All My Life

Chapter 85

Meryl woke up to Mags screaming not long after she had fallen asleep following some time with her older girls. Meryl rolled over and nudged the form in bed next to her. "Don Man, can you get her while I get ready?" The form in bed next to her just grunted and turned over. That's when Meryl realized she wasn't in bed with her husband, but their oldest girls. "That's right." Meryl sighed as she turned the lamp on and got out of bed going over to her baby girl. "Hey baby girl, it's just Mama tonight; I know you're used to Daddy getting you and bringing you to me once he's changed you, but you have to deal with Mama tonight. Let's change you and then I'll get you fed." Just then Brady started screaming; and Meryl leaned over to kiss his head while she was trying to change Mags. "Hey Brady Boo, Mama is here. I need you to hang on for a few minutes while I take care of your sister." Meryl was trying to change Mags but Brady was becoming more and more upset. Meryl kissed both her babies. "Hold on, loves, I'm getting some reinforcements." Meryl went over and shook the mattress. "Lou, Mai, Gracie...WAKE UP." No movement; only snores. "GIRLS, WAKE UP! You promised your father you would help." Meryl shook the mattress again...the snores were only getting louder. Meryl sighed as she went to finish Mags' diaper change and picked both of them up. "Come on, angels; if your sisters are going to sleep through helping me then we might as well go downstairs where we have more room and your boppies. Oh, I wish your Daddy were here; I know you do too."

***

Don woke up in a start he felt like he had just fallen asleep and that took awhile without the sounds of his wife and babies lulling him to sleep. He wasn't someone completely dependent on his wife, they had slept apart more times than they could count because of their careers; but for over the last year because of her pregnancy and the babies they hadn't spent one night apart and he had gotten used to it. He loved it. The feeling that woke him up wasn't a feeling of missing his family; it was a feeling he had that she needed him, that the babies needed him. He thought about calling her but the last thing he wanted was to wake her, the girls and the babies up if they were all sleeping. He knew he was probably gonna hear about it, but he knew he couldn't rest until he made sure they were all okay; besides, if they really did need him and he didn't go he knew he would be mad at himself. He quickly got out of bed, threw on a pair of sweat pants over his boxers along with a tshirt and his fleece pull over then slipped into his socks and tennis shoes; and made his way out the door and up to the house. He was surprised to find the lights to the den were on through the curtains. He punched the code into the keypad in the door and immediately heard the babies screaming their heads off. Don followed the cries to the closed doors of the den and saw his wife pacing the den with a baby on each shoulder as soon as he opened the doors. He could also see that she was overwhelmed. What he wanted to know was where the hell Lou, Mamie and Grace were. "Baby, where in the hell are the girls?"

"Don Man, thank God." Meryl sighed. "As soon as I get one calmed down enough to try to nurse or try with the other then it starts all over again. I've managed to change them both; but I can't nurse one while tryING to calm the other. Whenever I try the movement of trying to soothe one baby upsets the other whose nursing. I've tried every combination..."

Don took off his fleece pullover, throwing it on the sofa, and immediately went over to his wife kissing her on the forehead. "Hey, it's okay; I'm here to help. Who do you want me to take?"

"Brady." Meryl finally smiled at him so relieved and grateful to see him. "Mags was the first one to wake up so maybe I can get her to latch."

Don winked at her as he took his son in his arms. "Can I get you anything, baby? Water? A snack?"

"Just you being here is taking a huge weight off." Meryl smiled as she tried to calm Mags down. "Thank you."

Don tenderly kissed her lips as his attention went back to his son. "Why are you so pissed off, buddy? Not getting your Mama's undivided attention, huh? Daddy is here to help Mommy. If you need to continue to scream then that's fine; Daddy will just walk with you. It's been a lot of people coming in and out today, huh? That's been known to make Daddy cranky at times as well."