I do not own Glee...boooooooo
Dancing Through Life
by-andthenIfound5dollars
A/N: Sorry for the delay! This chapter and the next are marked by baby Sophie's age as her and her dads figure out the in's and out's of their first year as a family.
Six days old-Her first bath
"Okay, I think we have everything," Kurt announced, eyeing the table critically. "I don't want to get started and have to go hunt something down."
Blaine walked up cradling Sophie, clad only in a diaper and wrapped in a fluffy white towel.
"Did you go over the checklist?" he asked, laying Sophie down on the table, careful to keep his hand on her to steady her. Kurt glared at him.
"Of course I did."
"Then we should be fine," Blaine said, unwrapping their little baby burrito.
"No wait, the book said to keep her wrapped up and to wash her hair first," Kurt stopped him and Blaine nodded. "Otherwise she'll get too cold."
Blaine wrapped Sophie back up and held her in a football style hold.
"Okay, just hold her over the tub a little," Kurt told him as he tested the water with his elbow for about the fifth time.
As Blaine held Sophie close to his body, Kurt dipped the washcloth in the water and wiped it over Sophie's head to wet her hair before scrubbing in some shampoo.
"You're being awfully quiet, sweetie," Kurt cooed softly after a few moments. "Do you like having your head scrubbed? Your daddy does."
Blaine laughed and nodded.
"Especially when papa does it." Blaine smiled.
"Have you been bathing with someone else to compare it to, honey?" Kurt asked, raising his eyebrow. Blaine shook a little, trying to hold in his laughter. "Do we need to have a talk when we aren't trying to bathe our newborn daughter?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Blaine said. "Papa is so funny, huh Sophie?"
"Can you, like, move her out a little bit?" Kurt asked, miming what he wanted Blaine to do. "I need to wash her face."
"Yeah," Blaine answered, shifting the bundle in his arms and putting his hand underneath her head to support her.
Kurt put more soap on the washcloth, then dipped it back into the bathtub, squeezing out the excess water. Very carefully, he wiped Sophie's face off, dipping the washcloth back in the water a few times to make sure all the soap was washed off of her face, but also that her nose, eyes, ears, and neck were all really clean.
"Okay," Kurt sighed when he was satisfied. "Now comes the hard part…she may start screaming."
Blaine nodded but set her down on one of the other towels Kurt had brought out.
"Okay, peanut," Blaine cooed softly, as he began to unwrap her from the towel.
"So, since we can't get her belly button wet, we're gonna have to like, hold her up," Kurt said miming what they would need to do.
After some maneuvering, they got their baby unwrapped and her clean diaper off. Blaine laid her across his arm, one hand securely under her shoulder and supporting her head, the other supporting her back.
Kurt got a new washcloth and got to work sponging her off with the soapy water. About halfway through, they both noticed her hiccupping, her chest jumping, causing her whole tiny body to shift with each one. The hiccupping was the only sound she made, her eyes wide and curious, but not upset.
"Such a good girl," Kurt cooed softly. "My sweet girl, do you like having a bath?"
Sophie answered with a sneeze, the cutest sneeze to ever slip from anybody…ever.
"Oh my goodness," Blaine laughed. "Bless you, baby."
"I think she's getting cold," Kurt fretted, squeezing warm water from the washcloth over her legs. "Let's turn her over, as gently as possible, so I can get her back really quick."
Blaine nodded, and Kurt held his breath as they worked together to turn her slippery little body over, steady on Blaine's hands.
"I am absolutely in love with these little wrinkles on her back," Kurt said as he squeezed water over her back and rubbed the wrinkles with the washcloth. "I just wanna…nibble on them or something. SO CUTE!"
Blaine laughed and nodded his agreement.
"Alright, I think she's done," Kurt announced, straightening up and tossing the second washcloth into the tub of water, then grabbing a clean towel. Blaine deposited the baby into his husband's arms and wrapped the towel snugly around her.
"Julie said to like, cuddle her in the towel for a few minutes, let her get warm from your body heat before you really dry her off." Blaine gently rubbed up and down Sophie's back over the towel as Kurt held her close, rocking her back and forth.
After a few minutes, Kurt set her back down on the table and began to pat her dry and Blaine brought over the bottle of baby lotion. They diapered her back up and dressed her in one of her Ralph Lauren pajama sets, with the tie on the side to protect her belly button they had just very carefully cleaned as well.
Blaine held her snugly against his chest while Kurt brushed her dark wispy hair before setting a matching headband wrap on her head that also covered her ears for extra warmth, and kissing her cheek.
"Mmm, you smell so good," Kurt whispered, nuzzling his nose against her ear.
"Whew," Blaine said. "I think I need a nap, how 'bout you sweetie?"
"I think that sounds like a splendid idea," Kurt squeaked out of the side of his mouth, pretending it was coming from Sophie.
Blaine laughed and leaned in for a kiss from his husband.
Four weeks-One last time
Mel all but pushed her date, Steve, out the door. Why she let him come up to her apartment in the first place was beyond any reasoning she could put together. She knew better.
He was cute and had been charming, and the sweet kiss at her door had been nice. Why she had believed the "I just need to come upstairs for a quick bla bla bla" line, she would never figure out.
The second he walked in the door, he had been all over her, pushy and relentless. Finally, she had to get aggressive and tell him to leave. There was a reason she had said no to going out for a drink, she had something she needed to do, and he should probably not call her.
Kurt was just walking up to the door with Sophie in his arms as she pushed Steve out of it.
