A Lifetime With You

The Realness of Parenthood

Taylor's POV
Avery is a little over two weeks old now, but she's still so very tiny. I was doing my makeup and hair while Joe fed her. After I finished, I put on a nice dress. I made sure the diaper bag was packed and I buckled her into her car seat. "Remind me again why she can't stay with me while you go to the interview?" Joe asked. "Because I don't know how long I'm gonna be gone and you just fed her the last of the breast milk and I don't have time to pump right now. She'll get hungry. I love you" I said, kissing him. "Love you too" he said. He carried her car seat out to the car and got it secured in. He kissed me once more. I sat in the passenger seat. My mom was the one driving. Tree was in the back with the baby. We drove to the interview for Cosmopolitan magazine. There were a ton of paparazzi and fans waiting outside. We went into the private entrance so we wouldn't be followed. "Come here, my love" I say, lifting Avery from her car seat. I hated bothering her because her tiny little body seemed to be in a deep slumber, but I was still unable to carry her car seat as I'm still recovering and still having some pain. I held her close and we walked into the building. We were shown to the room where my mom and Tree would be hanging out while I was being interviewed. I kissed Avery's head before passing her over to Tree. I looked in the mirror and fixed my bangs. I kiss Avery once more. "Ok, I love you both. Thanks for watching her while I go do this." I say, leaving the room. I arrive to the room where my interview will be taking place. I'm greeted by my interviewer and to my luck, I've been interviewed by her twice before and she's so sweet.

I=Interviewer
T=Taylor

I: "I'm joined here by Taylor Swift. First off Taylor, I just wanna say, you look smoking hot. I didn't look half this good when my babies were born."
T: "Aww, really? That's so sweet. I definitely don't feel it right now. You should see me without all this makeup on. I've got dark circles under my eyes. I'm so tired, but I'm glad you can't tell."
I: "Well, you look so good. So how are you feeling?"
T: "I'm feeling ok. Some days are definitely better than others, you know? Today unfortunately hasn't been one of those days, but that's alright. There's always tomorrow. Physically, my body feels like I've been beat up by someone 10 times my size. I'm still quite sore from the delivery, but I'm gonna be fine. Emotionally, it's been a rollercoaster. My hormones are raging, as you would know. One minute I'm fine, the next minute I'm sad and I don't know why, the next minute I'm sobbing as I stare down at this little thing I just gave life to. It's crazy."
I: "Now, the question everyone is dying to know...how is your little bundle of joy? Is she with you?"
T: "She is! You have to come meet her afterwards. She's absolutely perfect. So so so tiny. She's so beautiful. She insists on being held constantly, but it's fine because she's so cute so we don't mind."
I: "How long was the whole process?"
T: "The most exhausting 40 hours of my life."
I: "40 hours?!!! Yikes!"
T: "Yeah. I labored for 38 hours I think and then I pushed for like 2 hours. Completely natural. I was exhausted at the end of it all."
I: "That's so awesome! I tried a natural birth and I couldn't do it. Do you have any tips?"
T: "Don't tell yourself you can't do it. You can do it. It's hard, but you most definitely can do it. It's also all in your support system. Trust me, if it weren't for my birthing coaches, I don't think I could've done it. I was sobbing and screaming in pain, begging for the epidural, but my husband wouldn't let me because before I went into labor, I made him promise me that he wouldn't let me get it no matter how much I begged. I started screaming at everyone and cursing as like...a pain mechanism. My birthing coaches were my husband, my mom, and my best friend Abigail. They got me through it and I'm so thankful. So yeah, just don't give up. Push through the pain and at the end of it all, it will be so worth it."
I: "Did you cry in the delivery room?"
T: "I did. I get emotional still just thinking about it because it's so freshly imprinted in my mind because it was just two weeks ago. The second she came out, there were no more contractions and the room was filled with her tiny little cries and they placed her on my chest for the first time. I fell madly in love. She wasn't the only one born that day, I was too. When your baby is born, you are born into a mother and that's how I perfectly describe that day."
I: "How's Joe liking fatherhood?"
T: "He's such a good dad. He's so in love with her and I'll be sitting on the couch holding her and he'll be like 'Can I steal her from you?' and it's just the cutest thing ever. He cried like a baby in the delivery room. Yeah, he's just...the best."
I: "So cute. Now back to this gorgeous figure of yours...how did you do it?"
T: "I honestly don't know. I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't like the way I look right now. I've still got a little bit to go until I'm back to my pre-baby weight. I really appreciate you saying that though. I've been eating somewhat healthy, but I'm gonna be honest with you, these breastfeeding cravings I get are insane. It really builds my appetite."
I: "I was just about to ask you if you were breastfeeding. That's hard work."
T: "Oh for sure, but I think no matter how you feed your baby, you're a badass. We moms are badasses. But yeah, I was a little nervous about it, but it's such a great bond. The first two feedings were ok. It was a learning experience for the baby and I both so it wasn't easy. By the third feeding, I was sobbing in pain while she nursed. I'm finally getting to the point now where it doesn't hurt as much. TMI, but my nipples were actually cracked and bleeding, but now they're completely healed so they're not as sore. The soreness is definitely still there, but it's fading quickly. I'm also pumping that way Joe can feed her as well. The only thing about breastfeeding is you have to make sure your breast pads are positioned right, otherwise you will most definitely leak all over your shirt."
I: "That is very true. How do you and Joe plan to make time for each other once you can get intimate again?"
T: "It's definitely going to be a challenge, but I know it's gonna happen. Sex is the very last thing on my mind right now, as it should be. I just pushed a human out of a very small space. It will happen when the time is right though. We've always had a pretty intimate relationship so I don't think it will be a problem."
I: "How were the cats when they first met her?"
T: "They honestly did not care. They saw her as just another person. They do get jealous though because I used to give them so much love and attention and would always be carrying one of them around, but now I'm carrying a human child around everywhere I go. They are really protective though. They sit next to me and they watch over me if I have her in my arms. If she starts crying, they need to know she's ok. They love their sister."
I: "Alright, Taylor. I think that concludes our interview"
T: "Already? I was having fun. Thank you so much for having me. You gotta come meet the baby."
I: "For sure! Can I hug you?"
T: "Of course! I'm a person who loves to hug."

