The Ruins of Love and Chaos (AvaLance)

CHAPTER XIII

They have barely slept for the past days. Laurel was always in the state of unrest and Sara and Ava tried everything; feeding her, taking her out thinking she felt hot in the house, gave her toys and carried her, but she just won't stop crying.

They knew what they were getting into. Even before Laurel was born they have read countless of baby books and articles. They even attended a class in preparation for their little angel. They were prepared for the sleepless nights and the change in the household but they weren't prepared for the heart break of seeing their daughter cry the entire day.

Ava rocked the little baby as Sara warms up her milk. It's three in the morning and Laurel barely slept. They were currently in the nursery which was big enough to be the little girl's actual room in the future.

The taller blonde murmured sweet words into Laurel's ear but she just couldn't stop crying. Who knew that five month old babies can cry so loud? It was a good thing that the houses weren't close to each other because if they were, then everybody in the subdivision would be woken up.

"Hey little bean can you tell mama what's wrong?" she kisses her tiny palm. "Do you have an ouchy? Can you point where it hurts?"

She always gets the same response which was Laurel's piercing cries. At some point she would just be crying without the tears because she had cried the entire day.

"Still crying?" Sara asked as she sprayed the milk on her wrist.

"I don't know what to do anymore Sara. I think she's in pain and I don't know where" Ava sat at the sofa, still rocking Laurel in her arms.

Sara sat beside her and gave Ava the bottle. Laurel was quiet the first second she latched on to the silicone nipple but the moment she starts feeding she cries once more and pushed the bottle away. This was the part Sara and Ava were so concerned about. Laurel had difficulty feeding using the bottle.

"Let me try" the shorter blonde offers her arms. She takes the baby from Ava and settles her on her lap. She pulls her shirt down and unclasps her nursing bra. Ava reaches for the nursing pillow and placed it on Sara's lap.

Finally, Laurel was able to feed but after feeding, she was still crying. They all fell asleep in the nursery which was the common scenario. The next morning, Laurel was silent and they were thankful however, she felt hotter than usual

"Sara, can you .hand me the thermometer babe" Ava said as she was feeling the baby's forehead. "I think she has a fever"

Ava wasn't wrong but it wasn't just a fever, her temperature was a 101 and they didn't know what to do, so they rushed her to the hospital. Sara was on the phone asking Dinah what she should do.

"Did you try giving her a bath?" Dinah asked through speaker phone.

"No mom, we didn't. I...we... we didn't know what to do...were on the way to the hospital now" Laurel started crying again, and Sara became more terrified. "Mom...I... she won't stop crying"

"Hey, that's okay. If her fever is high it's probably an infection but we don't know yet okay, honey? Just stay calm the doctors will figure her out"

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"Well, it's not anything serious" the doctor says as he checks on Laurel.

"What do you mean her fever is a hundred and one?" Sara was confused.

"Your daughter is teething" the doctor pulls down Laurel's lower lip to show her swollen gums. "Teething starts at about 4 to 6 months. You said she was always crying, unable to sleep and not feeding well in the bottle. Appetite loss is common during this stage because their gums are swollen"