Coming home feels even better than I had imagined it. Andy has picked us up at the hospital and I sat in the back next to Lizzie in her carseat looking at her little sleeping face. She was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world around her. She is so used to our voices that they don't raise her from her slumber. On the contrary, Andy's voice really calms her down.

Now I'm standing in the doorway, Lizzie held tightly against my chest, still asleep. I'm home. It's only been a week and there are fresh flowers on the dining table and a beautifully wrapped present. It smells clean and homely. I toe off my shoes as Andy is washing his hands to take Lizzie from me so I can do the same. She isn't a preemie, but she is small and light and seems so delicate. We just don't want to risk anything. When I take her back I settle her against my chest while Andy adjusts the soft woollen blanket around her, smiling at me.

"Why don't you show Lizzie her room while I get the rest of the bags?"

What remains unspoken is his request that I sit down or preferably lie down just in case I might faint again. Andy doesn't need to say it, I know his worries. I lost a lot of blood after Lizzie was born and I'm a little anaemic still. They've given me a few courses of treatment in the hospital and I'll have to take iron supplements for a few weeks, but I'm tired and I get dizzy quite easily.

I'm grateful for Andy's arm wrapped snugly around my waist as we walk into the nursery. He helps me settle into the rocking chair, bringing a small footstool, a warm blanket for me and the nursing pillow. He really is a mother hen, but I am not going to stop him. His care and attention are just what Lizzie and I need right now. I'm content and happy and so grateful that Lizzie is well, but I am exhausted. Naomi offered to keep me longer in the hospital, but I wanted to go home. Being separated for so long isn't good for either Andy or me. Neither of us sleep very well when the other one is not there. In fact, I don't think Andy sleeps much at all and I just want to sleep in Andy's arms again.

"Do my girls have everything they need?" Andy's warm voice interrupts my thoughts.

I smile back at him happily. "We'll both just rest here and wait for you. Lizzie will get hungry again soon. You're just getting the bags, Andy, you're not heading back out, are you?" I need to know and Andy understands that. He bends down to kiss me, then Lizzie.

"I'll be right back." He puts my phone on the table next to me. "Do you want me to get you a glass of water before I leave?"

"No, maybe some tea when you get back." Lizzie was starting to stir, pucking her little mouth in search of food. "I think our daughter will want to eat before that anyway."

I'm in the process of opening my bra when Andy comes back with a bottle of water and a glass of my favourite mango juice.

"You are such a sweetheart, Andy. Thank you!"

"Anything for my girls." He kisses Lizzie's head again. "You look after your momma while I'm gone. I promise you, I won't be long."

I've always loved nursing my children and nursing Lizzie is no different. I love that moment when Naomi first places my newborn baby into my arms. This tiny little creature I've been carrying for almost nine months and yet I feel like we're only getting to know each other now. Finding out how she likes to be held and cuddled and how quickly she wants to eat and how many breaks she needs. It's tender and intimate, almost like making love to someone for the first time.

I wasn't sure whether I still remembered how to do this, but once Lizzie was in my arms, her little mouth open and searching, it all came back to me. Even though she is quite small, she has been nursing well from the start and I've had enough milk for her. We are happy together, my precious daughter and I. I'm so grateful that I don't need to pump my milk and feed her with a bottle, I'm so grateful she is strong and healthy.

Lizzie quickly latches onto my breast and I watch her while sipping my juice. It's so thoughtful of Andy. Mango used to be my favourite juice, but while pregnant it made me sick to my stomach. I've talked about how much I'd like a glass just yesterday.

I love those moments with Lizzie when it's just the two of us, so intimate and close. It's the time I spend alone with my daughter and in those moments Lizzie really is just that, my daughter. I don't like to talk while I'm nursing and I don't really like to be around people either. I realise that many mothers are different, but I have always been very private. Andy is wonderful. We've never spoken much about this, but he just seems to get me, to get my need to be with Lizzie and fully concentrate on her. Andy will sit with me quietly, an arm around my shoulders, his head resting against mine. He might kiss my hair, a gesture so soft and loving, and sometimes he has taken Lizzie and put her into the bassinet when she had fallen asleep in my arms.

