When Boruto would cry she immediately associated it with something as her fault. When she tried to take naps at the same time as her son her brain would wreck her, bursting with the idea that she could be doing more. Then she'd look in the mirror and suddenly Hinata was horrified at the sight of herself because she didn't recognize her reflection. The stretch marks at her hips, the size of her breasts, the tummy she acquired after giving birth. All of it with each passing day was nagging at her, and soon enough Hinata was in the thick of postpartum depression.

Telling his lover that she was the most beautiful woman in the world wasn't enough anymore. Naruto had come to quickly understand that postpartum depression was incredibly serious, and in a lot of cases known as a period of psychosis. There were moments where Hinata deeply missed her pregnancy, and other times where she couldn't even fathom the existence of their son. But most of all, Hinata was grieving the old version of her, once she spent many years growing to love. Minato and Kushina both guided Naruto on how to properly support Hinata during this time, to give her space when she needed it, encourage her to get out of the house, go for a walk, and speak with her friends.

Being new parents opened the portal of Pandora's box. Where Hinata's hormones were out of whack, Naruto was having to adjust to an uncomfortable fact he never considered: right now, Hinata is the primary parent.

On paper it made sense, she is the one who breast feeds, she held him first, Boruto literally grew inside of her. Developing the intuitive and emotional bonds from mother to father were completely different. After the first week of no sleep, diaper changing and exhaustion did Naruto start to emotionally and chemically settle into the real role of being a father and provider. Where his wife was spent from feeding, is when he needed to step up and make sure she was fed. Where Hinata was weak, Naruto knew he needed to be strong. Her mind and body were now operating on mommy mode, which often resulted in a lack of self care. It was seeing it with his own two eyes that Naruto realized maternity leave was so much more than getting sleep right, it was the most sensitive time for the family. For the mother.