One direction imagines and prefences (request open)

he's freaking out about being a new parents

HARRY:  Harry lets out a frustrated sigh and rests his face in his palms.  “What’s wrong?” you wonder, entering the room with Carson in your arms and a warm bottle in your hand.  “I have no clue what I’m doing,” Harry admits.  “He started crying earlier while you were resting and I had no idea what to do.”  “Oh, Harry…  You’ve always been so good with kids, so natural with them.  What’s got you so worked up about it all now?” you inquire gently as you sit down on the couch and begin feeding Carson his bottle.  “It was different with those other kids though.  If there was a problem, I could just give them back to their parents.  But now I’m the parent that other people will give him back to when there’s a problem.  And I have no idea what to do when that happens.”  Putting the bottle aside for a moment, you use your free hand to give his a comforting squeeze.  “Don’t get so worried over that; you’ll learn, we’ll both learn.  And we’ll learn those things together.  We only just brought him home from the hospital yesterday - we aren’t meant to know it all yet,” you remind him before picking the bottle back up and resuming Carson’s feeding.  “I know we’re not, but it’s all still a little frightening.”  “Of course it is!  And I don’t think we’d be very good parents if we weren’t a little scared.  But we’re doing fine so far and we have both of our families for help.  And you’re already a great dad,” you finish with a smile.  “I love you,” he tells you, leaning in to give you a kiss.  “I love you too,” you agree, settling into his side as Carson happily sucks away on his bottle.

LIAM:  “What does she want?  I don’t know what she wants.  What kind of a father am I?” Liam carries on, at his wits end with concern over what Makenzie could possibly need that he hasn’t already tried.  “What am I doing wrong?” he asks you, giving you a desperate look that breaks your heart.  “Liam, honey, you’re not doing anything wrong.  Some babies are just collicky.  I know it’s hard to deal with sometimes and it can make you feel helpless, I feel like that too, but she’ll grow out of it.  You won’t feel like this forever,” you explain, trying to ease his frustration.  “It’s a dad’s job to take care of his little girl, and I just feel like I’m not doing that job.”  You open your arms to take your wailing daughter from him, relieving him of trying to soothe her for a while.  “I guess I just thought I would be a better dad than this, is all,” he admits before releasing a heavy sigh.  “You are a great dad.  You’re doing everything you can; it’s not your fault she’s a fussy baby.  And if it makes you feel any better, I get like this too sometimes - panicky and freaking out.  It’s normal.”  “You panic and freak out?  You?  I find that hard to believe.  You always know what to do to make her feel better.”  “That is not true and you know it,” you deny.  “I just do what I have to and keep reminding myself that this won’t last forever and will eventually get easier.”  Liam finally cracks a small smile.  “At least one of us is level-headed when it comes to this,” he muses, taking Makenzie back into his arms.  You return the smile and leave to go fetch a bottle for Makenzie, as it’s nearing her usual feeding time.  Upon your return a few moments later, Makenzie’s crying has already subsided for the most part, now reduced to small whimpering sounds, and Liam is looking more relaxed.  “See?  You’re a great dad,” you confirm with a wide grin.

LOUIS:  “You are already testing me, you know that?” you wake up to hear Louis whisper.  You slowly open your eyes to find your husband crouched down next to the bed, talking to your ready-to-pop belly.  “Lou?” you ask softly.  “Oh, [Y/N], sorry.  Did I wake you from your nap?” he asks, rising to his feet.  “Nah, it’s ok.  What are you doing?” you inquire, moving awkwardly to put yourself into a sitting position.  Louis takes a seat on the bed next to you, snaking an arm around your shoulders.  “I was just thinking,” he answers simply.  “And talking to the baby,” you mention.  “And talking to the baby,” he confirms.  “Is everything ok?” you ask, a bit concerned.  “Yeah…sorta.  It’s just that with you being on bedrest these last few weeks, it’s made me feel…I dunno…anxious almost,” he explains, searching for the right word to describe how he’s feeling.  “Anxious how?” you prompt, stroking his arm comfortingly.  “I dunno, really.  I guess this whole bedrest thing has given me a taste of what it might be like to have someone depend on me completely.  I’ve never had that kind of responsibility before and the realization of it has been a bit overwhelming,” he tells you truthfully.  “I can imagine.  And I hope you know how much I appreciate all that you’ve been doing for me.  Just remember that I’ll be up and moving just fine after the baby gets here, so you won’t have to face that responsibility alone.  We’ll be a team, just like always,” you remind him, giving him a warm, loving smile.  “You’re right, we will.  It’s just a scary thing, you know?  Having a little person who depends on you 100%.”  “It certainly is - which is why we’re lucky to have each other and our families for help.”  Louis leans in to give you a sweet kiss as a thank you for calming his nerves.

ZAYN:  You enter the room carrying a baby blanket and announcing, “Look what we just got in the mail from my grandmother!  What’s wrong?” your tone changes as soon as you catch a glimpse of Zayn’s twisted features.  Zayn’s only response is a disgruntled sigh as he casts aside the book he’d been reading.  “There is so much to remember!  How am I supposed to keep all this information straight?”  “What information?” you ask, joining him on the couch and holding the blanket close to your ever-growing stomach.  “About being a dad!  How do people do it?  I mean, look,” he guides your attention to the book as he picks it up and begins flipping through it.  “Look at this, there are charts and graphs and tons of information.  I started taking notes, but then realized I was basically just rewriting the book!  It’s impossible to remember all of this.”  “Relax,” you coo, gently prying the book from his hands.  “You’re going into an information overload.  You’ve been reading so many of these kinds of books since the day we found out I was pregnant, and you’re going into overdrive.”  Zayn sighs again, trying to clear his mind and calm down.  “Everything will be fine,” you continue.  “Between everything you’ve read and your natural instincts, you’ll know what to do, I promise.”  “It’s just a lot to take in and remember,” Zayn repeats.  “I know it is, believe me.  But you just have to trust your gut.  All the information you could possibly need is already in your head.  Now you just have to trust your gut instincts and do whatever they tell you.  You’ll do fine,” you reassure, placing your hand on top of his and giving it a light squeeze.  Zayn nods, taking in your words, before leaning over to give you a soft kiss to the temple.

NIALL:  “Do you wanna hold him?” you ask, growing tired and ready for a nap.  As much as you want nothing more than to keep holding your brand new son, the exhaustion of just having given birth a mere hour ago is rapidly catching up to you.  “Uh…yeah.  Ok, sure,” Niall replies uncertainly, adjusting his position so that the arm that had been around your shoulders is now in front of him, ready for Cole to be placed there.  As soon as the infant is placed in his arms, Niall stiffens.  “Am I doing this right?” he asks uncomfortably.  “You’re doing fine,” you hum, already starting to doze off.  “[Y/N]. [Y/N], wait.  Don’t fall asleep yet.  I can’t do this.”  “You’re doing fine,” you repeat, slipping further into sleep.  Niall holds his breath, afraid to move any more than absolutely necessary, as he slowly rises from the bed and shuffles carefully over to the chair against the wall.  Niall spends the next couple of hours just holding Cole and talking to him.  As he does, he starts to relax more and feel more confident in holding his son.  When you wake up and see this, a wide smile spreads across your face.  “There are my two favorite boys,” you coo happily.  Niall smiles at you before rising carefully from the chair.  He glides across the room like a pro, sitting back down on the bed next to you and handing Cole over.  “Look at you, Mr. Expert.  Guess that worrying was for nothing,” you mention with a smirk.  “Don’t start,” he teases goodnaturedly, wrapping his arm around you once more, enjoying his brand new family.