Littlest Girl

Chapter 9

"That's it, Emmi! Crawl to Mama!"

The tiny girl kicked her legs as she laid on her stomach and tried to crawl towards her caregiver. Though she wanted to be in her Mama's arms, she was having a great deal of difficulty getting across the floor to her.

"Wes!" she babbled while continuing to try and scoot herself towards Diana.

The older woman laughed at her little girl's antics. One of her favorite parts of being the brunette's caregiver was simply getting the chance to see the girl's personality and learn about baby Emmi as her own person.

Apparent from their time spent together was that, when deep in headspace, the younger girl seemed to drift somewhere between a newborn and an infant. She had not even attempted to walk, spoke only a few simplistic words, and altogether was totally dependent on Diana's care.

The black haired woman had no reservations in the slightest about caring for a little under one, and instead embraced the truth behind Emmi's admission about wanting to be as little as she could be.

"Uh oh. Someone's getting fussy now."

Her attempts to crawl proving unsuccessful, the tiny girl began to whimper and whine unhappily.

Diana stood from where she was crouching and scooped up the girl who was clad in only a diaper and t-shirt. She seemed perfectly content in her current outfit; and the older woman found it quite adorable.

Sitting down on the loveseat, the tall woman cradled her baby in one arm as the other rested on the little one's stomach.

"Is somebody tired? That was quite a workout!"

Emmi only smacked her lips together in search of her pacifier. Her eyes scanned over her Mama's face before moving to look at what was visible from her current position.

After seeing nothing of interest, the girl turned her head towards her caretaker and pushed her face into the woman's chest.

Diana took no issue with the behavior as the baby would often turn into her or bury her face when feeling shy or nervous. However, when she felt a small mouth trying to latch onto her breast, the shock of the feeling and action caused the woman to jump slightly and pull Emmi away.

The suddenness of the action and loss of contact caused the tiny girl to wail. Small hands then pushed at her face as she fussed and searched for something to suckle.

The black haired woman was suddenly very nervous. She and Emmi had briefly discussed "suckies," as they were referred to by the latter, when making their lists. However, there had been no further communication on the subject.

Looking down at the girl in her arms, Diana could see she was, in fact, still deep in her headspace. The woman reasoned she was simply acting instinctually to the maternal comfort and considered they would need to have a discussion when Emmi was feeling bigger.

Reaching forward slightly, a pacifier was picked up and quickly placed into the baby's mouth. She immediately began to suck and allowed her hands to rest on one side of her face.

Diana watched the pacifier bob up and down, slower and slower as the girl began drifting off to sleep. Finally, when the girl was truly asleep, she stood slowly and placed her on the couch where she was then covered with a blanket.

Though the tall woman felt the couch was not incredibly safe for an infant to sleep on, Emmi apparently had no bed in her apartment. The crib was most preferable, but that was also certainly out of the question.

Looking around the space once again, Diana toyed with the thought of getting Emmi more things to keep at her apartment. This idea was quickly done away with, however, when she realized there would be no room for anything such as a crib or changing table.

Diana snorted slightly at her own idea of having Emmi put herself to bed in her crib and change herself on a changing table. The obviousness of the impractically was enormous, and yet she had missed it at first.

A loud thump followed by a scream cut off the woman's thoughts abruptly. She whipped around to see her baby lying on the floor in a heap with the blanket on top of her.

"MAMA" screamed the frightened girl.

"Shhhhh. You rolled right off, honey. Mommy just laid you down too."

The girl continued to cry as she was lifted from the floor back onto the couch. She tried to hold onto her caregiver and cried louder when she was placed back onto the offending piece of furniture.

"You're alright. Just a little slip."

Diana had long since learned that the best way to solve a tantrum, fall, or other possible upsets, was to not play into the theatrics. If she remained calm, that would help her little one calm quicker.

Emmi's screaming began to quiet more as she saw her Mama sitting patiently in front of her with a comforting hand on her leg.

"You know what? Mama doesn't think you're big enough to stay on the couch. Clearly. So why don't I take you back to your room and your crib, hm? Is that okay, sweetheart?"

Widened eyes alerted Diana that Emmi understood at least part of what she said.

Standing slightly, the woman reached over to grab the dragon stuffie that was on the opposite end of the loveseat. Everything else Emmi would need was already at her own apartment. There would be no real need to pack her anything from her own place.

"If you want to stay, you can. I won't be upset at all. But if you do want to go back to my apartment, I'd love to have my baby with me."

Emmi only deliberated in her mind briefly before making grabby hands to Diana; indicating she wished to be picked up and go along.

With a small smile, the woman obliged and lifted the girl onto her hip. She then grabbed the pacifier off the ground and wiped it on her shirt.

"Nuggie!" the baby said before having the beloved item placed in her mouth.

"That's right, Em. Now let me grab the bags and we'll head home."