Luke made friends with a guy, Matt, whose wife was a few rooms down from Lorelai's. Matt & Jenna had two other kids at home and he agreed to help Luke install the carseat properly and shared some parenting tips with him. Luke felt that he needed to let Lorelai dictate what his job was until he found his comfort level and more about diving in. Matt let him know that was valid, but to get in there quickly and enjoy the time that will fly by quickly.
Lorelai was having trouble breastfeeding. When Rory was a baby, she took to it instantly and Lorelai just had to sit there. But the struggle was real with Josh. She had been given an extra day in the hospital to get help from a lactation specialist and there was no progress. Luke had discouraged anyone from visiting on the second day as Lorelai's stress level was high. He spoke to her doctor and asked her to visit Lorelai for some encouragement.
Lorelai had finally agreed to let the nurses bring her some formula when the doctor showed up.
"Lorelai, how are you doing?" Dr. Sharpe asked, pretending she hadn't talked to Luke.
"Hey Doc," Loreali half smiled.
Dr. Sharpe pretended to read the chart, "So have your feedings gotten any better?"
Lorelia then burst into tears, "I can't do it! I don't know why it's not working. I had no trouble breastfeeding my daughter when I was seventeen-years-old. Now suddenly I can't!"
Dr. Sharpe sighed and made her way closer to Lorelai and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. Some Moms just don't breastfeed, and their babies grow up to be perfectly healthy, wonderful people."
"What kind of a Mother am I if I can't feed my kid?" Lorelai sobbed.
"Lorelai, I met your daughter. And your step-daughter. You're a wonderful mother, breastfeeding has nothing to do with that." When Dr. Sharpe saw that didn't get through, she continued, "I adopted my son as an infant and fed him formula. Do you see me as less of a mother because I couldn't breastfeed him?"
"No! Of course not."
"So why are you so hard on yourself?"
It was like Dr. Sharpe slapped sense into her. If Sookie were having problems Lorelai would be the first one to support her and tell her that in a few years the kid would be eating burgers and fries. Lorelai would never let a friend or anyone feel less than for something like this. So why would she do it to herself? From that moment on Josh was on formula, took it wonderfully, and was flourishing. Also from that point on, Lorelai was a huge advocate for ending the judgements between moms who breastfeed and those who bottle feed.
Finally after a few days in the hospital, Joshua was on a good feeding schedule. Lorelai was given the clear to go home.
Luke was swaying with Josh in his arms while she was finishing packing.
"Oh my God I cannot wait to sleep in our bed! And I really need a decent shower, my hair feels so gross. Please don't tell me you're surprising me with a party."
Luke chuckled, "Yeah, cause I'm a party planner."
When Lorelai knew she had everything in her bag she zipped it up and looked over at her husband holding her new baby. It was something she dreamt of but never thought would happen. She quickly grabbed a picture of them making Luke groan. "Stop with the camera!"
"Never!" She laughed. "Plus you'll thank me when you realize how fast he is going to grow and change."
Luke looked at the baby in his arms and then at the woman he loved so much, "Lorelai?" She turned to look at him and he continued ,"We have a son!"
Lorelai smiled, hugged Luke and kissed Josh's head, "I know."
April was rushing around the house with her favourite clipboard checking things off her list. "Bottles made and in the fridge. Pack and Play assembled in the living room with bassinet attachment. Rory's bassinet assembled in their bedroom. Baby clothes, bibs and towels washed in baby friendly detergent, dried and folded. Nursery decorated and ready for Josh to move in. Guys, I think we got it all."
While Lorelai was in the hospital, Rory, April and Jess had picked up all the things that were ordered and got the house ready for Joshua's homecoming. They knew that Luke didn't want stuff set up before the baby was born, so they took care of it as a way to do something for Luke. Jackson had helped and Sookie had filled the fridge and freezer with meals ready to go.
"Great job team! Dad said they will be home just after lunchtime so we finished just in time." As April said that they heard the car pull up. "They're here!"
Jess and Rory shared a smile at April's excitement as they joined her by the front door.
Lorelai entered the house with the bags, Rory grabbed them for her and gave her a hug. Luke followed behind carrying the carseat with a sleeping Joshua inside. Jess took the car seat from Luke so he could remove his coat and boots.
"Come in, come in!" April bounced as she spoke.
Luke gave Rory a look, "Did you give her coffee?"
"No," Rory laughed. "We're just excited for you guys to see the surprise."
"Oh God, no party please!" Lorelai whined.
"There's no party," April informed. She took Lorelai by the arm, come upstairs!"
April practically pulled Lorelai up to the second floor before Luke could carefully extricate Josh from the car seat and follow them.
"Ready?" April asked Luke and Lorelai outside of the nursery.
"Ready!" They answered in unison.
April squealed as she opened the door. Lorelai gasped and Luke smiled. Clearly the kids had been working hard the last few days. The room was painted various shades of blue with clouds painted on the ceiling and around the top of the walls. There were framed pictures of cartoon baby animals everywhere, a rocking chair by the window and a bookshelf under the window. The crib was assembled (with one of the sheet sets Lorelai picked out) as was the changing table. It was clear that they had gone to the store and bought a bunch of things off the registry.