"Oh, hey, are we interrupting something?" he asked, giving Mel a grin.
"Yes," Steve insisted, while Mel shook her head vehemently.
"No, of course not. Come in, Kurt," she insisted, standing aside for him to walk through the door. "Goodbye Steve, and don't forget to not call me."
"He was cute," Kurt grinned after Mel shut the door just a little harder than absolutely necessary.
She sighed, leaning over to kiss the top of Sophie's head. "Hi sweet pea, let me just go wash scumbag off of me and I'll be ready for you."
She rolled her eyes at Kurt as he followed her down the hall.
"Cute is how they getcha," she called, walking into the bathroom while Kurt continued on to her living room to sit on her couch. "Cute is how they talk you into letting them come upstairs and then they turn into aggressive fuck heads that won't leave," she finished, walking into the kitchen wiping a wet washcloth across her neck where Steve had been trying to kiss her.
Kurt crossed his legs and patted Sophie's little diaper covered bottom to keep her calm. She had started fussing as soon as she heard Mel's voice, knowing food wasn't far away.
"What!?" he cried, looking over at Mel in horror. "That is unacceptable! Do you wanna call the cops?"
"For what? I invited him up, and he's gone now..." she finished, shrugging. She grabbed a burp cloth from the basket of clean laundry on her counter and walked over to the couch.
"Okay, honey. I'm coming, I'm coming," she called, sitting down next to them and pulling a pillow over to her lap for a little extra support.
"That's not right, Mel. He can't just get away with treating you like that!" Kurt insisted as he transferred the baby over to her.
Mel was quiet for a few minutes, getting her shirt and the baby situated, talking softly until Sophie had latched on and she felt the flow start.
She looked up at Kurt and shrugged. "You're right, but it is what it is. He's gone now, so it's over. Just teaches me not to invite people up to my apartment, no matter how charming and sweet they may seem at first," Mel shrugged, leaning back against the couch and looking down at Sophie.
"Are you excited about your trip?" Kurt asked with a smile, giving her the subject change she obviously wanted.
Mel looked up and grinned. She was leaving for two weeks the next morning. She would be in Washington State for a few days, then on to LA to promote her new books on the west coast.
"Yeah," she nodded. She had taken Sophie's hand in hers, playing with her tiny fingers. "But I'm going to miss this," she admitted, kissing the top of Sophie's head.
Kurt smiled at the two of them.
"Her too, I think. It took a little bit for you guys to get everything down, but she learned to really like it."
"I'm still blaming the stupid hospital for making me stay after she got released. If I had been able to go home too, we wouldn't have had that break so early," Mel insisted, careful not to look at Kurt as she tried to cover up what else had obviously been going on.
Kurt nodded with a sly smile.
"I can definitely go along with that," he agreed.
"Just try not to get too big over the next two weeks, precious," Mel cooed to Sophie as she burped her and switched sides. "I'm gonna buy you so many presents!"
xoxo
Twenty minutes later, Kurt was walking a sleeping baby back into their loft. Blaine poked his head around the corner and grinned.
"Dinner's ready. No Mel?"
Kurt shook his head as he walked toward the nursery.
"She said she needed to pack and already ate," he explained. "I'm gonna put her down, I'll be out in just a sec."
Blaine nodded as he turned back into the kitchen. Kurt laid the sleeping baby in her crib, and covered her with a light blanket. Her sleeper was warm, and they would put her in her bassinet in their room after her next feeding. She should be warm enough until then. He made sure the monitor was on before pulling the door shut and walking into the kitchen.
He walked over to the table where Blaine was filling a plate with bowtie pasta and pesto sauce.
"How was the last nursing session?" Blaine asked.
"Good, Mel's a little sad it's over though. Excited for her trip, but still a little sad nonetheless."
Kurt took a deep breath as he sat down and fought back a yawn.
"Remember when we would wait to eat dinner so we could eat together, we would end up eating at like ten on purpose...not because we were literally too busy and tired to eat at a normal dinner time?" he said, graciously accepting the plate with the reward of a small peck against his lips.
Blaine laughed as he took a sip of water and sat down with his own plate. "I'm too tired right now, ask me tomorrow when we eat 'breakfast' at ten thirty."
Kurt snorted out a laugh, his mouth full. "That's called brunch, babe."
Blaine cracked up, passing Kurt the plate of grilled chicken.
"Touche."
Six weeks-I just called to tell you
Kurt wrung his hands as he paced back and forth behind his desk. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he looked around the big office that was now his and his alone. But every time he looked around, his glance always fell on the picture of his precious baby girl which he had framed the week before.
He shook his head as he finally picked up his phone and punched in the familiar number.
"Hey bud, whadya doing calling me in the middle of the day?" Burt asked. Kurt could hear the squeaking of his old green office chair, telling him his dad had sat down. The sound offered a strange kind of comfort, and Kurt sighed.
"Because Blaine said that if I call him one more time, he's divorcing me and moving with Sophie to Timbuktu."
Burt cracked up. "Rough day, huh?"
"It's my first full day back. I mean…I've taken a few meetings and came in for an hour or two here and there…but yeah, this is my first full day away."
"Miss her?"
"I feel like a piece of my heart is missing, and Blaine thinks I don't trust him…and it's not that-"
"It's that you don't trust anyone?"
"No, no…I trust Blaine completely. I don't know, I guess he's right, I am being a little silly. I have more than enough to do here."
