Fix A Heart

All I Want For Christmas Is

"I'll get her." Val said as a shrill shriek echoed through Bella's baby monitor. He shifted Sharna off him just slightly before standing and heading towards his daughter's room.

"Hey, what's wrong? Come here. Daddy is here. It's alright sweetheart." Val said softly as he entered Bella's room. He scooped her up and cuddled her against him as he swayed with the little girl. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night however whether it was him or Sharna, they always tried to get her back to sleep before keeping her with them.

"Not happening huh? Let's go see mommy and we'll figure something out." Val said after a good fifteen minutes. Bella had started teething about a week ago and it had been one hellish journey for the family. She was a bit behind on actual age milestones but if you counted in her premature birth, she was right on target. Her mouth had decided that it needed to play catch up however and she was starting to cut all four of her front teeth.

"Oh no, it's going to be one of those nights huh?" Sharna said as she seen her husband and daughter return to the bedroom. Bella's tear streaked cheeks showing her exactly how her daughter felt about the situation going on right now.

"Yeah, not doing it. These teeth are going to be the death of us I swear." He said moving next to Sharna who rubbed Bella's back as well.

"Tylenol?" She suggested.

"She hates it." Val deadpanned. It was the truth, Bella absolutely hated taking medicine of any kind. Getting it in her was worse than hearing her so upset. However it did help on the rare occasions that they got it in her. They usually made that last resort however this was the 5th night that Bella was up miserable. Her teething always got worse at night and she wanted nothing more than her parents.

"I know but she's miserable." Sharna said as she took Bella who was reaching for her mother. She buried in to Sharna's chest and continued to cry.

"She is. I just hate that. Can you try her on your chest?" Val suggested. They had learned that Bella when worked up beyond belief still needed that skin to skin contact. It worked with Val but there was something about her connection to Sharna.

"I can, that doesn't always work with this. It settles her some but not enough that she sleeps. And that's what she needs honestly. These teeth just need to come through the rest of the way. Huh baby?" Sharna said rubbing her back gently.

"We just have so much coming up tomorrow with Christmas. I hate for her to have this and then have to deal with lack of sleep too. For all of us." Val said. On top of the current situation they were dealing with, the next day was Christmas Eve. Sharna's family had gotten in that night and were already at the hotel. Bella as much as she had come leaps and bounds since she was born, was still sketchy on people and preferred her parents so they knew this was already going to be a rough time.

"You're right. I know you don't want to but maybe we should try the Tylenol. I don't want to put her on my chest until after. I don't want her associating the two." Sharna said adamantly.

"Yeah, I suppose. But I agree. Here, I can hold her. Wait, when is the last time we tried it with the bottle? I know she's not sucking well but maybe it'll be enough to get it in her." Val said realizing that they hadn't tried that option for a bit. Bella had an ear infection 2 months ago and they had attempted to get her to take the Motrin by letting her take it out of the bottle. She wasn't fooled however and then the attempts to really get it in her were worse.

"Uhh..." Sharna said looking at him remembering that time.

"I know. Let's just, it may work this time." Val said.

"Okay." She nodded as she handed Bella to him and then headed to get the bottle and Motrin. She returned and the two got ready. Surprisingly, Bella took the medicine but made the worst face ever and spit the bottle out immediately after. She began to wail again into Val as he cuddled her.

"Hang on sweetheart, Momma is gonna cuddle you." Val said as he swayed as he stripped her out of her pajamas while Sharna set the bottle on the nightstand and then stripped out of her shirt. Bella's wails slowed slightly knowing exactly what this could mean. She pulled Bella into her and held her tightly as Val wrapped her blanket around her on the opposite side.

"Shhhh love, I got you. I got you. We just gotta wait for the medicine to kick in." Sharna said as Bella calmed but still cried into her mother.

"How about we go sit by the tree? She loves those lights." Val suggested. Bella had been fascinated by the lights on the tree when they got ready for Christmas.

"Yeah, will you grab a blanket? I'm gonna get cold." She asked.

"Yeah, I'll grab her teether too and elephant." Val said as he reached for the throw blanket on the end of the bed as well as his zip-up sweater. He figured Sharna could slip that on without disturbing Bella.

"Alright love. Let's go find some Christmas lights." Sharna said as she headed down to the living room. She flipped the light switch on which turned on the Christmas tree lights. Val appeared shortly after with the supplies.

"You want this?" He asked holding up the sweater for his wife.

"Mmm, let's wait, will you hold us?" Sharna said with a wink.

"You don't even have to ask that one." Val said as he settled into the corner of the couch and reached for his girls. He pulled Sharna down between his legs cocooning her back against his. He wrapped the blanket around all three of them and handed her Bella's teether. She tried to give it to Bella but she wasn't ready for it yet.

"I know sugar, I know." Sharna hummed softly to her daughter as she ran her fingers across Bella's head. Sharna knew it was going to be a bit before the Tylenol kicked in for Bella so she wanted to try to soothe her as best as she could.

"I wish we could explain more of this to you little one." Val said as his hand slipped around Sharna and rested on Bella's back on top of the blanket.

"Daddy's right baby. I know they hurt but as soon as the Tylenol kicks in, it'll be better and then we'll get you some sleep. Everyone is coming to see you tomorrow. It's your first Christmas. Yours and Evia's."

"Baba & Deda & Grammy & Pappy are here. And we're going to see Shai and Uncle Maks and Aunt Peta. Don't worry though, Mommy and I will make sure that you still feel safe little one. It's a lot of people. You know Aunt Peta and Uncle Maks though, and you love them, so that helps. And we know Shai will protect you." Val talked softly. If she couldn't have her parents Maks and Peta were probably the next best thing. Considering the families were only a few streets apart, they did spend a lot of time together.

"Maybe Santa will bring you these teeth." Sharna said with a slight giggle as Bella finally realized that the tree was right there and caught sight of the lights. Her cries slowly began to shift to whimpers.

"That would be a present for all three of us. I hate seeing her so miserable and knowing we can't fix it." Val said shifting them so Sharna could tuck into his chest and let Bella see a bit better.

"Makes two of us, but for right now, I think we may have gotten her settled." Sharna said as Bella finally stopped fussing completely as she curled into Sharna and watched the lights on the tree. She knew now that she was calmer, the sheer exhaustion would take over and she'd be asleep.

"You want to stay here until she falls asleep?" He asked once he seen what she meant.

"Mmhmm, because as much as I want those teeth to come in for Christmas, I already have all I wanted right here. And I want to enjoy that for a bit." Sharna said tipping he head back and puckering her lips for her husband to kiss. He granted her request without hesitation, gently kissing her before tucking her in closer and wrapping them up in the blanket. He felt the same exact way and was happy to enjoy the quiet time with his family.

** Okay, so this was supposed to be a Christmas post....but umm yeah. Life. 😂 it gets in the way peeps, it really does. So better late than never. This falls right around when Bella would be 8 months. I hope you allll enjoyed it! Don't forget to like it up and let me know what you thought!