"Chloe, you have to let one of us hold her so you can try and get some sleep" Aubrey says firmly, easily seeing how exhausted her wife is despite the redhead's attempts to hide it. Brooke is teething early, and nothing they've tried so far has seemed to help.
It's hell on all of them watching their beautiful, happy little girl cry so miserably, but Chloe seems to be taking it harder than her wives, insisting she take most of the late night crying sessions and trying to comfort her through most of the day as well. It's almost as if she somehow blames herself for being unable to help, even though they all know some babies just have a harder time than others.
"No, I've got her" Chloe says immediately, just as Aubrey had known she would. And Aubrey gets how she's feeling, but right now she needs her wife to get some sleep before she hurts herself. Aubrey can easily recognize the signs of overworking and exhaustion, having been pulled out of them so many times by both of her soulmates over the years, and she knows Chloe needs her to return the favor now.
"Baby, if you don't get some sleep you're going to pass out where you're sitting, even holding a crying baby" Aubrey tries again, wishing she'd accepted Beca's offer to come along and help. She'd told the brunette to go back to sleep and she'd take care of it because she wanted at least one of them to get some rest, but now that she's trying to convince Chloe to get some sleep herself she realizes having Beca to help might have made this easier. "You're exhausted, and you won't let us help you. Come on Chloe, you know we're equal partners in this."
Her words obviously hit hard, and Aubrey winces slightly as she realizes she'd let her own exhaustion affect her ability to filter what she says. She means what she'd said, but there has to be a better way to say it than nearly accusing her wife of sliding back into the behaviors of their first weeks home from the hospital.
"I just…" Chloe starts, looking like she's close to tears, and Aubrey feels like an ass. "I just want to be here for her. If we can't make her feel better, I need to know she's at least not alone, that her mommies are right here for her." It's not the most coherent thought Chloe has ever expressed, but Aubrey understand completely. They all feel helpless as they listen to Brooke in pain, but Chloe seems to be taking it the hardest.
"I know baby, I know" Aubrey says softly, deliberately gentling her voice beyond what she normally would after inadvertently hurting Chloe earlier. "But she won't be alone, I promise I'll sit with her and do everything I can to help her feel better. But if you don't get some sleep, you aren't going to be able to function at all. So you go rest, and I'll stay up with her."
Aubrey isn't sure how much of her argument actually gets through to Chloe, so rather than wait for a response she moves across the room and takes Brooke from the redhead's arms, settling the softly whining child into the crook of one arm so she has a hand free to pull Chloe to her feet, guiding her towards the door and down the hallway to their room. Beca stirs a little as they enter the room, but her own exhaustion keeps her from waking up fully as Chloe climbs into bed next to her. The redhead's reluctance is almost completely gone now that she's faced with a comfortable bed and Beca's arms unconsciously pulling her closer, and Aubrey has to smile at the sight before leaving the room again, gently rocking her daughter to see if anything will help this time.
Nothing she tries seems to offer more than minor relief, and Aubrey finds herself feeling increasingly helpless as the hours pass, Brooke only occasionally dropping into a light sleep before the pain wakes her. They'd gone to the doctor when the pain had first gotten this bad, but other than a few ideas for medicines to help with the discomfort there hadn't been much he could offer in the way of help. And with Brooke only a few months old, they're wary about giving her too much of anything, even something the doctor says is safe. He'd urged caution on them anyway, and no one does caution better than Aubrey, especially when it's her daughter's health at stake.
That doesn't make it any easier when their baby girl is crying in pain, no matter how much she wants to do anything she can to help she knows that it's too soon after the last dosage to give her anything else. All she can do is hold her, and try to find something that will work where everything else has failed.
It makes for a long night, Brooke eventually giving in to her own exhaustion sometime around 5am, but even then Aubrey is reluctant to lay her down. She'd promised Chloe that she'd be right there with their daughter, and even though she knows the redhead will be more reasonable after a few hours of hopefully solid sleep she's not willing to risk upsetting her by doing anything other than holding their baby close.