"Kurt, every parent goes through this at some point. When we dropped you off at school your first day, we stayed in my truck all morning, parked outside in the parking lot, just in case you needed us."
"Really?"
"Of course, it's just something we all go through…Blaine will have his moment. But you trust him, so let him be the dad you know he is."
"You're right…okay yeah, you're right. I'll talk to you later Dad, thanks."
"No problem, Kurt. Love you."
"Love you too, Dad."
xoxo
Sophie was cooing away in her swing, awake but not crying, while Blaine stood in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher. It had been a long morning, and even though there was laundry and dishes that needed to be done, he was definitely looking forward to nap time so he could shut his eyes for a few moments as well.
His phone buzzed on the counter with a text from Kurt.
Sorry for being…me:) Still love me?
Blaine laughed as he typed a response with one hand.
Always.
xoxo
Kurt walked into their quiet and messy loft. The lights were on, but no TV or music playing suggested Blaine and Sophie were in the nursery getting ready for bed, so that was the direction he headed.
He stopped at the threshold of the room and leaned against the doorway to watch his husband and daughter together. Blaine had Sophie propped up on his lap in the rocking chair, an open picture book where she could see it as he pointed out different animals and colors.
It took Blaine a few moments to look up and notice Kurt in the doorway.
"Yay, Sophie," he sang softly, folding the book and tossing it on the table next to them. "Papa's home."
"I'm home," Kurt agreed quietly as he pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked over. He stooped down to kiss his husband.
"Sorry I'm late," he whispered, lifting Sophie from Blaine's arms and kissing her cheek, whispering a soft, "Hi, baby."
"That's okay," Blaine assured him, stretching. "But I made an executive decision about dinner, and the pizza's on its way."
Kurt smiled and nodded as he bounced and nuzzled his daughter, whispering in her ear.
"I was afraid she would already be asleep," Kurt admitted and smiled at Blaine.
"Eh," Blaine shrugged and stood up. "Thirty minutes isn't gonna hurt anything."
Kurt nodded again, kissing Sophie's temple and rubbing her back. Blaine draped the burp cloth over Kurt's shoulder.
"The bottle warmer should be going off in a minute or so," he told him, putting his hand on Sophie's back and leaning in to give Kurt a kiss. "I'm going to shut my eyes till the pizza shows up."
Kurt nodded and smiled at his sleepy-eyed husband.
"Goodnight, baby," Blaine cooed, kissing his daughter's cheek and rubbing her back. "See you in a few hours…hopefully."
Kurt laughed softly as Blaine pulled the nursery door shut and the bottle warmer dinged.
After crossing his legs, adjusting the burp cloth, giving the bottle a few good shakes and testing the temperature on his wrist, he began feeding his now whimpering daughter.
"Okay, there you go," he said softly as he looked down into his daughter's blue eyes. Her tiny hands were balled into fists and resting on her chest as she looked up at him. "My sweet, beautiful girl, I missed you today."
Sophie started to drift off about halfway through her bottle, and Kurt thoroughly pissed her off by forcing her to burp. It took a few tries, but eventually he was able to get her interested in her bottle again.
Ten minutes later, he was laying a fast asleep baby in her crib.
He waited the learned few moments to make sure Sophie was actually asleep before grabbing the empty bottle and burp cloth and gently pulling the door closed.
Blaine was sitting straight up on the couch, but fast asleep. Kurt made a quick stop in their bedroom to change into some comfy yoga pants and clean tee shirt before heading to the couch to cuddle up with his husband for a while. He had to move a pile of freshly laundered undershirts and boxers, the wicker basket Sophie still napped in, and the stuffed bunny that also sang the ABC song when you pressed its hand.
Blaine startled awake before stretching his arm out and wrapping it around Kurt.
"She asleep?" Blaine asked.
"Mmhmm," Kurt answered, closing his eyes and breathing in Blaine's scent, holding on tighter.
"Good." Blaine yawned, trailing his fingertips up and down Kurt's back. "How was your day?"
Kurt shrugged as he curled in even closer. "Better now."
Blaine chuckled. "Did you get any work done? Or did you worry all day long?"
"Well, I definitely did a fair amount of worrying…but yes, I was finally able to get some work done."
"Can I ask, why?" Blaine asked carefully. "Do you really not trust me?"
"No, honey, of course I trust you. I trust you more than I trust anyone," Kurt promised, pulling back enough to take Blaine's hand in his. "It was never about me not trusting you or not thinking you could handle things here."
"Then what was it?" Blaine asked, sitting up fully and blinking his eyes open. "Really, Kurt…I wanna know."
"I dunno, you were up with her all night so I could sleep, I know that piece is still weighing on your mind, then you got that call from Andre this morning…I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that you both were okay."
"Sooo, now you're saying I can't do both, be both?" Blaine asked, pulling his hand away and moving his body.
"NO! Blaine, no, of course not." Kurt pleaded, but Blaine pulled away further, shaking his head. "Don't do this, don't pull away. I missed you both. I missed you both so much today…I don't want to start a fight."
Blaine sighed, but rubbed his hands down his face.
"You're right, okay, yes," he said, shaking his head again and taking Kurt's hand. "I don't want to fight either, but I do want to talk about this."
Kurt took a deep breath.
"You know how hard it is for me to give up control in situations, and with you...I trust you," Kurt promised as Blaine looked him in the eye. "I trust you more than anyone else on this planet. I know how good of a father you are, I know that our daughter is just as safe and taken care of when she is with you as she is with me."
Blaine nodded.
