Toddlers, Husbands, and Why I had to be Mature by 18

Chapter One: Growing Up

Jasper kissed me. Once, twice. Bella was looking at her two new siblings in awe.

"What should we name them?" I asked Jasper quietly.

"I don't know.... Let's brainstorm some ideas. Girls first. How about... Summer?" he suggested.

I gasped. "I've always loved that name! How about a girl's middle name?"

"Audrey?" he suggested. I grinned.

"I love it! Now boy's.... Lysander? I love Midsummer Night's Dream!"

"Me too, that sounds great! Now a middle name?"

I tapped my chin. "Oliver?" we asked at the same time.

We laughed and kissed. "Introducing, Lysander Oliver Louis and Summer Audrey Louis, the twins born on February 15th!" I announced when Dr Robertson entered the room again. He smiled, producing a clipboard from inside his lab coat.

"Congratulations, you two. I would like to inform you, Mrs Louis, that there was an irregularity with your delivery. May I have a word in private?" he asked Jasper. Jasper nodded, and carried Bella out of the room with him.

My heart pounded as the door shut. "This is nothing to worry about, Hannah, you just delivered too soon after going into labour. This caused very minor damage to your uterine wall, and so you will need to take some medication over the next few weeks. I might also inform you that you will not be able to have sexual intercourse for the next two months."

My mouth popped open. "Really? Is it that bad?"

"No, it's just better to be safe than sorry. You will need to come in once a week for a check up, and perhaps you might recover faster than expected. You have been known to do that in the past," he grinned at me, and then opened the door to let Jasper and Bella back into the room.

After weighing the children, measuring them, and examining them, Dr Robertson nodded. The two men helped me into a wheelchair and Jasper pushed me out of the hospital, the twins in my arms. Bella was on Jasper's shoulder's. holding the sides of his head tightly in her tiny palms.

Jasper helped me into the car, returned the wheelchair, strapped Bella into the back seat and got into the driver's seat.

"Thanks, baby," I said, kissing him gently. He stroked the side of my face with one hand and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

When we arrived home, I went inside and cleaned the twins, they were extremely calm, which was very surprising, but, then again, babies just after a natural birth are much calmer than those after a modern birth.

I'm glad I didn't get an epidural. I briefly considered it when I remembered the pain of child birth, but I overall decided against it and I'm glad I did. My babies are healthy and happy, and I can't even remember the pain, come to think of it....

After a lovely dinner, cooked by Jasper, I breastfed for the first time in over a year. The twins sucked hungrily, and it felt wonderful to have a newborn again.

In the bright yellow nursery, there were two white cribs, each with their own bee mobile above it. I had painted little bees flying around the walls, and the changing table in the corner was white with yellow polka dots.

We bought 2 sets of boys and girls decorations for the cribs, in case it went either way with the twins. On Summer's crib, we wound some fuzzy flowers around the bars and put some cutsie-bee sheets on it. We put the same sheets on Lysander's bed, but instead of flowers around his crib, we wound some leaves on the bars.

I put the two twins to bed, in their little footsie pajamas I had bought a few weeks ago, and then put Bella to bed.

"I love you so much, Bella. Have a good sleep," I said, kissing her forehead after I read her favourite book about ballerinas to her.