[The Loud House]
"We're home Girls, I'll see you all again tonight so be good." said Lynn Sr. as he closed the door to Vanzilla.
"Bye Dad!" the girls all said together as they watched their father drive off back to work.
It was the afternoon now and the girls' father had picked his daughters up from their daycare, preschool and kindergarten classes during his lunch break before dropping them back off at the house and heading back to work. From then on out their mother would watch the girls and manage the house until Lynn came home after work. Now that the girls were out of school for the rest of the day, they could just stay home and play. But today was a very special one for sure. On the one hand, it was Friday so that meant after today they would have two whole days off before they had to go back to school again Monday morning. But that's not all either. Their mother came back this morning and she brought Lincoln home with her as well.
And all five of them were really excited to see their baby brother again. "First one in gets to be the first to hold Lincoln!" Luna shouted to her sisters.
This triggered all five of them to rush to the house as fast as they could because each wanted to be the first to hold the baby. There was some pushing and shoving but Lori who was slightly taller than the others was able to outrun them and make it to the door first before turning the knob and bursting in.
"Mom can I hold the Baby?!" she called out before her sisters crashed into her from behind causing all of them to pile up on the floor when they fell.
"No way I wanna be the first to hold Lincoln! You got to be the first last time!" Luan protested and trying to get up in Lori's face.
"I was the first one to the door!" Lori snapped back.
"Guys! Shhhhh." Leni said bringing a finger to her lips and pointing.
The girls stopped fighting before things got too out of hand to see that there mother was fast asleep on the living room couch. They remembered how tired she was this morning. Their dad too. He explained that the baby kept them up all night long either because he was hungry or he needed changing. Lori thought back to when her parents explained how babies need to wake up and be fed in the middle of the night for at least six months. Her sisters were all like that and once they grew out of it that's when they would be moved into one of their rooms. Like when Luna was moved into her and Leni's room when she turned six months. Or when Lynn was moved into Luna and Luan's. And she new that one day Lincoln would be moved to one of their rooms too.
"Well, I guess we should wait till Mommy wakes up and ask if we can see Lincoln." said Luan.
"What? No." replied Luna. "He should be in his crib in Mom and Dad's room. Let's go see him."
"Yeah let's go." said Lori.
"But guys, what if we wake him up?" Leni asked.
"We'll be very quiet." she answered. "Come on, don't you wanna see him?"
The five of them crept quietly past their sleeping mother to their parents' bedroom before gently opening the door so that it wouldn't creak. Upon entering the five of them saw the baby's crib next to their parents' queen size mattress on Rita's side. They did their best to stay as quiet as possible, to the point where you could've heard a pin drop. Once they tiptoed over Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan stood up as high as they could peeking over the side while Lynn struggled to reach it given she was the smallest of her sisters. While she hopped up and down in place trying to see, her older sisters marveled at the small child wrapped in a bundle of blankets and sleeping peacefully with a pacifier in his mouth. They never got over how cute they thought he was.
"He's so cute." Leni said in a soft whisper and with sparkling eyes.
"I wanna hold him again." said Luna while leaning on the edges by her arms and watching him sleep.
"So do I." replied Luan.
"Well we have to wait till Mom wakes up first." said Lori looking at her sisters. "And once she does, remember that I get the first turn."
This caused immediate tension with the others. "No way Lori. You got to be the first one to hold him last time." Luna argued.
"You were the one who said first one to the house got to be the first one to hold him." she snapped back.
"I think we should let Mommy decide." Luan suggested.
While the girls quietly argued, Lynn was still struggling to see Lincoln in his crib. She wasn't tall enough and since her sisters were arguing none of them were helping her which was frustrating. So she walked over, grabbed an empty laundry basket which she turned upside down and climbed up to finally get a look into the bed where her now baby brother was sleeping. Of course, being an energetic two year old she didn't understand before that she was supposed to be quiet.
"HI LINKY!" she shouted with a big smile.
"LYNN!" her sisters hissed.
The baby stirred a little in his blankets which caused the girls to panic. "Please don't wake up, please just stay asleep." Lori pleaded. Lincoln opened his sleepy little eyes to see five faces staring down at him. "Please don't cry, please just go back to sleep." she squeaked. Lincoln then proceeded to spit out his pacifier and then let out a loud cry. Now they knew they were gonna get in trouble. "Guys quick! We gotta get out of here before Mom-" she said before the bedroom door swung open. "Dang it." she said defeated.