"But that doesn't stop me from worrying about what could go wrong if I'm not there to make sure."
"To make sure of what though?" Blaine asked, clearly getting agitated. "Kurt, what is going to happen if you aren't here to make sure that everything is happening according to the way you want it to happen?"
Kurt shrugged and put his head in his hands. A few moments went by and Blaine realized Kurt had started to cry.
"This is a million times harder than I ever thought it was going to be," Kurt finally managed. "I mean, I knew I would love her. I knew that I would see you in her and love her." Kurt paused and took a deep breath. "I just didn't anticipate for her to own my heart, completely and totally."
Blaine sighed as he started rubbing Kurt's back.
"I think about her all the time, I worry about her constantly."
"Oh honey," Blaine whispered as Kurt sobbed out a laugh. He lifted his hands to Kurt's face and thumbed away a few stray tears.
"And I'm so tired," Kurt sobbed. "I'm so tired and I like, psych myself out and think about what I would do if I lost her or I lost you, and I just..."
"Kurt," Blaine whispered, wrapping his husband up in his arms.
"And I didn't mean to imply that I don't trust you, or that I don't think you can do this as well as I could."
"Shh, I know you didn't, it's okay," Blaine assured him as they held each other for a few quiet minutes while Kurt calmed down.
"Hey," Blaine said as they pulled out of the hug, and he wiped away Kurt's tears again. "It's a million times harder than I thought, too."
Kurt nodded and sniffed as he looked down and nuzzled his face into Blaine's hand.
"I can't imagine our life without that little creature, but oh my god it is so much harder than I ever imagined it to be, no matter how much we love her."
Kurt nodded and smiled as Blaine leaned in to capture his lips in a kiss.
"But next week we have to start interviewing for a nanny, because I have to go back to work too. And I'm gonna need you to promise me you won't do what you did to me today to him or her."
Kurt blurted out a laugh and looked up to meet Blaine's eyes and nodded.
"I'll limit the calls, I promise," he laughed, reaching over for a tissue to wipe his nose.
"Good."
The two sat on the couch for a few more minutes, quietly kissing and holding each other until the buzzer rang to signal their pizza had arrived.
"Let's eat dinner, take a long hot shower together and wait for her to wake up for her next feeding. Go to bed early and try to get a little sleep. We need it," Blaine said, standing up and offering Kurt his hand.
Kurt laughed as they walked down the hall together, arm in arm.
"Sounds like a plan."
Eleven weeks-A night in with Papa
"I definitely like 23 and 28," Kurt called into the phone sitting on the table. He swiped his finger across the picture on his iPad as he bounced with Sophie in his arms. "I'm just not sold on 27. I can't decide if it's the dress or the model," he finished, buckling Sophie into the bouncer he had set in the middle of the table.
"What's wrong with the model?" Isabelle crackled through the speaker on his phone.
"She looks like she needs three more hours of sleep and something to eat besides a bag of cotton balls," he quipped, bopping Sophie on the nose with her soft bunny with one hand, and leaning over to click his iPad back to the whole list of photos they were supposed to be choosing from.
"Kurt!" Isabelle scolded with a small laugh. "I think she's doing that thing with her cheeks on purpose."
"Well, then somebody needs to tell her to stop. She looks emaciated; I want healthy and well rested models for our first issue."
"Do you want to do another shoot?" Isabelle asked. "We have the budget if we cut the lioness piece."
Kurt leaned over Sophie to grab his computer from behind her bouncer.
"I know sweetie, Papa's sorry," he cooed at her when she kicked her feet and jumped like she was startled.
"Aww, is she being fussy?" Isabelle asked, clearly hearing Kurt talk to Sophie and not to her.
Kurt sighed as he pulled up one of the excel files he and Isabelle shared with their accountants.
"No, she's actually being really content and cute...which is doing nothing to sway my guilt."
"Where's Blaine?"
Kurt sat down as he checked a few figures against price points for a new shoot.
"He's playing for a charity benefit, they're trying to build buzz for the show. He's playing and singing along with the lead actress, Maya. The lead guy dropped out again."
"Oh no. Is that the third or fourth to drop?"
"Third," Kurt told her. "I would rather keep the lioness piece, it goes with the theme and we can't afford to do both for this issue."
"Okay, then we need to make a decision about the third look."
Kurt rubbed his hand down his face and nodded. He stood back up and picked his tablet up.
"Okay, I like 25 and 15. I think 15 goes better with 28, but how do you feel about 15 and 28 with 23?"
"I'm still torn, you really don't like 27?"
"It flows better, I know." Kurt reluctantly agreed, sighing as Sophie kicked off one of her blue moccasins.
He leaned down to pick it up. As he was setting it back on her little foot, an idea came to him.
"Sophie, what do you think about this one?" he asked, showing her the screen of his tablet.
Sophie turned toward the sound of his voice saying her name, kicked her feet, and her face broke into the biggest grin he had ever seen. Her whole face lit up as she opened her mouth and made a noise he had never heard before.
"Oh, my god, she just laughed. Isabelle, she just smiled and really laughed!" Kurt cried as he set his tablet down. "Baby girl, did you just laugh for your Papa?" Kurt exclaimed as he unbuckled her from the bouncer and pulled her into his arms to kiss her cheek.
"Which one? Which one did she smile at?" Isabelle asked through the phone.
Kurt was too preoccupied with kissing his daughter's cheek and neck to answer for a few moments. He looked down at his tablet and laughed.