She does manage to doze off a little sitting upright in the rocking chair, but she's afraid that if she slips too far into sleep she'll drop Brooke, and there's no way she'll risk that either. She debates relocating to the guest bedroom and settling into the bed there with Brooke next to her, but she also doesn't want either of her soulmates to worry when they wake up and she's not where they'd expect. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but with the long hours trying to help Brooke, even after waking up they're not thinking the clearest.
It's Brooke that wakes her though, only a few hours after she'd fallen asleep. This time she seems more hungry than in pain, and Aubrey sighs in relief at finding something she can help the baby with after feeling helpless all night. They've got the basics down, know how Brooke prefers her bottles and how she wants held, they know when she's likely to be hungry and when she's going to nap. But the teeth coming in have managed to throw everything into new patterns that leave them floundering. This though, this she can do.
Unfortunately the nursing seems to set off the pain again, and even though Brooke is full and would normally be content and full of smiles she's currently whining in discomfort. It's not quite crying yet, but Aubrey knows that won't be far behind if they can't find some way to help. And these are only her first teeth; she'll have several more rounds of this in the months to come, so they really need to find something, anything other than medicine she's too young for, that will help.
But Aubrey isn't thinking clearly enough to come up with any bright ideas right now, she's starting to feel as exhausted as Chloe had looked the night before, and her brain doesn't seem to want to cooperate with her when she tries to think of something they haven't tried yet.
Thankfully Beca shows up in the doorway before Aubrey can get frustrated with her lack of mental coherence, taking in the situation with a glance before moving to Aubrey's side and taking their daughter. "Time for you to get some sleep of your own" the brunette says softly as she instinctively rocks Brooke, the motion enough to quiet the whining for now. "Chloe's still out, why don't you go cuddle up with her and get some rest, I've got Brooke. She should be okay for another dose now, that'll help her this morning while I look for something else we can try."
Aubrey is too tired to argue about any of what Beca says, from another dose of medicine to getting some sleep. She needs the sleep, she knows she does, can recognize the signs of overworking well enough even if she has been more responsible with her hours over the past few years. Still, taking care of an infant is a class of work all its own, and she hadn't realized that would mean it was this physically demanding. As she falls asleep curled into Chloe side, she realizes she probably should have.
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Beca might not be as rested as she'd like to be, but she had gotten a lot more sleep than either of her soulmates over the last few days, projects at work with deadlines set in stone had meant her wives had tried to keep her from the worst of the sleep deprivation despite her protests that she would be fine helping like always. Not that she can blame them; she'd almost certainly do the same thing in their position. But it does mean that she hasn't had more than a few short chances to hold Brooke over the past few days, and she's glad for the chance now even if the baby is fussy.
But now her projects are complete, and she has the next few weeks off with no conflict or pressure from her bosses, so she fully intends to take over as much of Brooke's care for the next few days as she can to give her wives a chance to catch up on their much needed rest.
When Brooke actually settles down for a more restful sleep after Beca gives her a dose of pain medicine, Beca decides to try the internet one more time, see if a new set of search words might help solve the problem. She isn't all that hopeful, they've all looked several times both on their own and together, and so far they haven't been able to come up with anything that helps. There's plenty of good advice and plenty of sites dedicated to helping, but none of the remedies suggested seem to work for Brooke.
Beca had joked at the beginning of all this that their daughter obviously managed to inherit her tendency to be more difficult than a situation would normally warrant, but after almost a week of fussing the joke has started to wear thin. She's not sure if there's any truth to the thought, but she knows that this time at least there will be no easy solutions for their daughter.
As has been true the last few times they've looked, most of the ideas people have are for older children, not a baby as young as Brooke, and Beca starts to feel as if this search will be just as pointless as the rest. They aren't willing to try most of the medicines recommended even if the various sites do assure parents that they're perfectly safe, not without talking to Brooke's doctor and definitely not until she's a little older.
