Always | bws

two ~ "he's small"

As soon as we pulled up to the house, the front door flew open and there stood Derek and Anne with large smiles on their faces.
Anne was holding a tissue in her hand and was sometimes patting her face to dry away the tears. Bless her heart.

Brad helped me out of the car while his parents watched their son be the father and husband he was meant to be.
Once I was out of the car, I carefully got Jake out of the car seat while Brad got the bags out of the back of the car.

As I made sure the blanket covered Jake's tiny body from the cool breeze of the October air, I heard Brad's parents gasp. I looked up to them, seeing Anne with her hands over her mouth and Derek with one arm over Anne's shoulder as he smiled at the baby in my arms.

Brad shut the car door and locked the car before coming up behind me with the bag in his hand. He placed his free hand on my back and walked us into the house where comments about Jake were thrown everywhere.
Derek and Anne gave me a hug and said hello to Jake. Brad greeted his parents with hugs.

Just as we got into the living room, the little pitter-patter of feet came from the kitchen and before we knew it, Lily stood in the doorway trying her best to keep her balance.
She saw Jake in my arms and her face immediately changed. She slowly made her way over to me, Brad sitting beside me. Lily's face was full of confusion and she looked intrigued to see who this is.

"Mama?" She looked up at me, unsure on what to do.

"Daddy?" She mumbled again to Brad, a confused look still on her face.

"Go on." Brad reassured her and gestured his hand to Jake who was snug in his blanket.
Lily fiddled with her fingers sheepishly and nervously walked forward until Jake came into her eyesight. The four of us watched as she tried to figure out what's going on.

"Who's that?" Lily asked. Her little voice making me want to squeeze her.

"This is your baby brother, Jake." Brad said proudly. Brad decided to bring Lily on his lap so she could see him better. I pulled back the blanket from Jake's cheek, revealing his face to the curious little girl.

"Hi Jake." Lily said, waving at him - even though he can't see.
The four of us awed at Lily's gesture, giggling at her for waving at him though.

"What do you think of him?" I asked Lily. She thought for a second, taking her time to properly look at Jake.

"He's small." Was all she said, "Where did he come from?" Lily added. Anne and Derek chuckled at the little girls response.

"He came from mummy's tummy." Brad said, pulling the blanket back from Jake's face so Lily could see him better.
As Lily looked at Jake, a small smile crept on to her face. Her hands were gentle when it came to him. She made sure not to hurt him.

"I love him." Lily beamed at the tiny baby in my arms. Brad and I caught each other's eyes, smiling widely at Lily's response.
Derek and Anne watched in awe.

"We'll let you get some rest, you must be so tired!" Anne said as the couple stood up.
I was about to tell them to stay, that it's okay if they want to stay and meet Jake properly, but Brad spoke before I got the chance.

"We'll come to your house tomorrow, so you can fuss over him." Brad chuckled, giving his parents hugs and thank yous.
The two said their congrats to me and Brad, both giving me a hug and telling me to take it easy.
They bid their goodbyes before leaving us four together - as a family - for the first time.

"Welcome home, buddy." Brad beamed at Jake, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"Here." I turned to Brad slowly, gesturing for him to take Jake.

Brad took Jake in his arms and held him close. Jake didn't shift in his sleep, he hasn't opened his eyes yet, but he should soon.

We got told by the midwives that Jake was born only a couple weeks early, but his weight is perfectly fine. Which is weird, thinking back to when Lily was born she had to be kept in because she was premature by quite a bit. It's also weird coming home the same day as giving birth. I never thought they'd discharge me that quick, but I guess I was fine and Jake didn't show any signs of struggle.

"I'm going to make a few calls." I said to Brad as he cuddled Jake close to him, not wanting to let him go. Brad just nodded his head in response. Lily sat quietly next to Brad, also looking at Jake and continuing to smile at him.

••

After hours of talking on the phone to many people, telling them the news about Jake - I finally got to relax properly.
As it's October, it's starting to get dark much earlier than normal - so by 6pm, the sun is already setting.

Brad and I decided that since it's getting dark, we should just go upstairs and relax.
Recently we had a tv put in our room so we can watch whatever is on before we go to sleep.

As we go up the stairs with little to no effort, Lily bounces on our bed and looks at Brad and I with a playful grin.
I sit on the bed and shift myself so I'm facing the tv - Lily crawled beside me and cuddled into my arm as I held her close.

Brad walked into the room with Jake in his arms still.
As I turned the tv on, Brad changed Jake into his pyjama onesie that was red with white stripes running across it. He looks so adorable.

I giggled at Jake as Brad held him, being careful with his head since Jake is only just over 12 hours old.

Gosh, that's weird to think.

As the tv played quietly - so Jake wouldn't be disturbed - Brad sat himself on the other side of the bed next to Lily. I set out a blanket for Jake in front of me and carefully took him from Brad's arms and wrapped him in a blanket loosely, so he won't get too stuffy.

Lily eventually drifted off to sleep, seeing as she quickly got bored of the tv. Her sleeping body was slumped against Brad's side, Brad's arm wrapped around her, loosely cuddling her. I got up from the bed and slowly walked over to Jake's crib that was set up just last week.
As I got to his crib, I gently lay him down on the soft cushions and supported him until he was safely laying on his back.

I smiled at Jake, stroking his cheek with my index finger and whispering 'goodnight' to him before making my way back to bed.
As I turned around, I saw Brad and Lily asleep together. Brad's arm was protectively wrapped around Lily's small body as Lily was cuddled up to Brad.

The sight made my heart melt.

I decided that to keep this precious moment with me, I took a picture on my phone. The light of the tv giving me something to work with other than the flash which would disturb them.
I thought while I have my phone, I turned back to the sleeping newborn and quickly snapped a picture of him sleeping.
I gushed over the pictures, feeling all giddy and excited inside.

I'm more than happy right now.

••

hope you're enjoying this, i promise it will get better!:)