"Looks like it's two against one! Number 27, the green and grey dress with the crocodile boots and belt," Kurt said picking up his phone.
"Oh, good choice Miss Sophia. I liked that one too!" Isabelle cooed over the phone.
"I'm sorry Iz, I'm gonna be a bad employee and get off here," Kurt told her, laying the baby back down in her bouncer. "I gotta see if I can get her to do it again so I can film it and send it to Blaine."
"Sure, yeah okay," Isabelle said as Kurt buckled Sophie back into her bouncer and picked up the phone. "Just keep asking her about the line, see which ones she likes," she laughed.
"I will, thanks Isabelle, I'll email you later tonight," Kurt promised as Isabelle said goodbye and they hung up.
Kurt smiled as he flipped his phone to video and leaned over his daughter.
"Okay, baby," Kurt sang, grinning like a goof at his daughter. "Come on, gimmie a big one for daddy!"
xoxo
Blaine accepted a drink from Jonah after he finished his last song and winked to the room.
After a few short conversations with patrons of their new show and an impromptu song with their lead, Maya, Blaine was finally able sneak away for a quick minute. He pulled his phone from his pocket and saw a new message from his husband. A video message popped up. His daughter's face filled the screen, his husband's coaxing just loud enough for Blaine to be able to hear.
"Come on, sweetie…smile for daddy, show him what you did for me!" he heard Kurt say before their daughter's beautiful face cracked a big smile and she stuck her fingers in her mouth, making a noise that could only be described as a giggle.
Blaine bit his lip as the video shook and Kurt's voice took over.
"So, that happened tonight," Kurt laughed, the side of his face coming into view of the camera. "I wanted you to see it before you came home."
Blaine started to tear up, laughing as Kurt cracked up again and leaned down to kiss the top of Sophie's head.
"We love you, Daddy!" Kurt called before the video cut off and Blaine stood there, dumbfounded. He watched the video three more times before heading off to tell Jonah he was taking an early out and heading home. If he left now, he might get to see her before she went to bed for the night.
Four months-Ladies who Lunch
Rachel had just finishing applying her mascara in front of the bathroom mirror when her phone buzzed on the counter with a text from Kurt
We may have a third joining us for our girls lunch today...is that okay?
[pic attach jpg.19192]
If it's not, I understand. We can reschedule.
Rachel sighed as she read through the text messages, smiling at Sophie's adorable three month picture.
She had been looking forward to a long lunch alone with her best friend. And he would certainly be preoccupied with his daughter if she was there, but then again, she would be as well.
But her best friend was a dad now, and she knew that he would only be bringing Sophie if he had no other option, and he probably needed a lunch to vent a little about it.
Besides, it wasn't like seeing her darling goddaughter was ever a hardship. She smiled as she tapped out a response.
Of course it's okay! Do you want to go to the Bistro on 7th instead of the Cafeteria? A little more third wheel friendly.
(that was a very bad stroller joke)
Rachel took the few moments for Kurt to reply to finish her makeup and tousled her hair a few times.
Bad stroller joke is bad...but yes:) thank you. We'll meet you there in half an hour. 3
Rachel smiled. She would have just enough time to finish getting ready and walk the block to catch a cab.
xoxo
Rachel sat in the corner table she had asked for to accommodate the stroller while she sipped her water. Kurt was running late, which was out of character for him...but not so much since Sophie was born.
Rachel wasn't too upset about it though. She was actually preening.
The hostess had recognized her, and had taken her to the table immediately even though it looked like some people had been waiting.
She looked up and smiled when she saw Kurt come in, and waved him over when the hostess stopped him.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie," he immediately apologized as soon as he pushed the stroller up to the table. "Someone decided on a costume change as we were walking out the door," he explained, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
"That's okay, I haven't been here long," she assured him, starting to bounce in her seat. "Is she awake? Can I hold her?"
Kurt laughed as he grabbed the diaper bag from the undercarriage of the stroller.
"She is, and yes, you can," he told her, pulling a burp cloth from the bag and handing it to her. "But she just ate, and has turned into a human drool machine, so wear this."
Rachel draped the burp cloth over her shoulder as Kurt pulled Sophie out and kissed her cheek, before laying her in Rachel's outstretched arms.
"Oh, hello precious!" Rachel squealed. Sophie broke into a grin at the noise. "It feels like forever since I've seen you!"
Kurt laughed as he pushed the stroller into the corner and sat down. "I think it's been a week, Rach."
"Too long," Rachel insisted, kissing Sophie's chubby cheek and hugging her tightly.
Kurt laughed as he told the waitress he was fine with water and needed a few minutes with the menu.
"Do you already know what you're getting?" Kurt asked, scanning the menu.
"Yep," Rachel answered, bouncing Sophie in front of her face to get her to laugh. "I swear, you get cuter every time I see you!" she cooed, making Sophie scrunch up her face and grin widely.
Kurt snorted out a laugh as he closed his menu and looked over.
"Yeah, super cute when she spits up on the mock-up I have to give to Isabelle today," he said, rolling his eyes, smiling at his daughter's happy face.
"Sophia, did you do that?" Rachel scolded playfully, propping her against her shoulder and patting her back a little before setting her in the crook of her arm.
"It's been a morning," Kurt sighed.
"Well she looks adorable, is this one of yours?" Rachel asked.
Kurt shook his head.
"No, that's a Ralph Lauren spoil," he admitted. "I haven't designed anything new for her in a while, I haven't had the time."
