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Josh stuck his head in the door and smiled when he saw me.
“Oh, you’re up!” He said and came into the room. I cradled the baby in my arms, her small eyes open and lips smacking. She was hungry and I had yet to have a visit from the lactation consultant. I wanted to breast feed and went to several classes but wasn’t sure how to start. Josh knelt down on the bed next to us. He slid his arm around me and beamed down at the baby then he pulled me to him and kissed me. “She’s gorgeous.” He whispered proudly. I nodded, I couldn’t agree more. “Oh! My parents are here to see you.” He said getting up. “Is it okay if they come in?” I nodded.
“Yeah, but baby’s going to need to eat soon.”
“Okay.” He said and went to the door to usher them all in. Lindy rushed over and hugged me cautiously then gawked down at her grandchild.
“Ohhhh Jack …” She gushed. “Look at her!” Jack stood behind her and peeked over her shoulder. He glanced at Josh and smiled.
“Well done, son. She’s gorgeous. Doesn’t look a thing like you.”
“Ha ha ha.” Josh said disgustedly. Chris made his way over slowly and shyly. I elbowed Josh and whispered for him to move and then patted the bed next to me.
“Come, Chris, sit next to me.” He sat down and peered over to the baby then smiled at me.
“She’s so cute.” He said and gave Josh the thumbs up. Josh was such a proud daddy. I was proud of him myself. We had come a long way, he and I. We had decided to wait until after the baby was born to get married. It just wouldn’t look right with my belly protruding obviously from my body. He was very supportive throughout even when I had crazy, whacked out cravings for watermelon at six in the morning or ice cream and pizza all weekend long. Our diet went a little nuts for a while there until I saw myself gaining weight at a miraculous speed and we went back to eating healthy – except for the ice cream, I had to have it and Josh didn’t object. We had been eating dinner – sometime yesterday when I felt my abdomen tightening. I didn’t really thing too much of it until it got to the point where I couldn’t sit still. I went to the bathroom, my water broke and that was it! And now here we were, Josh, baby, and me.
And now baby was making herself known. She started to squawk. Chris leaped up and headed towards the other side of the room while Josh ran to my side.
“What’s wrong with her?” He asked looking down at her reddening face.
“She’s hungry.” I replied and rang the nurse’s alarm. She asked what I needed and I told her I needed to feed the baby. She said she would be with me in a moment. Lindy grabbed Jack’s arm.
“Time for us to go.” She said coming to the bed. She knew I wanted to breastfeed, we’d discussed it many times. She hugged me and leaned down and kissed the baby’s forehead before the three of them retreated back out the door just as the nurse was coming in.
“I called Lactation and they don’t have anyone available to come in right now but …” She pulled up a chair and sat down by me. “I breastfed all my children and I’ve helped other moms. It’s not hard, it’s just a matter of getting used to it.” She eyed Josh. “You staying for this dad?” She asked. He smiled and then straightened his face.
“Yeah. I’m curious to see how this is done.” I smiled at him.
“First thing is to decide which side to start on.” We decided to start on the right side. She helped me expose the breast and position the baby under it. It was quite difficult at first getting my nipple into her mouth but after a while she was suckling mercilessly. The nurse left us alone. Josh slid onto the bed next to me and watched, grinning.
“You’re such a perv.” I said. He looked surprised.
“I am not, this is cool. My mother breastfed me.” I wasn’t sure the baby was even getting any milk until I felt an odd and somewhat tingly feeling in my breast. The nurse told me that was called the “letdown” when the milk was flowing into the breast. The baby gulped hungrily and I leaned back on the pillows until she was full. When she was content and sleeping peacefully I handed her over to her father and he sat down in the chair next to the bed and held her, beaming like a proud daddy. I felt myself drifting off and took a nap. When I woke he was still there, rocking gently, baby in his arms.
We tackled the issue of what to call baby girl Groban later that evening. I asked Josh what he thought we should name her. He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“I kinda like the name Madison.” I wrinkled up my nose.
“It’s the name of a town or a city. What else have you got?” He rolled his eyes upward, obviously thinking.
“She could be called September.” I frowned.
“Oh you mean like your old girlfriend?”
“Okay, forget it. Ummm Paige? Taylor?” I sighed. I didn’t like any of those. “Well how about you throw some out?”
“I like Victoria.”
“Nope.”
“Carolyn?”
“I don’t think she’s a Carolyn.” He got up and peeked into the bassinet
“How about Beth or Elizabeth?” He thought a moment.
“I kinda like that one. Keep going.”
“I love the name Claire.” He stood and looked at me.
“Then she is Claire. Claire Elizabeth Groban.” I smiled and joined him at the baby’s side. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I slid my arms around his neck and he pressed his soft, warm lips against mine. I pulled him to me and felt my heart pounding as I slid my tongue along his thick bottom lip.
“Mmmmm … baby. I want you so badly.” I slid my hands up the back of his shirt and lightly scratched his back. “Ohhhh now I want you to do that for an hour or two.” He leaned his head back and moaned. I scratched until a nurse interrupted us. Her face blushed a bright pink and she hurried past Josh and me towards the baby and peeked in.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on in here …” She muttered. “Sounded kind of like an R-rated movie!” I giggled and Josh blushed. She bustled around me, forcing me back onto the bed, checked my vitals and informed me that Claire and I would be going home the next day. I was thrilled and Josh couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I’m going to go home tonight and get everything ready for our little girl.” He said. I smiled at him. It was great to see him so happy. I couldn’t wait to get home with the baby and be alone with my family for once. The day had been a constant revolving door of visitors. The first of which was Josh’s parents and brother, then my mother, then my mother’s sister and her family intermingled with Josh’s cousins and other assorted relatives. By the time Josh left I was quite fatigued and couldn’t wait to curl up in bed. Shortly after that Claire woke and cried to be fed. She slept until about 4AM and then I got up, changed her diaper and fed her once more. I had an 8AM alarm clock by the name of Claire. My body felt like I had been trampled by a horse and my head ached. I settled Claire up to my breast and she drank hungrily. I could hardly keep my eyes open. The day nurse made her appearance not long after. I was holding my baby and trying to watch TV. I could barely concentrate.
