Ever since Alice Christine had been born, Fiona had been having problems breastfeeding her. She tried everything the nurse had recommended and nothing managed to work, so she gave up trying to breastfeed her daughter. So when she watched Madeline warm up a bottle for her daughter and sit next to Michael on the couch, Fiona decided to ask the older woman if she had breastfed her kids.
"Madeline?" Fiona said, grabbing the older woman's attention. Madeline had just sat down next to Michael, who had his arm resting against the back of the couch. The older woman pulled her legs up onto the couch as she leaned into her son.
"Hmm?" Madeline breathed as she put the nipple of the bottle into Alice Christine's mouth and looked up at the woman she considered her daughter-in-law.
"Did you breastfeed Nate and Michael?" Fiona asked. Michael's eyes darted away from his mother. Before Fiona asked the question, he was watching his mother feed his daughter with a smile on his face. But when his long time girlfriend asked if Madeline had breastfed him and his brother, he wasn't sure how to react, so he immediately rested his eyes on something else.
"Yeah," she said as she smiled at the memory of her boys when they were babies. "I breastfed both of them," she added, the smile still present on her face. It hadn't been easy breastfeeding, especially with Frank in the picture. He was an entitled asshole, so he didn't like sharing his wife's breasts with his kids. Granted, it was easier the second time around because she knew what to do, but Michael had been harder to breastfeed then Nathan.
"Did you have a hard time? Because I can't get Alice Christine to latch on correctly," Fiona said. She didn't mind talking to Madeline about breastfeeding. She had never been embarrassed about her bodily functions and neither had Madeline, but Michael was a different story. He wasn't sure how to handle hearing about women's bodily functions, especially when it was his mother talking about it.
"I did with Michael," Madeline said as continued to hold the bottle for her granddaughter. Fiona looked at Madeline curiously, so she further explained. "My breasts were engorged for about two days after I gave birth to Michael," she said.
"Were you able to nurse him still?" Fiona asked curiously.
"Yeah, nursing frequently was the only thing that helped the pain," she said. That's when Alice Christine finished her bottle, so Madeline took it out of her mouth and passed it to Michael. "Can you put that on the table, sweetheart?" she asked. She didn't want to upset Alice Christine by the sudden movement and Michael, being taller then her, didn't have much of a problem putting it on the table. So he did and rested back into the couch, where his mother comfortably rested against his body again. He then rested his arm closest to his mother against the back of the couch again.
"How about with Nate?" Fiona asked. "Was it easier?" Madeline moved Alice Christine around so she lying against her chest and softly started rubbing the infant's back so she could burp.
"Yeah, I had an easier time with Nate," Madeline replied as Alice Christine burped. "I think it's always easier the second time," she added. "Besides, Michael was a little more pigheaded then his brother." Michael looked down at his mother, slightly outraged at the comment. He didn't think he was more pigheaded than his brother. In fact, he thought Nate was more pigheaded then he was. Madeline laughed. "I'm teasing, baby."
"I can't figure it out, I've tried everything," Fiona said, picking up their previous conversation.
"Yeah, it's hard," Madeline said. "But we figured it out," she added as she looked up at Michael, her head still resting on his chest, and smiled. "Keep at it, sweetheart. You'll figure it out." Just then, Alice Christine started crying. Everyone knew it was her bed time, so Madeline didn't even try to calm her down as Fiona stood up and took the baby into her arms. When it was time for her to sleep, the only thing that stopped her crying was having her mother hold her. Charlie also knew this and since he had been playing with his dinosaur toys on the ground, he moved from where he was sitting and immediately climbed up onto the couch in between his uncle and grandmother. He sat down in between them comfortably.
"Hi, honey," Madeline said as she smiled down at her grandson.
"Hi, Grandma," he said as he smiled up at his grandmother. Like Alice Christine, it was also his bedtime and it was obvious because his eyes were starting to droop.
"Are you tired, baby?" Madeline asked when Charlie yawned. Being a Westen, Charlie denied it. He was just as stubborn as his father and uncle.
"I'm not tired," he said. Madeline laughed as she wrapped an arm around her grandson and pulled him into her body, his head resting against her chest.
"Why are Westen men so stubborn?" she asked. Michael and Fiona laughed.
"You're just as stubborn as we are, Ma," Michael said. It was true, Madeline was equally as stubborn, she just never admitted it. "I think we get it from you."
"I am not!" Madeline said. Michael just laughed. She just made his point. As silence fell over the three adults, Charlie let his hand wonder to his uncle's hand. Michael was surprised at the gesture, but he took his nephew's small hand into his and softly squeezed it affectionately. Madeline smiled as she watched on and then mirrored her grandson's actions, taking the hand that was resting on the couch behind her into her own. Michael was equally as surprised by his mother taking his hand as he was when Charlie did it, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He then moved his arm so it was wrapped around Madeline's shoulders, pulling her even closer to his body. Charlie's head was still rested against Madeline's chest and he was still fighting sleep. The heat from both his grandmother and uncle were pulling him even closer to sleep, however. Fiona watched on with a smile at her boyfriend, nephew and mother-in-law.
"Can you guys stop being so cute?" she asked. Both Madeline and Michael laughed. The vibrating of Madeline's chest from laughing is what finally pulled Charlie to sleep. His eyes closed and his breathing slowed down. The rest of the night was then spent with small talk while Charlie slept in between Michael and Madeline and Alice Christine sleeping in his mother's embrace.