Rita let out a tired and frustrated sigh and entered the room. "Girls I just laid him down to sleep." she said sounding really tired.
"We're sorry." they all said looking down in shame.
Lynn watched as her mother came over and picked up the crying infant from his crib. She did raise her arms up, signalling that she too wanted her mother to hold her but Rita just walked past her. Not giving up, the two year old ran over to the door and lifted her arms again, even bouncing a little on her feet.
"Mommy." she pleaded, really wanting to be held now.
"I'm sorry Honey but I gotta get your Brother to stop crying first. Give me a little bit and then I'll hold you too." she promised.
However Lynn looked down defeated with a sad look in her eyes and her lips trembling. Her sisters noticed this too and that gave them an idea. So Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan walked out and entered the living room where they saw Rita sitting on the couch cradling a crying baby Lincoln.
"Mommy?" Luan asked getting her mother's attention.
"Yes Sweetie." she replied gently rocking Lincoln in her arms.
"Can we help you with Lincoln?" Leni asked her.
"We feel really bad for waking the Baby." said Luna.
"So we wanna make it up to you by getting him to go back to sleep for you." Lori told her.
Rita wasn't expecting that. "You want to try and get him to go back to sleep for me?" she asked.
"Yeah." Lori replied. "We were hoping to take turns holding and playing with him anyway when we got home from school and you want to take a break so why not let us help?" she offered.
Rita smiled at that. "Girls that's very sweet of you but I'm not sure." she told them.
"Please Mommy?' Luan asked. "You already let us take care of Lynn sometimes."
"True but Lynn isn't as young as Lincoln is." she replied. "Newborns aren't the same as toddlers."
"Well it's the all of us and one Baby. I'm sure we can take care of him and if we need help we'll come to you." Lori told her.
Rita thought on that for a moment and truth be told she was hoping to get some more rest and her daughters, or at least Lori has proven to be very mature and capable than most other children. After thinking about it she smiled.
"Alright Girls, let me get him to calm down and stop crying first." she said getting them all to squeal with excitement. "I'll give you some simple instructions and if you need anything at all come ask me."
So after Lincoln was calm and quiet Rita showed the girls how to properly look after him. She explained that newborns prefer to be bundled up in their blankets because it made them feel safe and warm so they all remembered to keep him in his blanket as much as possible. She told them that she recently nursed him so he wouldn't have to eat again for at least a few hours but when it was time she showed how much water to put in his bottle, how long to heat it in the microwave, how much formula to add and how to properly check the temperature before they should bottle feed him. She also showed them where she kept the diaper bag with all his clean diapers, baby wipes and baby powder for when he needs changing.
"Remember, if you need help with anything at all just come and get me, I'll be laying down a bit." she told them.
"Yes Mom." said Lori as she received her baby brother in her arms.
"Remember to support his head and hold him close." she added before turning her attention to Lynn. The two year old was lifting her arms up, the unequivocal signal that she wanted her mother to pick her up. "Yes Sweetie, it's your turn now you've waited patiently." she said before picking up her youngest daughter and heading to the couch. She'd lay down with Lynn and it didn't take long at all for her to drift back off to sleep. Lynn also fell asleep quickly, sucking her thumb as she always did when she went to bed.
While their mother and sister slept, Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan sat in a circle on the living room floor with their brother in the oldest's arms. The three of them smiled and marveled at the baby boy who looked back up at them with wide eyes. Lincoln squirmed a little bit in his big sister's arms, his teeny tiny hands opening and closing and he looked in all directions taking in the world around him. Every now and then he'd look up at one of his sisters who smiled brightly as his eyes opened just a little wider as he met their gaze.
"Hi Linky." said Luna softly smiling down at him while her sisters kept taking turns gently kissing the top of his head.
"He has such pretty eyes." Leni commented while Lori gently rocked him in her arms.
"Can I have a turn with him now?" Luan asked her.
"Hey no way, I already called next." Luna shot back.
"Come on Luna, you always get to go next." the three year old whined.
"I was born before you so I should hold him next." she replied crossing her arms.
"But that's not fair." Luan complained.
"Wait, if we're going in birth order then doesn't that mean I should go after Lori?" Leni asked poking her chin with a finger while thinking really hard.
