Parenthood
Parenthood
"Oh, good because I might have so many," replied Andrea.
The nurse showed Andrea how to carry the Chevre and how to hold her breast during feeding, ensuring that he can breathe properly while sucking. She instructed her to have Chevre suck on the first breast for a minute or two and move him to the other, knowing that they were both full of milk.
The couple received more instructions on how to care for the babies like burping them after every feed, what to do when the babies puke or when milk comes out of their mouth, how to clean for their dirt, how to wrap the babies, and many more.
"I'll also schedule the babies for a bath tomorrow at five in the morning - "
"Five in the morning?" Reacted Lu Fang. "Are you trying to get my children sick? Who takes a bath at five in the morning?"
The man looked incredibly tensed as he questioned the schedule planned out for his babies. The nurses were instantly frightened of Lu Fang.
The other day, they learned about this father who nearly fainted seeing his wife giving birth, however, this man in front of them was far too different. They thought their colleague's report was most likely a bluff.
"Mr. Lu, we are sorry. It's just that we were told to prioritize your babies."
Lu Fang's eyes narrowed at the two nurses. They would definitely be prioritize given the amount of help their family had given the hospital. Obviously, the two took the instruction too literal.
The nurse eventually moved the bath time to eight in the morning the next day. It was important for the couple to learn how to get their baby cleaned and it was part of the nursery staff's responsibility to demonstrate the means and ways, considering babies are so delicate.
Lu Fang helped his wife burp the infants after feeding. He was all smiles carrying and putting them back to sleep, alternately. He was tempted not to return them to their crib, but since they agreed not to have them get used to being carried, he had to put them back.
"Babe, Brie looked so much like you?" Said the man.
Andrea smiled at him before wrinkling her nose. "Babe, they are still too small for us to tell... Please."
"They are both so beautiful… but that's because they had gorgeous parents."
Andrea giggled at her husband's remark but acknowledged this to be true saying, "True. Lucky babies for having parents with god-like features making them demi-god like."
Gao Rou, Go Bolin and Arti came to visit. They also brought some documents for the couple to check, at the same time, reported the progress of current projects underway.
Despite being a new daddy, Go Bolin still brought him some responsibility to attend to, but that was understandable. Since Lu Fang was technically on Paternity Leave, Lu Wei took over the company again with Gao Rou.
As if planning the visit, Chrstina and Yeong Soon arrived at the same time to help the couple care for the babies which they truly appreciated.
Li Wen and the kids came to say goodbye, at the same time, have one last picture with the twins before they left for Guangzhou. Just as they were heading out, Andrea's sister also gave her two cents on how to care for the little ones and wished them luck for their bittersweet and new endeavor.
Lu Fang and Andrea felt they did a fantastic job on their first day that when Christina and Yeong Soon left, they were confident they will surpass the night seamlessly. The sweethearts were also cooperating and were easy to care for.
Four hours after being left on their own, early in the evening, Andrea complained about being tired. She slept after that while the man put their twins to sleep, singing them a song. He also fell asleep afterward.
Two hours passed and Chevre was crying out loud. The couple woke up as he needed to be fed. It did not take long for Brie to become awake as well. She started sticking out her tongue, but later on; she cried too, seemingly hungry as well.
Although they were already told, reality hit them. The babies needed to be fed every after two hours or according to their demand and it wasn't only the feeding; they had to change their diapers regularly and every after a bowel movement. That only meant they would not get a proper sleep that night… or the following nights to come.
At Dawn, Chevre was awake again, crying wildly. Even after being fed, he had not stopped crying.
"Babe," called Andrea to Lu Fang who was knocked out on the sofa. "Babe!"
"Yes, babe?" The man answered, still lying down and merely peeked with one eye.
"Babe, I don't know why Chevre is crying. He won't stop!"
"Babe?"
There was no response from the man. When Andrea checked on him, he was asleep.
"Babe!"
"Hmmm… Babe, I also don't know why he is crying," Lu Fang finally replied, still lying on the sofa.
"Lu Fang, you get up right now and help me with Chevre!"
"Okay. Sorry, babe," apologized the man as he yawned.
The couple ended up with a mild argument but they quickly patched up knowing they were both new to this strongly demanding job of parenthood.
After Chevre and Brie's 6 AM feed, Lu Fang and Andrea laid down on the bed looking at the ceiling. Their eyes had dark circles around them.
"Babe, whoever wrote those novels where powerful CEOs and their wives took care of the babies on their own are shameless. They should change the genre to fantasy."
Lu Fang nodded and said, "I never read those novels, babe, but shameless indeed."