Calliope & Erica

Chapter 8

I was finally 32 weeks! I felt like after all the heartbreak and troubles, I was finally here.. I wasn't done, but I was getting closer to meeting my beautiful baby boy every day. Jack Maynard was during soon. 1 month!. The nursery was done. It was beautiful, and big, and the closest room to us. We actually had to move rooms, so his nursery would be close to us. It was so excited to meet my baby. Edith has her reservation, but they had all melted away by now. She was almost as excited as me.

Edith's parents were in town, they came to help us. By help, I mean Edith & I had never had children. Jack was going to be both of their 1st born grandchildren. They were very obsessive, but helpful. They helped us baby-proof the house. Edith's parents names were John and Susan. They met in Nevada, during an Air Force convention. They fell in love and got married within the next year. Edith was born on their 9 month anniversary. They only had 1 child, this was because they work in the Air Force alot, and by the time they retired from the military, they couldn't have kids anymore. We came to visit them in Colorado, after Edith and I decided to have kids. They were ecstatic. When they arrived to our house a couple of weeks ago, we a did a small sex reveal. They were excited to have a grandbaby. Edith & I used to live in the guest house, but as our family planned to grow,....We moved to the main house. Her parents had the glorious 3 bedroom guest house all to themselves. My brother and his wife would be arriving tomorrow. They had a daughter, Ava. She was now 4, they adopted her from Kenya. Her parents had died in a military bombing where she lived. Ava was saved from a volunteer doctor there. My brother and his wife Cathey fell in love with her. Luke, and Cathey had tried to have children for year, and had problems. They eventually stopped and went through adoption. Luke often talked about having more kids. I told him when they wanted more I would happily be a surrogate for them. I hadn't told Edith yet. I would sometime. Right now, we had a baby on the way, and we were happy.

I walked to kitchen, where Edith had made maple cranberry crepes, with orange juice, and mango slices from the backyard. John & Susan sat next to each other viewing a parenthood magazine, and discussing how they were going to mess us our house with rubber counter covers, and baby gates. It was ridiculous. Could a baby be so insane that we needed to coral it like a cow in our house. They told us we should move, because the baby could drown in the ocean and I laughed. I knew we could do it. I think. Her parents are making more anxious every time they add something to the long list of dangers to the baby. They didn't mean to, but they were. Google definitely didn't either. Or WebMD. Or online chat rooms.

We hadn't pick a definite middle name yet. I was thinking Jack Alexander Maynard. I had opted for a natural birth. I was tough. I thought of doing a water birth, but I didn't think it would be best for my 1st child. I hadn't decided if I wanted to give birth at the hospital of not. I was so excited to see Jack Alexander Maynard. To hold him in my arms. I was even looking forward to staying up all night with him.

His nursery was so perfect, I couldn't wait to see him in it. His name was across one wall. We painted the walls Teal, grey, and White. The other wall was a big window, so he could see the beautiful island we lived on. The theme was elephants, and the color scheme was grey, white, and teal. We bought him a round crib. His room had his crib, the diaper changer, various toys, and more. His room was bigger than ours. We needed room for everything we bought him, and when he crawls, he will have a lot of room to crawl.

Anyway back to breakfast. I sat down as Edith handed me a plate. She sat down with a cup of coffee. Nursing it as we talked. "So Susan. How did you give birth to Edith? "

Cough. "Well, we're just getting right into it aren't we?" John said choking on his coffee.

"Well honey, this is her 1st child. We are the ones who have the experience.. SO. I had Edith in a hospital. What were you thinking?" She said in a soothing voice.

I loved talking about these things with her. She was all that my mother couldn't be. I missed my mom all of the time, but Susan helped fill the void.

"I've eliminated home birth, because this is my first child, and we are so far from the island doctors. I still want to look into a birthing center. So it's between a birthing center and a hospital."

"Ok dear. So what are the pros and cons of a birth center, and what is it?"

"A birthing center is a homey version of a hospital. They can either be attached to one or separate. Cons- not as specialized care, but I don't think i'll need it. Pros- a more comfortable environment."

"Well which do you feel more comfortable?"

"I'm leaning towards a hospital. I think I would just feel more comfortable being where I need to be a complication arose."

"That is completely understandable. See, you knew what you wanted all along!"

"And I don't know of I like the round crib. I think I wanna buy a regular one, to have ready for if I want to exchange cribs. What do you think?"

"Sounds great. Edith and your dad, oops John are gonna start on baby proofing."

"It's ok, I think of him as my dad. His is my father in law."

"Ok then, well if you want a different crib, I think we should start now. You are due in a month sweetheart. Wanna start today? We can do to the mainland and grab some food. Walk around the baby shops, find one you like?"

"Perfect." I smiled

Edith continued nursing her coffee. "Bring dinner? If you guys find a crib we can all spend the night putting it together. Don't forget we have our big announcement tonight!"

"Yes!" I smiled again

"Surprise? Sounds fun, now let's get going!" Susan said.

We drove to downtown mainland hawaii. We ate at Tatiba's Modern Old style Shack.. The food was okay, and the name was funny. We talked about where we would visit 1st. We decided on Baby Emporium. They sell furniture and stuff for babies. The review ranged from good to bad, but we tried anyway. I haven't figured out what type of crib I wanted. Sleigh? Multipurpose? We entered the store and we were greeted by a sales clerk.. We walked around. There were a lot of styles, wood, metal, painted. We also needed a good stroller. I was leaning toward an Uppababy one. Edith helped with the nursery, but she knew little about being a mom, or babies in general. That was why Susan came shopping instead of Edith. She much preferred to stay home and baby proof with her dad.

"Will you be nursing?" Susan asked

"I think so. I want to. And I know it's better for the baby."

"Well do you have the things for it yet?" She asked

"There is stuff for it?" I felt dumb

She looked at me with pity and grabbed a cart. "Yes."

She grabbed a pump, bottles, a nursing bra. She said this should do for now. We paid for the stuff and left. I decided to shop online. Also, this gave Susan time to teach me to use this stuff before the baby came. Which was in a couple of week! 2 to be exact. Babies were difficult.