She finally gives up on looking through the various sites and posts after almost an hour, glad to see that not only is Brooke still sleeping but so are Chloe and Aubrey, the two women completely out of it as they lay curled together. She's glad they're getting some solid rest in, and while she wishes she could join them she ultimately decides that the best thing she can do is make sure Brooke is quiet for as long as possible then do her best to keep her from waking her mothers.
Thanks to the medicine Brooke sleeps for a solid few hours, and when she wakes up is a lot closer to her usual happy self than she has been. It makes Beca glad to see, and she debates waking her wives so they can see their daughter while she's in a good mood. She decides against it when she heads back into the bedroom and sees the lines of exhaustion still on their faces despite the hours of sleep they've gotten. They obviously still need their rest, and she isn't going to be the one to disturb it.
Instead she spends the next few hours holding Brooke, paying no attention to the time as she focuses on doing everything she can think of to keep her daughter smiling and happy. She doesn't realize just how long she manages to do that until Chloe is walking into the living room yawning, looking slightly put out as she stretches.
"Why did you let us sleep past noon?" the redhead grumbles as she walks into the room, heading towards the kitchen as Beca hears a stomach rumble. She has to fight back a laugh as she stands to follow her wife, not wanting to antagonize her before she gets something to eat and wakes up a little more.
"I didn't realize how late it had gotten" Beca responds with a shrug once Chloe has a bowl of cereal poured, obviously not willing to wait for something to cook so she can ease her hunger. Brooke is cooing softly to herself as they talk, and Beca takes a moment to look down and smile at her, making a few nonsensical sounds in response. She's been 'talkative' all morning, and Beca has loved the interaction they've been having.
"She seems happy" Chloe says with a smile, grumpy mood apparently forgotten as she watches them with a soft smile. Beca can't really blame her, the sight of anyone with their daughter in a happy mood is enough to melt any bad mood, and they've been missing their daughter's smiles lately.
"We've had a good morning" Beca says in response, looking away from Brooke for a second to return Chloe's smile. "She got in a few hours of sleep after I gave her a little bit of pain medicine, and then she was a very happy little girl for Mommy." It's still weird to call herself that, or hear one of her wives call her that, but Beca has to admit she likes it. She's a mother now, a parent, Brooke's Mommy. It's strange and more than a little terrifying, but she's also happier than she ever has been before.
"Here, let me hold her while she's smiling" Chloe says when she finishes her bowl of cereal, pushing it to the side and holding out her arms. And Beca is more than happy to pass over their daughter, as much as she loves holding the girl, watching either of her soulmates hold her is always a close second.
But as soon as Brooke is out of Beca's arms and into Chloe's the baby starts fussing, no longer smiling and happy. She's also rubbing at her mouth like it's hurting her again, though she'd seemed perfectly content in Beca's arms.
Chloe looks almost hurt as they both realize what happened, and Beca feels strangely guilty. She isn't sure why Brooke would fuss for Chloe, the baby has always been happy with all three of her mothers. She doesn't particularly want to be special right now, though she knows if she is it will only be until Brooke is done teething.
Maybe that's it. Beca has been gone for most of the teething, it's always been Chloe or Aubrey with her while she's been hurting. But Beca had given her the pain medicine earlier, made her feel better, and kept her distracted from what discomfort had returned over the next few hours. There isn't any memory of pain attached to her.
"Babe, I'm sorry" Beca apologizes as she takes Brooke when the redhead holds her out, hurt feelings not trumping their daughter's comfort even though Beca can tell how much it hurts. "It's just a teething thing, and she's got to be almost done with this round." She's not sure how much it helps, Brooke had quieted once more when back in Beca's arms, snuggling closer into her warmth. She isn't smiling and cooing like she was before, but she's also not whining as if she's about to cry.