The interview was over and I took my interviewer to the room where my mom and Tree were. "Oh my goodness! She's so tiny and beautiful. Wow, she's perfect!" the interviewer said. "Thank you. You wanna hold her?" I ask. She nods and holds Avery for about 5 minutes until she starts getting fussy. "She's probably hungry." I say. "Well, I better get back to work. It was so nice talking with you again. Tell Joe I said hi." she said. "I absolutely will. Take care." I said. I sit down and start feeding the baby. "Was she good for you guys while I was gone?" I asked. "Of course she was. She's always good" my mom said. I got a Facetime from Joe and I answered it. "Hi, handsome" I say. "Hi, babe. How did it go?" he asked. "Good. I'll be home shortly. She's currently eating." I say. We chat a little longer before hanging up. After she finishes nursing, I burp her and we exit through the secret exit. I got her buckled into her car seat and sit in the back with her while Tree and mom sit up front. We get home and Joe runs outside. "My baby is home" he said. He got her out of the car. "She might need to be changed." I say. "My other baby is home too" he said kissing me. He takes her in and changes her diaper. "I'm gonna head home sweetie. Maybe dad and I will come by later or tomorrow." my mom said. I nod and hug her bye. I go inside and Joe and I start talking about our next vacation, which is coming up in a month. We're still undecided on what we're going to do with Avery because she'll only be 6 weeks old so we don't know if we want to bring her with us or have someone watch her. We had this trip planned as our one year anniversary trip and we planned it before we even knew I was pregnant. As much as we do want to bring the baby, we think it would be good for us to have some alone time for a week, but I would feel so guilty leaving her. I'm so indecisive. I guess we'll decide when it gets closer.