Her sisters looked over at her genuinely surprised that she realized that. "Actually yeah Leni, you do get to go next by that logic." Lori told her, surprised that she actually came to that realization on her own.
"Hey guys, what's with Linky?" Luan asked tilting her head a little bit.
The four of them looked to see Lincoln who was closing his eyes tightly and grunting. He was also turning a light shade of pink too. "Guys, what does it mean when babies do that?" Luna asked her sisters.
Suddenly there came a loud rattling noise from his diaper which sent ripples through Lori's arms. The baby let out a satisfied sigh after relieving himself. "I believe it means he needs a diaper change." Lori replied.
There was a brief silence between the four girls before one of them finally spoke up. "So, who's gonna change him?" Luna asked.
"Ooh! Ooh! I'll do it!" said Leni raising her hand with a big smile plastered on her face.
"Knock yourself out." replied Lori handing her the baby.
Leni eagerly accepted and walked over to the changing table in mom and dad's room. "Alright Linky, let's get you nice and clean." she said to her baby brother as she gently laid him down. After opening the blanket and taking off his little blue jeans, she opened up the bottom of his orange onesie then undid his diaper. But her eyes went wide when she opened it up. "Oh my gosh! Lori!" she cried out to her big sister.
The three others ran in as quickly as they could, afraid that something was wrong. "What is it Leni?! Is he okay?" Lori asked freaking out.
"What's that?!" she asked pointing towards her brother.
"What's what?" Luna asked as the three of them gathered around the baby.
"That!" she said pointing again.
Lori Luna and Luan looked at their ditsy sister with 'Really?' written all over their faces. "Leni." Lori said with a deadpanned look.
"Yeah?" she asked back.
"Lincoln's a boy." she told her.
"Yes he is." she replied.
"They all have those." she explained not believing that she actually had to explain this to Leni.
"Oh." she said while Lori got to work cleaning Lincoln for her. "Wait! Does that mean..." she began.
"Yes Leni, Dad's a boy so he has one too." she said, answering before she could even finish asking. Leni raised her finger and opened her mouth to speak again but Lori cut her off. "Yes, Pop Pop has one too." she added which shut her up. Luna and Luan face palmed at Leni's lack of understanding the differences between boys and girls.
"Okay but what's it for?" she then asked. This time before Lori could answer, a yellow stream of pee shot up and hit her in the face which made her cringe in disgust. "Oh, that's what it's for." Leni said smiling.
Both Luna and Luan were giggling while Lincoln's stream finally died and Lori stood there with a deadpanned look on her face after getting peed on. "I guess that's why Daddy calls Linky his little squirt." Luan joked.
Luna and Leni both laughed at that while Lori finished cleaning Lincoln up and putting a new diaper on him before closing up his onesie and putting his little blue pants back on. She then wrapped him up in his blanket and picked him back up.
"There, all clean." she said smiling. Suddenly there was another familiar noise. Only this time it came from Lori and her sisters noticed while staring at her. "It was the Baby." she said looking back and forth between Leni, Luna and Luan. The younger girls took a step back away from her and she scowled at that. "It was the Baby!" she protested with her cheeks turning pink from shame.
The group then left their parents room and returned to the living room before sitting in a circle on the floor again. For the next hour and a half the girls took turns passing him back and forth. Every fifteen minutes someone else would get a turn holding him while they all huddled around him, smiling as he looked in all directions at his big sisters and from time to time would grip their fingers in his teeny tiny hands. Neither of them ever got tired of holding him and whenever it was time to pass him to the sister next in line the one who had to give him up was really disappointed, feeling that her turn wasn't long enough. The thing about Lincoln was that before all the previous babies were girls. They never had a brother before little Lincoln was born.
It was currently Luna's turn when Lincoln began crying again. "Uh oh, what do we do now?"Luna asked her sisters looking up at them.
"Should we get Mom?" Leni suggested.
"Wait." Lori said looking at the clock. "It's three now, that means he should be ready to eat again. We should make him a bottle. Leni, Luna, you two wait here. Luan, come with me to the kitchen and we'll make Linky a bottle." she told them.