The waitress came and took their orders, promising to bring a bread basket on her walk back through.
"Umm," Rachel started, looking down at Sophie's big brown eyes fluttering shut. "I think she may be falling asleep, is that okay?"
Kurt scoffed. "Okay?" he asked sarcastically. "Sleep baby girl, sleep all through lunch so Papa can eat and into the afternoon," he finished, grabbing the diaper bag again as Rachel snorted out a laugh.
"Okay, but your Papa is gonna have to feed me my salad." she told her.
Kurt looked up and grinned with a shrug.
"So," Rachel continued. "Not that I'm not totally elated, but why the last minute addition to lunch today?"
Kurt sighed as he handed Rachel Sophie's blanket and put the diaper bag back in the undercarriage of the stroller.
"Lily quit."
Rachel gasped as she tucked the blanket around Sophie and looked up in confusion.
"Oh no! I thought everything was going really well? That you really liked her?"
Kurt thanked the waitress as she set a basket of rolls and croissants on the table.
"No, I loved her," he corrected. "She was professional, stuck to all my schedules, wrote everything down...and I mean everything, was even fun to talk to at the end of the day."
Rachel snorted out a laugh, nodding along with him. "So, what happened?"
Kurt shrugged, pulling a whole wheat roll apart and offering Rachel a bite.
"She was a little too professional, I suppose," he decided, laughing as he pushed the piece of bread into Rachel's mouth.
Rachel chewed and swallowed a sip of water before she spoke.
"What do you mean 'too professional'?" she asked. "Is there such a thing?"
"Apparently." Kurt nodded. "She needed something more steady. I always thought our flexible schedules were a good thing, but apparently not if you want to keep a good nanny. They need to have regular hours, with steady money, and we just can't afford that, nor is it something we really wanted in the first place. Which is what we told her when we hired her, but whatever."
"Oh Kurt," Rachel sighed, nodding her head in understanding. "I guess New York nannies are used to doing most of the baby raising..." she mused.
"So Blaine and I are supposed to be punished for wanting to have an active part in our child's life? It doesn't seem fair."
Rachel nodded her head in agreement. "It sure doesn't."
He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
"She offered to finish out the next two weeks, but I was so mad when she told us yesterday...I just told her to forget it. Paid her and told her she should go."
"Hey, she didn't finish what she started. I don't blame you at all," Rachel shrugged, tossing her hair just a bit. She momentarily forgot of the soft weight of baby in her arms, but Sophie slept on, sucking her pacifier and holding the soft blanket in her fist.
"Blaine was pissed," Kurt informed her, scrubbing his hand down his face. "We got in the biggest fight after she left. He told me I was rude and unfair...I feel like all we do lately is argue."
"Oh Kurt," Rachel sighed.
"Nothing big, it's usually stupid little things. Because we are tired, or annoyed...or our wonderful nanny just quit and we both had plans today."
"Well, arguing can be healthy for a couple." Rachel insisted. "Sam and I argue all the time, and we still love each other."
Kurt laughed just a little.
"I think I love him more now than ever before. It's not that I'm worried we don't love each other...I'm worried because we never have any resolution to our arguments. We just let it go and go to bed."
"Well," Rachel mused, situating the sleeping baby into a more comfortable position on her arm. "Maybe you don't need resolution from these arguments. You said yourself they are born mainly from stress and sleep deprivation. Maybe the resolution is the fact that you snapped for a minute, and then moved on."
Kurt nodded to himself, rubbing his eye slightly.
"I shouldn't have told Lily to leave," he admitted. "I wasn't exactly kind when I did."
Rachel giggled softly. "No, probably not. But you were upset, and it's done. Let it go and move on, I'm sure Blaine will as well."
Kurt sighed as he reached across the table for her hand.
"Thanks, Rachel. I really needed this today."
"Anytime. I needed it too," she assured him as the waitress brought over Rachel's salad and Kurt's pasta with tomatoes and zucchini.
"Want me to baby bird it into your mouth?" Kurt asked, reaching over playfully for Rachel's salad.
"Ha ha, very funny. Think she'll sleep in her stroller?"
"Oh yeah, watch this Jedi trick!" Kurt whispered, reaching over to pull Sophie's pacifier from her mouth. She sucked around nothing a few times, but stayed asleep.
Kurt pulled her from Rachel's arms before gently laying her in her stroller. When she acted like she was gonna wake up, he just stuck the pacifier back in her mouth and stuck the blanket in her hand to hold on to.
"Jedi trick? You sound like you've been hanging out with our husbands," Rachel teased as Kurt pulled the stroller over so he could see into it, then sat back down.
"It's a self soothing tactic, we are trying to move to a place where she can get herself back to sleep. All the books say she should start sleeping through the night soon."
Rachel nodded as they started eating, moving on to chatting about her show and his tentative line for summer.
They had just decided to share a piece of chocolate cake when Rachel brought the nanny situation back up.
"So, do you have any leads on a new nanny?"
"Not really, but kind of?"
Rachel eyed him curiously.
"Carole," he told her. "When Soph was first born she offered to come stay in the city for a few weeks to help out, but she was working at the time and we didn't want to ask her to do that."
"Oh right! She just went into a semi retirement, didn't she?" Rachel asked.
"Yep, she runs the shop when dad's in DC, but I've been thinking...even if we can have her come out for a few weeks while we interview and find someone new, it would take a ton of pressure off of us."
"And she'd love to do it, you know she would."
