The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 91 - Family Adjustments

As is true for households with newborn babies in them all over the world, the nighttime sleeping patterns for Melody's parents were badly interrupted. Susan rose at midnight after only two hours sleep to feed her the first time, then again at two, and again at four. At six, Greg got up to give Melody a bottle, insisting Susan go back to bed. Mrs. Abernathy was up by the time he was finished, getting breakfast ready for the children before school, and Greg settled the baby in the basinet nearby.

"When does she need to eat next?" Mrs. Abernathy asked.

"I just fed her, so about eight. Susan has been up with her off and on all night, so I thought I'd let her sleep longer while she could," Greg said.

"Feeding Melody every two hours is going to be very difficult to keep up with during the night," Mrs. Abernathy commented.

"I agree, however I believe Susan was overly concerned about disturbing me last night," Greg said. "She insisted on doing all of them herself."

"I wonder if it would help if we came up with a schedule so that Susan can get at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep each night," Mrs. Abernathy said.

"It would probably help her if we did," Greg agreed. "Something to work on this evening, perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Mrs. Abernathy agreed. "Goodbye, Greg. Have a good day."

c

For Greg the day passed quickly and relatively simply. With Melody at home there was no more need for the daily trips into Malibu for him or for Susan. With that change, came the knowledge that since Susan no longer had to be out of the house every day, she might actually have the opportunity to rest and recover. Greg no longer worried about her quite so much as he had. His family was safe, and at the end of the day, he could return home to them a happy man.

The reality at home of course was something very different. Without the nursing staff to help, feeding Melody every two hours barely left time for anything else. Susan did manage to make her calls and to schedule Melody's appointments, but that was all she had time for. The children were home from school before she knew it, needing help with their homework and asking for her attention with other things. During the day, Mrs. Abernathy helped with Melody's formula feedings, but when dinner time came, she turned the baby's care over to Susan so she could prepare the meal.

"Do you want to feed her, Zack?" Susan asked.

"Okay," Zackary agreed.

So Susan went through the task of teaching him how to wash and then how to handle the baby, showing him how to hold her and the bottle so she could eat. The lesson still required Susan's attention, but she knew if either of her sons could be counted on to help, it would make things easier in the days ahead.

That night after supper, as Susan sat in the library by the fire feeding the baby again, her family gathered around her to talk.

"What do we need to talk about?" she asked.

"We need to come up with a schedule to help you with Melody's feedings this week," Greg told her. "You are getting less than two hours sleep at a time, and that is not nearly enough. Your mother and I were thinking we could be helping you a lot more than we are."

"Me too, Mom," Matthew said when he discovered what they were talking about. "You know I never really go to sleep until midnight. What if you feed Melody at ten, like you are now, and go to bed after that. I can feed her at midnight just before I go to bed."

"I was going to suggest I could do that, but it would be a big help if you could, Matthew," Greg told him.

"I'm going to have to be the one to feed her at two," Susan said.