Leni and Luna did their best to try and comfort the crying baby while Lori and Luan followed the instructions their mother gave them and made a bottle for Lincoln. They filled the clear bottle with the right amount of water she showed them, a little over three quarters full, put it in the microwave on high for a minute and a half and once it was done two scoops of baby formula before putting the top on and shaking it thoroughly to make sure that the powered formula mixed with the water just right. Once that was done Lori and Luan entered the living room again to see Leni and Luna still struggling to calm down Lincoln who was still crying for something to eat. The oldest sister tested the temperature and once she saw it was just right she gave it to Luna.
Luna gently tapped the rubber end to her brother's lips and once he felt it he immediately stopped crying and allowed her to slip it into his mouth so he could begin suckling. The girls all let out a relieved sigh with smiles seeing that he was quiet again now that he was eating.
"Good call Lori." said Luna who smiled down at her baby brother while he drank from the bottle.
The four of them sat comfortably around while Luna bottle fed her baby brother and they all once again marveled at the adorable sight of him sucking from the bottle while also looking up at his big sisters. Watching him eat and hearing the cute noises he made when he fed was a real treat for the four Loud sisters. And little Lincoln wasted no time at all emptying that bottle either. They couldn't believe how quickly he emptied the bottle of formula and once it was done Luna gently lifted the bottle from his mouth and gave it back to Lori who ran it over to the sink then back to her brother and sisters.
"There, that solves that. If he needs to eat again Mom should be able to handle it when she's done with her nap." said Lori.
"So who's turn is it to hold him now?" asked Leni looking back and fourth between everyone.
"Luna had her turn so now it's mine." said Luan who raised her hand while bouncing up and down on the floor.
"But I'm not done yet." Luna protested.
Suddenly Lincoln started crying again which got their attention. "Oh what is it now?" Lori complained.
"But we just fed him and changed him." said Luna gently rocking him.
"Wait, I think I got it." said Leni with a smile. "Give him here." Luna gently handed the crying infant to her older sister who held him against her so that his head rested over her shoulder. She then started patting his back while shushing him. "It's okay Linky, let it out."
The other sisters watched as Lincoln kept crying for only a few moments before he hiccuped and then let out a burp. Then he sighed and cooed before calming down. Smiles spread across all their faces again when they saw that he had stopped crying.
"Leni that was brilliant, great job." said Lori genuinely impressed with her sister and roommate.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Luna asked her.
"I remember watching Mom do the same for Luan and Lynn a few times and I thought it might work on Linky too." she answered looking proud of herself. Suddenly Lincoln hiccuped again followed by a loud 'Bleh!' which caused Lori, Luna and Luan to grimace in disgust and Leni's eyes to widen like dinner plates when she felt her brother's barf running down her back. Her lips then trembled like she was about to cry. "This was my favorite dress."
Lori let out a tired sigh and stood up. "Come on Leni, I'll help you pick out a new dress." she offered before taking Lincoln and giving him to Luan. "Guys, you watch him while I help Leni out."
Luna watched as their two older sisters ran upstairs while Luan cradled her baby brother in her arms. Lincoln was calm at first but he quickly started getting fussy again. While he wasn't crying just yet Luan and Luna did try to calm him down.
"It's okay Linky, there's no need to cry." said Luan who gently rocked him in her arms.
"Why's he about to cry now?" Luna asked her.
"I don't know. We already fed him so he can't still be hungry." said Luan who did her best to shush him while his lips trembled.
"Does he need another diaper change?" she asked.
Luan felt his bottom for a second. "No he feels clean and dry. What do we do?" she asked starting to panic.
"Maybe he's just ready to go to sleep now." she suggested.
"But how?' her little sister asked.
As if a light bulb flashed on in her head, Luna smiled. "Wait here, I've got an idea." she told her before getting up and running upstairs real quick.
By now Lincoln was crying again and Luan was trying to calm him down. "It's okay Linky, I'm right here. Your Big Sister is right here for you." she said gently cradling him in her arms.
That was when Lori and Leni came back downstairs. Leni was wearing another one of her favorite dresses and looked like she was all happy, sunshine and rainbows again. "Where's Luna?" Lori asked.
"She says she has an idea to help Linky calm down." she answered.
That was when the four year old came back down carrying her keyboard in her arms before plugging it into an outlet and setting up the little stand it came with and turned it on. "Luna?" Leni asked.
"I've been waiting to try this." she smiled when she turned the volume half way so that it wasn't too loud.