Kurt smiled, nodding as their cake was set on the table and they both dug in.
xoxo
Kurt scanned the people pouring from the gate, searching until he spotted his stepmother. He lifted his hands in a wave and caught her eye.
"Hi sweetie!" Carole called, pulling Kurt into a big hug when she walked up.
"Thank you so much for coming," he told her, hugging back just as tight. "You are saving us, really."
"Don't even give it a second thought, I'm happy to," she assured him.
He reached over and took her bag, then slipped his arm through hers to walk over to baggage claim.
"Your dad is so jealous, I'm 99% sure he will make an excuse to come out this weekend."
Kurt laughed and nodded his head.
"We are already planning on it. If it's still this nice, we'll do her first trip to the zoo."
Carole agreed enthusiastically as they waited for her suitcase, then took the shuttle to where Kurt had parked. They kept up easy conversation as Kurt drove them back into the city and to Carole's hotel to meet up with Blaine and Sophie for dinner.
xoxo
Blaine answered the door the next morning with Sophie in the crook of his arm.
"Good Morning!" he grinned, standing aside to let Carole in.
"Morning," she beamed.
"I wish you would let us pay for your hotel room, if you won't stay with us. I feel like it's the least we can do."
Carole shook her head, leaning down to kiss the top of Sophie's head.
"No way, these two or three weeks are supposed to save you guys some money, not cost you. Burt and I are happy to use some of our miles for this. It's our treat."
Blaine thanked her again as they walked to the front of the loft.
"She woke up pretty smiley today, and super cuddly," he beamed, passing the baby off to Carole after she had washed her hands at the sink.
Carole nuzzled Sophie against her chest, one hand firm on her back, nodding to Blaine.
"All of her schedules are over here on the table. She loves her swing, and will sit in her bouncy chair forever if you talk to her and play with her...the second you walk away though," he laughed, shaking his head.
Carole nodded, picking up the clipboard Kurt had left out.
"You know where all her formula and bottles are, and there are some extra pacifiers up there as well, but we really only use those as soothers. We don't let her just hang around with them in her mouth."
Carole nodded again, letting Blaine do his thing uninterrupted. She had raised Finn, there was nothing Sophie could throw at her that Finn hadn't tried four or five times at least.
"I already fed her cereal and got her dressed, but if she needs a costume change everything should be clean and put away. And if you guys go out, her stroller is right there by the door, and her little ballet shoes that go with this outfit are on her changing table. The basket by the couch has extra blankets and burp clothes, and her boppy is actually in her pack and play with some of her other toys. Oh, and Kurt told you about her rash. It's mostly gone now, but we still rub the ointment on it every time we change her."
Blaine rushed over to his piano and stuffed his bag with sheet music, clicking his tongue like he was trying to think of what else to say.
"Oh, we told Mel you were in town and she may come over to see you guys today," he said, pulling on his jacket. "She said she had a bunch of errands to run though, so she might just come over for dinner. She has a key though, so don't worry about having to get up to let her in or anything."
"No problem. I promise Blaine, we will be fine here."
Blaine took a deep breath and smiled as he walked over to them again.
"I know," he assured her, stooping down to kiss his daughter goodbye. "We'll both have our phones on, just in case. Kurt will probably beat me home, but I'm picking up dinner...so I won't be too far behind him."
"Sounds great," Carole assured him, motioning at the clock.
"Ugh, yeah. I gotta go," he groaned, kissing Sophie once more. "Daddy loves you baby girl, have fun with Grammy."
"Bye sweetie, have a good day," Carole told him, leaning in for a peck on the cheek and waving as he hurried down the hall.
Once the door was closed, Carole looked down at the smiling baby against her shoulder.
"Well, watcha think, pretty girl?" she cooed, Sophie's grin growing as she jerked her little head around, trying to get control of it. Carole moved her hand up higher on Sophie's back and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, me too."
xoxo
"Hey," Kurt called, walking in the door later that afternoon. "How was she?" he asked, making his way down the hall.
Carole looked up from where she and Sophie were sitting on the floor, Sophie on her soft blanket and underneath her sea friends-themed play gym.
Sophie turned her head when she heard his voice, kicking her feet against the pillow.
"Oh, someone hears her papa!" Carole sang, laughing when Sophie's grin grew even more.
Kurt dropped his bag and coat on the counter and squatted down to kiss the top of Sophie's head.
"Hi sweetie, did you have a good day? Were you good for Grammy?"
"She was a doll. We had a few disagreements about diaper changes and only wanting to sleep if Grammy was holding her...but other than that, she was golden," Carole assured him with a grin. Kurt pulled Sophie out from under her gym and held her against his chest, kissing her cheek and cooing at her.
"Aww, she likes to play that game with her daddies too," Kurt laughed, leaning against the couch and propping her up on his thighs. "Don't ya?"
Carole's heart filled as she watched Kurt be so candid and open with someone other than Blaine.
She marveled at the transformation both of her boys had gone through. They were so patient and open with Sophie. They got frustrated, they got overwhelmed, she was sure, but they never let Sophie see any of that, she only saw them as loving her unconditionally. What a way for a baby to grow up.
Kurt laughed as Sophie stuck her hand in his mouth and he pretended to gnaw on her fingers.
"Such a happy baby today! Let's see if we can convince Grammy to move here and be your full time nanny," he whispered to Sophie, looking over at Carole and winking. "We can pay you in dirty diapers and takeout Thai food?"
Carol laughed and shook her head. "Don't tempt me!"
