Disclaimer: I don't own Private Practice and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Charlotte King was spending her first full day alone with the triplets since Mason and Cooper were out of town, sightseeing with his parents. She had declined to go, saying she didn't want to chance the trip with three babies. Mason and Cooper had luckily agreed, which made her happy. But now she was regretting that decision. She hadn't ever really been alone with the babies before, and she had sent the nanny home for the day. Everyone else was working.
The four months olds all had different moods and it was hard to please them at the same time. Tessa, Alexandra, and Joshua were not easy babies, something that drove her and Cooper crazy. They really didn't mind though. Charlotte had some issues dealing with motherhood, but she generally liked it. Today was not one of those days.
Josh started crying his little heart out, which immediately set off Ally and Tessa. So Charlotte ran around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to comfort each of them at the same time, which really didn't work very well. Luckily, they managed to cry themselves to sleep, giving her some time to herself. At least Mason was old enough to take care of himself for a little bit if need be. They had no so luck with the triplets.
Then Tessa decided she was hungry and started crying again, which woke up Josh and Ally, something that made them both angry. They showed their poor mother that fact by crying again and then need diaper changes. "Alright, you three. Listen up. Mommy's on her own today, so you need to go easy on me. Can you do that or not?"
Her only answer a little wail from Ally, the most difficult triplet. "I don't want to hear that, you understand me?" Like she had expected, none of them listened to her. She sighed angrily and then changed Josh and Ally's diapers after feeding Tessa. It was hard work, but Charlotte was determined to do it by herself.
Her resolve didn't last all that long. By noon, she had been spit on multiple times and had changed several diapers. Her head was pounding and she couldn't think past the rest of the afternoon. Charlotte desperately hoped everyone else got home quickly because she really needed their help. She was stupid to ever think she could take care of three very demanding babies on her own.
Luckily, Josh eventually cried himself back to sleep in the baby swing, while Ally and Tessa were entertained by the various toys that had taken over the household in the past several months. That didn't last very long, however, because one of the babies started crying again for attention from their momma and the other two followed suit.
By two-thirty, Charlotte was at the end of her rope and on the verge of tears. "Please, please, be quiet. Can't you do that for me? I'm just asking this one thing." Josh responded by blowing bubbles and he giggled. Ally started crying yet again, which of course set of Tessa. Because nothing could be easy for Charlotte King.
It was days like this where she questioned what she had ever done to deserve all this chaos. She loved and adored all four of her children, but it was really hard sometimes.
By four that afternoon, Charlotte had cried several times herself and was getting ready to call the nanny and bolt the fuck out of the house for the rest of the day. The only thing that stopped her was that Cooper, Mason, and the in-laws would be home soon. She was never more grateful when she heard the car pull up. When the door opened, she burst into tears and gave a very angry Josh to his grandfather before practically running to the kitchen. Cooper's mother followed her in. "Are you okay?"
Charlotte shook her head. "I feel like a shitty mother because I couldn't take care of them on my own. And they cried all day and I'm exhausted and I don't even know which way is up anymore." She was shocked when Megan came up to her and gave her a hug.
"Oh, Charlotte. I knew we shouldn't have left you alone with those babies all day. It's okay. We're here now, and we'll help, so don't you worry about a thing. You're not a shitty mother at all. Those feelings are perfectly normal, especially when three babies demanded your attention all day."
"I didn't want them at first and this feels like my punishment."
"Don't be stupid, Charlotte. It was just a bad day, that's all. That happens to us all the time, remember? Remember that day Mason was sick and stayed home from school, and then Josh and Ally got fevers, too? We nearly ran ourselves into the ground that day. You'll be okay. You just need to relax. We'll take care of everything." Cooper hugged his wife.
Charlotte sniffled and tried to stop crying. "Today was a really bad day. I need help." She hated to admit that, but it was the truth. She had been naïve to even attempt this and it wouldn't happen again.
"We know you do. Go to bed and don't worry about a thing."
"Okay." Charlotte couldn't wait to go to sleep and wake up the next morning. Hopefully, tomorrow would go better because she couldn't handle another day like today. It would send her into a spiral of angst. The good days outweighed the bad, but it was hard to remember them on a bad day. She loved her kids and being a mother, but on days like today, she didn't know why.
Luckily, she had a family to help her out, and she was immensely grateful for that. Charlotte would never be left alone to handle this type of situation on her own again. Cooper – and their friends – would make sure of that. She wouldn't drown in her own guilt and sadness anymore.
Being a mother was rewarding, but that didn't mean that there were days like this. They happened rarely, but it was very stressful when it did.