"Luna this isn't the time." Lori told her.
However she wasn't listening and immediately started playing one of her new favorite themes. As soon as she started playing Lincoln stopped crying and turned his little head to where he thought the music was coming from.
"It's working!" Luan said getting excited with her and Leni smiling brightly.
Luna was playing the Shire Theme from the Fellowship of the Ring. It was one of her favorites ever since their parents let them watch that movie with them. While there were plenty of scenes that they all thought were scary, they did like the main characters. Luna loved the music the most and when she heard the Shire Theme for the first time she had to learn how to play it on her keyboard. The four year old brunette was a musical prodigy when it came to learning how to play her favorite songs. It took her hours and hours to find the right notes and having to listen to the same thing over and over but eventually she got it down. And her keyboard allowed her to change the sound to whatever instrument she wanted.
Like the flute for instance. While she played, she also sang the lyrics from the ending credits too. "When the cold of winter comes, Starless night will cover day, In the veiling of the sun, We will walk in bitter rain... But in dreams, I can hear your name, And in dreams, We will meet again."
As she sang, Lori, Leni and Luan noticed how Lincoln kept yawning and how his sleepy little eyelids kept getting heavier. "He's falling asleep. Quick, Leni get his pacifier." she told her younger sister who gently put it into his waiting lips which he accepted and started sucking while falling asleep.
Meanwhile Luna was finishing up. "When the seas and mountains fall, And we come, to end of days, In the dark I hear a call, Calling me there, I will go there, And back again." she finished.
All four girls saw that Lincoln's eyes were firmly shut and they all whispered a cheer for themselves for finally lulling their baby brother to sleep. Lori took him from Luan and sat back down on the floor between Leni and Luna.
"We did it. It's finally over." she said sounding a little tired.
"That was really hard." said Luan who laid down on the floor.
"Tell me about it." said Luna who leaned back with her hands holding her up.
"But still, that was like totes fun right guys?" Leni asked smiling.
It was then the girls' mother had finally woken up from her nap and saw them sitting around with her oldest holding a sleeping baby Lincoln. "Wow Girls, I'm really impressed. You actually got him to go back to sleep. Good job." she praised them as she knelt down and gently took her newborn son back. "I hope he didn't give you all too much trouble."
"You weren't kidding Mom, babies are hard work." Lori goaned.
"Yeah, if he wasn't crying because he dirtied his diaper it's because he was hungry." said Luna.
"We had no idea that taking care of Lincoln was so hard." said Leni.
"It's true, he can be a bit of a handful." Rita said as she smiled at the bundle in her arms. "But I can't tell you how proud I am of all of you. You stuck with it, followed all of my instructions and you took great care of your Baby Brother. I'm glad that I can count on all of you." she smiled. The girls all lit up after receiving such high praise from their mother. "Tell you what, how about I lay him down and make us all some lunch."
Not wanting to wake him up, they all whispered a cheer again and got up to go to the kitchen while Rita gently laid Lincoln back down in his crib in hers and Lynn Sr.'s bedroom. Once she saw that he wouldn't wake up she gently kissed him on the brow and exited the room to make something for her daughters. Little did she know that while she was attending to her four oldest daughters, Lynn Jr. was wanting to sneak another peek at her new baby brother. Like last time, she found something to stand on, climbed up over the side and without thinking about the consequences...
"HI LINKY!" she shouted.
Rita, Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan could hear her all the way from the kitchen and sure enough, they immediately heard the baby crying again. The girls all face palmed while Rita let out a tired sigh.
"This is going to be a long day." she groaned as she left to once again get her son and try to get him to get to go back to sleep.
"LYNN!" the four sisters shouted angrily.
[Author's Notes] So I know it may seem weird that I chose a LOTR theme for this but I was a teenager when the Fellowship of the Ring came out in 2007 and I have younger siblings who literally listened to the Shire theme all the time as a lullaby. I'm not even close to kidding on that one. So I figured I'd use it in this story because why not? It's one of my favorites even now and it really is so lovely and relaxing.
Next chapter will be a six month time skip so expect a slightly older baby Lincoln.
Anyway, I hope that you all really enjoyed this chapter and if you have any ideas for future The Loud House stories you wanna share leave them in either a Review or a PM and if I like it I'll give it a go.
This is Dragon1990 signing out :-)