"There you go, honey," Jamie said as he wrapped up his wailing newborn daughter in her soft pink towel after another challenging night of giving her a bath. Grace wasn't the biggest fan of them yet and would fight with her parents each time they gave her one.
"All done. All done," he comforted gently as he held her up to his shoulder and bounced her as they walked into her nursery. "I'm sorry I had to give you a bath. I know you hate them. You forgive me right?"
The loud cry in Jamie's ear told him otherwise. He chuckled to himself and shut the door, hoping that Grace's cries wouldn't wake up Eddie who was napping in the other room. He quickly went about to drying off and dressing the little one in one of the many colorful jumpers they had laying around.
It was over a week ago when their lives changed with Grace's arrival. The days and nights had meshed together. Their house had been turned upside down with baby paraphernalia strewn about, an overwhelming amount of clean laundry that still needed to be folded, three day old dishes in the sink that needed washing and a large amount of baby gifts that still needed to be put up.
Normally, the chaos would have them itching to get it all cleaned up and organized but right now, it didn't matter. Their house had an air of fulfillment and all- consuming love with Grace that faded everything else. They could get it all done themselves or ask family members to help out but they didn't care, all they'd rather do was sit and enjoy their baby girl.
Their first week of parenthood was definitely a crash course. From the moment they brought her home from the hospital, it was a constant rotation of questions they'd be asking themselves and each other. What does she need? Is she too cold? Is she too hot? Did we feed her enough? Is she hungry? Is she tired? Are we doing something wrong?
Like any new parents, they would eventually figure it out. They would cheer each other on with their successes and would comfort each other through their failures.
Their sanity in all of the madness was each other. Through any doubts she had about her mothering abilities, he'd make her feel more confident and strong. She couldn't do it without him and he definitely couldn't do it without her. They didn't think they could fall more in love with each other than they already were when they became parents. Jamie will never forget the first time he saw Eddie and Grace together. It was sight that he never knew he needed. For Eddie, her heart swells with so much love and contentment anytime she sees Jamie and Grace.
Parenthood was the most wonderful thing they'd ever done and were enjoying every second of it. They loved their little girl and couldn't imagine their life without her.
"There you go sweetheart," Jamie said softly as he buttoned up her soft pink jumper. "All better now, huh?"
Grace let out a small gurgle of appreciation and yawned. Jamie picked her up and placed her in the crook in his arm then went to sit on the glider.
"My goodness, Grace. You wear us out, sweetie. We like sleep too, you know," Jamie said jokingly as he looked down at the little girl. He then shifted Grace onto his chest and reclined back. This had grown to be one of his favorite parts of the day, getting to have quiet time with her before bed.
After a few minutes of rocking Grace, he heard a voice call out to him.
"Hey," he heard. He turned and saw Eddie standing in the doorway with an affectionate smile on her face.
"Hey," he said back. "What're you doing up? Go back to bed."
"I'm not tired anymore," she said. "I feel better after that nap. How did bath time go?"
"She screamed her head off the entire time," he informed her as he ran a hand over the baby's back. "I hope we didn't wake you."
"I woke up toward the end," she admitted. "But I went back to sleep for a few more minutes."
"Good," Jamie said. "Did you want to feed her or do you want me to make a bottle?"
"I think a bottle for tonight," she replied. "My chest is sore."
Jamie nodded understandingly. "Do you want to take her while I go make it?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I can go make the bottle," she responded. Then, she reached down and ran a finger over baby's head. "It's been a week, hasn't it?"
"It has," he replied.
"Even though I'm dead tired…" She smiled down at Grace, who was now staring up at her. "It's been the best week of my life."
Jamie used his free arm to pull her down and plant a long kiss on her lips. "Mine too," he said when they broke apart. "There's no one else I'd rather do this with. I love you, Ed."
"I love you too."