I know have been very protective of her and rather possessive, hardly letting her out of my sight. I'm comfortable when Andy holds her, Naomi I can tolerate, but anyone else is hard if not impossible for me. I wasn't like that with Emily or Ricky. Andy is almost as bad as me. I'm so glad to be home and to be able to sleep in my own bed tonight where we'll be able to lie together with Lizzie between us keeping her safe.

/

I had forgotten just how badly it hurt. Over the years I had forgotten how painful labour and childbirth really were. But I had wanted to be in control of my body and feel every moment of giving birth to Lizzie. I hadn't wanted to be numbed and then there was a risk, however small, that something could go wrong with the epidural. After the difficult pregnancy, I really hadn't wanted to tempt fate. We had known from the ultrasounds that Lizzie would be quite small, significantly smaller than Emily and certainly than her big brother Ricky who at almost 10 pounds, well, let's just say that it was a long and difficult birth. I had prepared myself for a longer labour, but not for the 26 hours Lizzie finally took to arrive. I don't regret my decision, though. Well, at least now I don't regret it, but there were moments I did and when I cursed Andy for his part in it all.

If it hadn't been for Andy I would have given up by the time the sun set and asked Naomi for a c-section. Andy was there, a calm and solid presence that gave me strength. He held me and encouraged me with his strong arms wrapped around me and his warm words in my ear. He was there for me and me only, unwavering in his support.

Andy was so frightened when I fainted. I would have been, too. How I wish I could have spared him that experience. How I wish I had stayed in bed or on the couch. It would have been scary enough for him to find me passed out. He was beside himself when I came to, shivering and shaking uncontrollably, incredibly worried while trying to stay strong for me. My beloved Andy. I had just wanted to reach out to him when the contraction hit. Bad timing.

I'm so incredibly proud of Andy and the recovery he made. He snapped out of his fear and shock. The moment Naomi took charge in the hospital I could see the relief in his eyes and then he concentrated on me. Throughout the long hours that followed he was my rock – and I needed him like never before.

Having Lizzie was so different from my older two children. Hoping against hope that Jack would still come had only made everything more difficult while Andy had been there for me. He had my back. He made sure the nurses didn't stay too long and nobody but him and Naomi touched me. He made sure it was just the three of us when Lizzie was born. Andy knew how much I craved that privacy and made sure I had it.

Nothing compares to that first moment with your newborn when you can finally see and hold the baby you have been carrying for so many months. I was too weak to even hold Lizzie by myself, but Andy wrapped his strong arms around both of us and there she was: our little girl. So small, not even six pounds and yet so perfect. Early, yes, but healthy and she already has such a strong voice! I welcomed her just like I had done with all my children and then I introduced her to her father. And her father was there. Holding me. Holding us both. Crying with joy.

/

Andy quietly slips into the nursery with a cup of tea sitting down on the bed. We don't need words. I know he is there and I know he knows that I know. That's enough. My focus returns to my daughter and it's only when she has fallen asleep that I raise my face and look into my husband's eyes.

Less than a year ago we shared our first kiss and now we are parents. We've built a life together and we have started a family. We have a daughter, healthy and perfect in every way and she is sleeping in my arms. Our daughter who looks just her dad. She has his beautiful lips and I'm sure her smile will be just like his. I know I am biased, but she is just so beautiful.

This is only the beginning of our journey together, but it feels like we have reached a significant milestone today, the first of many.

Andy smiles his lopsided grin and I can feel the butterflies fluttering gently in my stomach.

Author's note: I can't quite believe this story has almost reached it's end. After this, there is only one more chapter left and I can already tell I'm going to have a hard time letting go of Lizzie and her parents.

I wanted to thank all of you who have so faithfully followed, favourited and reviewed this story. It's been quite a journey!