"Oh my God, you guys! This is incredible!" Lorelai gushed.
"Who built the furniture?" Luke asked.
"Jess did it!" April smiled.
"Yeah," Jess smirked. "I guess it's in the blood, but I actually liked it. It's not like sledgehammering a wall, but it was fun. Jackson helped so don't be too scared to put the kid in the crib."
"And I thought it would be better to hang framed pictures instead of painting the animals on the wall. This way as his interests change it will be easier to redecorate," Rory added. "Oh and Grandma and Grandpa helped too, they wanted to be here now but they had a funeral to go to. They will be here soon."
With that the doorbell rang and April ran off to answer it.
"Hi!" April greeted Emily and Richard, "Come in, they're home!"
The Gilmores smiled at the young girl's enthusiasm. Richard was carrying some boxes from Weston's and Emily had a few gift bags.
"Can I get you something to drink?" April asked as she led them into the house.
"Lorelai!" Emily exclaimed, surprising everyone with her excitement.
"Hi Mom, hi Dad," Lorelai smiled "Luke is just changing Josh's diaper, they'll be right down. Oh wait! You guys should see the nursery. The kids set it all up."
"We know," Richard smiled, "I helped them paint and your Mother went shopping with Rory and April."
"YOU painted!"
"You don't have to sound so shocked. I'm able to do physical work!"
"I know you can do it," Lorelai said, "I just didn't think you wanted to."
Richard puffed out his chest, "You still have a lot to learn about me."
Lorelai shared a laugh with her Dad and then she grabbed his arm, "Come on, you guys need to see the finished product."
They made their way to the nursery, walking in just as Luke had finished with the diaper change.
"This is just darling," Emily smiled as she took in the room.
"These blues are wonderful," Richard added. "Emily, I might want to redo my office with these tones."
The family spent a few hours chatting, taking turns holding the baby and eating the cakes and treats from Weston's. Immediately after her parents left, Lorelai showered and napped. When she woke up she found Luke asleep beside her clutching the baby monitor. She softly kissed him and got up to get dressed.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked in a groggy voice.
"Rory said there's a town meeting tonight. Plus it's supposed to snow."
Luke rolled onto his back, "Okay. I'll stay home with Josh."
Lorelai laughed, "You're cute! If I show up to that meeting without Josh everyone will leave the meeting and storm the house to meet him. Are you new here?"
Luke half grunted and half whined. "I'm so tired."
"I know Babe, but you're beloved. You need to give the people what they want. Plus I thought we could stop at the Diner first, give Caesar and Lane a private viewing of Josh."
Luke exhaled as he sat up, "Okay, give me a few minutes to get ready."
The bell rang over the door and Lane looked up.
"Oh my gosh, you're here!" She rushed to hug Lorelai, then Luke and then peaked into the stroller. "He's so cute!"
"We thought we would stop by on our way to the Town Meeting. I wanted you and Caesar to get to meet him first," Lorelai smiled with her arm around Lane.
"Caesar!" Lane called, "Get out here! You gotta see this!"
In true Caesar fashion he came out of the kitchen wiping his hands on a towel. He had a concerned look, "What did Kirk do now? HEY Boss!"
Luke smiled and patted Caesar on the arm, "Hey, you wanna meet my son?"
Lane had carefully taken Josh out of the stroller and was cradling him against her chest. Caesar looked over her shoulder and then up to Luke, "He looks like you."
"I know, he's a gorgeous kid already," Lorelai agreed.
"Where are the girls?" Lane asked.
Lorelai pointed to the window to Taylor's, "April wanted some ice cream, they'll be here in a sec."
Most of the townspeople were filing into Miss Patty's dance studio when suddenly Babette's voice cut through the chatter, "OH MY GOD, YOU BROUGHT THE BABY!"
With that a crowd formed around Lorelai and the stroller. Some of the men congratulated Luke off to the side. April found some friends and went to sit with them.
Miss Patty and Babette elbowed and pushed their way through the crowd. Babette grabbed Lorelai into a hug and patty pulled the visor on the stroller further back to get a better look.
"Oh my goodness, he's even more adorable than in the pictures," Patty gasped.
"Honey, you look great too!" Babette added.
"Thanks ladies," Lorelai beamed.
"Lorelai! Luke!" Kirk called as he approached them, "I washed my hands! Can I hold the baby?"
Both of them looked like deer caught in the headlights.
"Awe he's fast asleep," Patty cooed. "Let's leave him in the stroller for now, Kirk. Besides, Taylor is going to start the meeting in a second."
Luke and Lorelai both gave Patty a look that screamed, "Thank you".
"Alright people," Taylor hollered. "We need to talk about the Stars Hollow New Years' Eve Extravaganza Under the Stars!"
"Oh geez," Luke muttered.