Kurt chuckled and kissed Sophie's head again before carefully laying her back down under her play gym so he could go change his clothes.
"I just talked to Blaine. He is about twenty minutes away with dinner, and Mel should be here in a few," he called, walking back to his bedroom.
"Sounds good," Carole replied, bopping Sophie on the nose with her stuffed bunny and making faces so she didn't cry when Kurt walked away.
"Also, we set up three meetings with potential nannies next week. So here's hoping we find someone good!" he said, walking back down the hallway a few moments later. He'd changed out of his expertly tailored suit and into a pair of soft yoga pants and a matching hooded shirt.
"That's great honey, but don't rush into anything. I can stay as long as you need me to."
"I know," Kurt assured her, coming back to sit on the floor with them. He had grabbed two cans of Diet Coke from the fridge and handed one to Carole.
"But we want to take advantage of this time you guys get. We'll take time to find someone great for her, we promise."
"Good. Cause she deserves the very best," Carole smiled.
"Yeah she does," Kurt agreed, looking down and laughing as Sophie's grinning face suddenly crumpled and she started to wail.
A week later, after five more interviews, they hired Kate.
Kate was a sophomore at NYU. She was studying early childhood development, and was looking for something a little closer to part time than full time.
She won them over with her impressive early development knowledge. It also didn't hurt that she had seen the last two shows Blaine had been in, and complimented Kurt's Vivienne Westwood shirt.
It took about two weeks for everything to get worked out between Kurt and Blaine's work schedules and Kate's class schedule. But Carole finally went home in late March, both dads promising they would bring Sophie to her and Burt sometime that summer for her first trip.
Six Months-A New Kind of Date Night
Kurt sighed from where he was composing an e-mail on the computer propped on his lap. His husband was dozing contently next to him. Blaine had walked in the door about an hour before and immediately collapsed on the couch. Kurt had told him that Sophie was still napping, and they'd discussed dinner enough to both decide on a quick pasta that could be thrown together with the chicken Kurt had set out to defrost when he'd gotten home a few hours before, even shared a few soft touches of familiarity, before Blaine turned on an old TV rerun of Julie/Julia to doze on the couch to, and Kurt had gotten back to work.
"I think she may be waking up," Blaine's voice startled him, and he looked down with a soft chuckle.
"I thought you were asleep," he said. "I don't hear her."
Blaine groaned and rolled over to stretch and rub his eyes. "I can see her moving around on the monitor."
Kurt pulled off his glasses and gave his eyes a few seconds to adjust before looking over to the monitor. Sure enough, Sophie was rolling around, lifting her head up and trying to push herself into a sitting position...which she hadn't quite mastered yet. He looked down at the clock on his laptop and nodded.
"I guess that's about right, it's almost 4:30. Kate said she didn't take a great nap this morning, and was down before 1. I'm surprised she slept this long."
Blaine sighed and huffed out a sigh as he sat up. "I'll go change her if you'll get a bottle started?"
Kurt closed his laptop and smiled his agreement. He could hear Blaine singing softly to Sophie as he measured out the correct amount of powdered formula, mixed in the water, and set the bottle in a cup of warm water. Ever since they'd switched to the drop in liners, the bottle warmer they'd spent so much time deliberating on became almost obsolete. It didn't do the job nearly as well as a cup of warm water did, and took much more time.
Blaine walked back into the kitchen with Sophie on his hip just as Kurt was giving the bottle a few good shakes after checking the temperature of the formula on his wrist. After seeing her papa, then her bottle, Sophie began flapping her arms and reaching out for him as he popped the top off the bottle and began pushing the excess air from the liner and nipple.
"Hi honey, did you have a good nap?" he asked, leaning over to kiss the top of her hat-covered head.
Blaine laughed as Sophie let out a little baby squeak and wiggled around in his arms. "Do you wanna feed her? I'll get dinner started while you do."
Kurt nodded and gave his hands a quick wash in the sink. "Do you need to go to the theater tonight?"
Blaine shook his head as he passed Sophie over to Kurt. "No, thank goodness."
Kurt sighed as he settled down on the couch and placed the bottle into his daughter's anxious hands, helping her guide the nipple to her mouth. "Then I wouldn't worry about dinner just yet," he said, motioning his head for Blaine to come sit next to them. "I only made her six ounces, but it should be enough to sustain her until dinner time. We could just sit here for a bit and watch TV or something?"
The two of them were quiet as Kurt smiled and talked to Sophie while she drank her bottle and Blaine scrolled through his phone. He yawned as a text message came in.
"Sam just asked if we wanted to meet up for a movie or something? Rachel has the night off and we haven't seen either of them in a while."
Kurt groaned as he helped Sophie burp and handed her back over to a smiling Blaine. He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. It was Friday night, he should want to go out with his husband and their best friends, but as he opened his eyes and saw Blaine sitting on the floor smiling and playing with their daughter, bopping her nose with her stuffed bunny and trying to get her to sing her ABC's...he just couldn't muster up the energy to find a sitter, get ready, and leave Sophie again after being gone all day long.
He sat up and rubbed his hands on his husband's shoulders in front of him. "Whaddya say we stay in, eat dinner and watch some of our DVR?" he asked Blaine. "Mel is keeping Sophie on Sunday for a few hours, we can see if Sam and Rach wanna do brunch...I'm tired and I just wanna spend the night with my baby and my husband."
Blaine craned his neck and nodded, pursing his lips for Kurt to drop a kiss on. "Sounds like a plan to me."