Slowly, but surely Alfred and Arthur were beginning to get used to the presence of their new born son. As all newborns do, Charlie spent his days sleeping soundly in his crib or in the bassinet that would transfer from room to room throughout the day. The sleepy little boy was only disturbed for his routinely feedings, changing of his soiled diapers and the occasional warm soothing bath consisting of a simple newborn tub and a warm wash cloth (Not to mention Alfred's attempts to spike the infant's hair up into a Mohawk whenever he shampooed the little sprout of deep blonde fuzz) .
Over the course of the first few weeks of Charlie's life the Kirkland-Jones couple couldn't stop themselves from smiling nearly every second they were near their tiny infant son. Sure they were tired and worn down from the new sporadic and hectic schedule they were on, but every moment was well worth the sleepless nights.
That was until Charlie hit the four week old mark.
When Arthur woke up early the morning of Charlie's fourth week of existence he realized that his son was a lot fussier than he usually was. Sure the small baby fussed when being disturbed from sleep or when he was hungry or wet but this morning in particular he was extra fussy. As Arthur scooped the babe up from his crib the infant wriggled and squirmed, cheeks puffed out in displeasure as he made low grunts and burbles. At first Arthur just passed off the baby's behavior as him simply trying to stool so the Briton carried on as normal.
By the time Arthur had brought little Charlie down stairs Alfred was already standing by the stove warming up the infant's early morning bottle. The young American grinned from ear to ear as he turned his head and saw his beloved husband enter the room carefully cradling their precious son. "Hey there, good morning little sleepy head." Alfred cooed lovingly as he skipped over to the duo and gently pressed his lips to Charlie's soft rounded head. The baby let out a small whine and just continued to squirm in Arthur's arms. Alfred noticed little Charlie's change in normal behavior and quirked one wheat blonde brow in question. "What's up with Charlie? He doesn't seem very happy today…"
Alfred shifted his arms carefully to adjust to the small squirming body in his arms. "I don't know; he's a bit fussy. He's probably just hungry- is the bottle almost ready?" Arthur responded, moving his gaze over to the stove where the bottle sat comfortably in a pot of warm water.
"Yeah it should be just about done." Alfred replied as he stepped over to the stove. The young American carefully removed the bottle from the water and tested a few drops of milk on his own sun kissed skin to see if it was the right temperature. "Yup, seems good to me. Why don't you go sit on the couch with Charlie and I'll bring in the bottle and a spit cloth."
"Sounds good, thank you love." Arthur said as he turned on his heel and headed for the living room to his usual feeding perch at the right corner of the sofa. As Arthur sat down on the couch Charlie began to whine more- little squeaks and squeals as he continued to fuss in his father's arms. Arthur pressed his lips together and frowned slightly. "You must really be starving this morning…. Just be patient sweetie, you'll have your breakfast in a moment." The Briton soothed the whining child as he gently kissed the infant's round head.
Within a few moments Alfred walked into the room, a white spit cloth in one hand and a nice warm bottle in the other. "Man, he just doesn't seem happy this morning." He commented on the boy's fussiness again as the American took a seat next to Arthur and placed the spit cloth over the Briton's shoulder.
"Yes he certainly doesn't seem to be in a cheery mood. We'll just have to see how he is after he's eaten." Arthur said as he accepted the bottle from Alfred gratefully. The Briton cradled Charlie carefully in one arm- being aware to mind his fragile head- and then offered the bottle to the boy by putting the nipple of the plastic container towards his tiny pink lips. The baby whined a little again before deciding his need for food was greater than in need to whine and he quickly latched onto the bottle and ate in the same greedy manner his usually did.
Alfred and Arthur smiled down at their perfect son as he ate and in turn the baby gazed back up at them with those endless blue eyes- drinking in every nook and feature of his parent's faces. "He's so adorable. I think we should call Guinness and tell them we've got the cutest baby in the history of forever." Alfred grinned happily as he ran a hand softly over Charlie's soft head.
