Raising Steven

How to Hold a Baby

Greg and the gems had an agreement.

Steven would live with Greg in the van while the gems built a suitable living structure. When it was bad weather, they stayed in the temple.

When Greg was busy at the car wash or away with work, the gems would watch and care for him.

This was a common occurrence.

So, Greg decided that if the gems were going to care for Steven, the needed to  learn how to properly hold him.

But it wasn't until Steven was 3 months old that the gems finally decided to learn how to hold him.

They all had their own reasons.

Pearl, in a way blamed the infant for the loss of Rose, but slowly learned to love him due to his adorableness.

Garnet was afraid to even touch the baby. She thought they were fragile and expected him to break with a single touch.

And Amethyst....well, Garnet and Pearl both were hesitant to let her hold him because, lets face it...she was a tad...incautious.

After the whole blizzard-kidnapping fiasco, they all agreed that they wanted to be a part of Steven's life.

So, they decided to learn how to correctly hold Steven and Greg was more than happy to teach them.

He had them sit on the couch in the temple and gave them a little demonstration.

"First, you gently lift him under his arms, then you support the head with one arm and use the other to support his bottom."

Pearl went first. Greg handed the giggling baby to her, she hesitantly took him from Greg.

With her right hand, she supported his head and used her left arm to support his bottom.

Immediately, a feeling of unfamiliar warmth. The bundle in her arms immediately snuggled up to the gem.

A smile crept upon Pearl's face. She had never felt so....happy. She grinned and cuddled the tot close to her chest.

Greg smiled widely. "You've got it, great job!" He then took the baby and handed him to Amethyst.

Before that though, he had given her a little pep talk. "Remember, you need to be very careful with him."

Amethyst, who was usually flamboyant and loquacious had become alert and careful.

She slowly took the baby from Greg's arms and held him just like Pearl had done. Steven immediately relaxed.

He snuggled up into the purple gem's arms. Amethyst grinned and made funny faces, making him laugh.

"Great job, he loves funny faces." Greg praised, moving to taking Steven gently from Amethyst's arms.

Then, it was Garnet's turn.

She was visably shaking, something the gems had never seen her do before. She had never been so nervous.

"I....I don't think I should." She stammered. "I can see a million things going wrong if I hold him."

Greg held Steven tighter. "I don't want to know, do I?" He replied. Garnet shuddered. "Brain trauma, spinal injuries....death."

Greg shivered. "Uh, well..." He glanced at Amethyst and Pearl who whispered to him, "She's afraid she'll hurt him."

"How could I not?!" Garnet spoke. "He looks so...fragile, what if I drop him?" She moved away from the baby.

"Babies aren't like glass bottles, they aren't going to break as soon as you touch them." Greg assured.

Garnet looked at Amethyst and Pearl who gave her a reassuring nod. "Just do it Garnet, it's easy...and he's cute."