"No, I know that" Chloe says almost automatically, and Beca winces a little. "It just caught me by surprise" she adds after a second, forcing a smile as she looks at the two of them. After a long moment the smile starts to look less forced and more genuine, obviously she can't stay hurt when Brooke is if not happy at least content, a marked difference from the past few days.
"Me too" Beca says honestly, looking down at their daughter in thought. "I know I said it before, but I think she somehow managed to inherit my stubbornness. And my tendency to make things more difficult than they should be."
Chloe manages a laugh at that one, and Beca is glad to hear it sound natural and unstrained. "Beca, with our luck she probably got all our stubborn streaks combined, and you know you aren't the only one of us with the ability to make things difficult."
"What are you two saying about me?" Aubrey asks as she walks into the kitchen, looking somehow more rested than Chloe had despite not having slept as long. Then again, Chloe had been putting in longer hours the few days before that, refusing to let Aubrey take over unless she had to, sleeping when Brooke did if at all.
"Just comparing our daughter to the three of us" Beca says with a smirk. Aubrey shoots her a questioning glance as she start to put together a lunch, and Beca's smirk turns to a genuine smile as she considers the differences in her soulmates. She knows Aubrey is just as hungry as Chloe had been, but the blonde would feel unsettled all day if she took the easy path and just grabbed a bowl of cereal for lunch. Even if she's just woken up, it's lunch time and that means she'll want an actual lunch.
"Brooke there has decided that Beca is her favorite parent for a while" Chloe explains, smiling gently at Beca to reassure her she's joking when the brunette starts to splutter denials. Their daughter might currently feel more comfortable with her thanks to infant reasoning, but that doesn't mean she's the favorite.
Aubrey just looks confused at the byplay, looking between the two of them with a look that clearly says nothing has actually been explained yet. "Brooke has apparently decided that she's more comfortable when I'm holding her" Beca tries, not wanting to hand Brooke over to Chloe so she starts fussing just to illustrate a point. "Probably because I was so busy with work the past few days that I didn't get associated with teething pain, but when I went to give her to Chloe earlier she started fussing."
That seems to make things click for Aubrey even through the traces of sleep that still cling to her, and she looks almost upset for a second before her expression clears up just as Chloe's had. "And since Chloe and I were with her through it all, when she feels a little pain now she remembers feeling more while we're holding her."
"I mean, that seems to make sense" Beca says with a shrug. "I'm no infant psychologist or anything, but I can't figure out any other reason she'd want me more than either of you." That earns her a sharp look from both of her wives, but the grin she shoots them in return seems to reassure them that she isn't doubting anything this time around, just trying to lighten the mood.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Aubrey asks after a short period of silence as she starts on her meal.
"Um, that I'm going to be holding her a lot the next few days?" Beca says in return, not sure exactly where Aubrey is going with this.
"Not exactly" the blonde says with a smirk. "That's true, but it also means you'll probably get teething duty the next few times we go through this, when she's big enough for more medication and a few of the other ideas. Even if she won't hurt as much, babies remember associations more than we'd expect."
Beca hadn't thought that far ahead, but then that is one of Aubrey's strengths in the relationship. And she's right; Beca definitely has several more teething week duties ahead of her. She'll have to let her bosses know when she goes back to work. At least she has a little time to think up how on earth to explain that to them.
"Fine, but you get potty-training."
Inspired by a tumblr prompt to see more of them dealing with baby Brooke. Details are based on helping my own younger brother through teething, but that's been a few years ago so if I made any glaring mistakes my apologies. I'm working on another storyline that I'm not happy with but is a prompt fill attempt, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get it knocked out fairly easily if I actually just start typing. The first chapter is actually done, but I'm waiting to see if it comes together or if I scrap it entirely. If anyone would like to offer their help with it, I would be grateful, just send me a message on here or tumblr where I'm always-atyour-side.