Growing Up
3– Nursing
Thank God Ranma slept all night. All the other residents of the dojo actually woke up earlier than him.
But, of course, that silence didn't last for long. At about 10 AM, Genma could hear his son cry.
"I guess it's your breakfast time", he sighed.
The man took a jar of baby food, spaghetti bolognese, from the cupboard, opened it and put it in the microwave.
"Waaah!" the boy cried.
'Oh for God's sake stop crying...' the poor man bemoaned in his mind.
Soon the microwave beeped. Genma took the jar out and grabbed a small spoon from a cultrery box. He got on his way to the living room, towards the crying boy. His eyes widened.
"Your hair... It's grown pretty much!" he gasped. "You Have got older!" he smiled. "Yesterday you were newborn... That means now you are one... So, son, here we are, some breakfast", Genma said and put the food jar down on the table. He sighed. Drat. There was one thing that was missing from the baby item collection that he and Soun had taken from the storage yesterday – a highchair. And now when Ranma was still this little, he had to be fed.
"Alright, alright", Genma shook his head and grabbed the baby from the crib. He sat down on the floor and held the boy in his left arm and started feeding him with the right one. Ranma ate with a great appetite. And, suddenly, his father started smiling a little. Maybe this wasn't as bad as he had thought after all.
Okay yeah, maybe Feeding him wasn't that horrible, but then he could smell pee. Great. The diaper was wet. Genma knew he should change it. He put the child down, starting to undress him.
Then Akane walked in.
"He has grown..." she nodded. "But doesn't talk yet?"
"No. Maybe tomorrow or the next day", Genma answered. He was just about to reach out towards the diaper pack, when Akane stopped him.
"You must bathe him first. We have a baby tub."
"Oh no... Okay."
Akane helped him out a bit by making a bubble bath in a baby tub in the bathroom. Genma came in with Ranma in his arms.
"Thank you", he thanked the girl, knelt down beside the tub and put his son carefully in. He took a sponge and started gently rubbing the boy from all over.
"A-gga!" Ranma played with the bubbles, suddenly starting to shove some in his mouth.
"Hey! Don't eat it!" Genma shouted out. Ranma turned his innocent eyes towards his dad, starting to smile his toothless smile.
"Here", Genma sighed and gave the boy a rubber duck. Now he could wash the boy's still pretty short hair in peace, Ranma being occupied in the duck.
Now the boy was all clean. Genma grabbed him from his armpits and lift him out of the tub. He took a towel he had left on the toilet seat and dried his son meticulously. The next step was the diaper. But Genma was no longer really feeling too much uneasy doing it.
"There you go, all clean..." he mumbled and took the boy in his arms, carrying him out of the bathroom.
Genma walked through the dojo, arriving at the living room, holding the baby.
"So! Squeaky clean now, eh?" Soun grinned.
"Tch! This is getting on my nerves a bit..." Genma growled. "I know how hard it is to raise a little child into a teenager all by yourself, but you have done it THRICE!"
"Yeah, well, it was hard sometimes..." Soun nodded. "But with the power of love, everything is possible!"
"Hm", Genma nodded and looked at the naked boy in his arms.
Nobody needed to tell him what to do next. He put the diaper on and dressed the baby up with the second larger, dark blue baby romper they had bought him yesterday. The day after tomorrow he would be wearing a little child's pajamas instead of the rompers.
Next it was time to get some infant formula milk for the boy. Genma held him carefully as he did everything one-handed, pouring the milk into the bottle, closing it and putting it into the microwave. When the milk was warmed up, Genma gave Ranma the bottle. He held it with his little hands and sucked it slowly.
Ranma stopped drinking even though the bottle wasn't empty yet.
"Are you tired?" Genma asked the boy in his arms, like he could answer him. Ranma stared at him his eyes wide, all quiet. "Well then..." Genma got up from the floor, leaving Ranma down. He wouldn't need to hold the boy 24/7, right? He walked to the "baby box" and took out a pink children's book. He crawled back to his son, sat down on the floor and put him down on his lap, opening the book and starting to read it.
Genma read the book to his son, slow and clear. When suddenly he noted the boy had fallen asleep on his lap. He was breathing slowly, snuggling to his father.
Genma grinned and carefully took his son in his arms, putting him gently into the crib. Was he... enjoying this?
Ahh, what has gone into me?