Arthur chuckled lightly and gazed down fondly at the babe in his arms. "I'm sure all parent's think their child is the cutest child ever." Arthur gazed down gently at his son's soft rounded face- taking in the blueness of his eyes and the blondeness of his hair. "Still I may just have to agree with you on that one. He is an adorable little bugger isn't he?" Arthur laughed and affectionately tapped Charlie on his cute little nose.
Alfred laughed along with Arthur. "Of course he's cute- he's our kid after all." The American grinned as he wrapped an arm around his husband's slender shoulders and held him close- reeling in the warmth of this precious family moment. The two lapsed into a comfortable and mutual silence as they watched Charlie suck down his breakfast like there was no tomorrow. The couple was completely content to just sit there in peace and quiet and just fondly stare down at the small life that a just about over ten months ago had been nothing, but a little fantasy in Alfred's mind.
It was indescribable- the feelings that they now experience with their son in the world.
When Charlie had finished he handed the empty bottle of the Alfred to take to the kitchen while Arthur shifted the babe to his shoulder to burp him. Arthur cooed encouraging words to the little one as he gently pat his back and rubbed in soothing circles, prompting him to burp. Charlie whined a little and softly beat his fat balled up fists against his father's shoulder as he struggled to burp. "Come on now love…" Arthur cooed soothingly seeing as how the small infant was only growing more and more frustrated and distressed. Arthur quietly shushed the babe as he continued to pat and rub Charlie's small back until the infant hiccoughed and finally burped. "That's my good boy." Arthur praised as turned his head and gently kissed his son just under his soft temple.
Charlie's distress didn't disappear even after he had been successfully burped. He whined and squirmed, his cheeks puffed out and his skin blotchy. As Arthur brought him down from his shoulder and into his arms he could see fat tear drops forming in the corners of Charlie's endless blue gaze. Arthur clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and cooed, "Oh poor boy, did that hurt lovie?" The Briton crooned softly as he once again brought the boy up against his shoulder so he could sooth the babe with small rubs and pats to the back. Charlie began to cry a bit, pausing to hiccup a few times before his face contorted again and he continued to sob.
"What happened?" Alfred questioned, his brows curved downward as he stepped into the room and heard Charlie's cries.
"I think it hurt when he burped, he always drinks his milk far too fast." Arthur commented as he continued to try and sooth his wailing son.
"Aw," Alfred cooed as he sat next to Arthur on the couch and poked his head back behind his husband's shoulder so he was face to face with their son. "Wat'sa matta Charwie? Did the mean ol' burp huwrt you?" The American babbled in his baby talk (or that absolutely horrible butchered version of English as Arthur tended to call it) as he ran a thump softly over the baby's fat cheek. "Aw, poor baby. Don't worry Charlie, you're gonna be a great championship eater one day." The American grinned proudly at his son's huge appetite already shining through at such a young age.
"Heaven above forbid it." Arthur snorted as he glanced back at his idiotic husband.
"Think about it Artie, if he's this fast at drinking milk just imagine how fast he could shovel down hot dogs. He'd win the Nathan's hot dog eating contest no problem."
"Alfred, watching those people completely engorge themselves with those god awful meat casings makes me absolute sick to my stomach. The last thing I want is to see our son partaking in something as dreadful a food eating competition. Childhood obesity is such a problem these days and I for one will not have Charlie end up like that." Arthur stated prim and proper as always.
"You're such a buzz kill, Artie." Alfred sighed heavily as he leaned back against the couch cushions.
"I am not a buzz kill, Alfred, I am just rational thinker unlike you." The Briton huffed back. "Now will you be a dear and run upstairs and fetch me a pacifier?" Arthur requested in hopes that maybe the object would help quiet Charlie's cries.
"Alright, super dad away!" Alfred cheered as he hauled himself off the couch and proceeded to run up the stairs with his arms stretched in front of him as if he was superman.
"Don't trip up the stairs, super dad." Arthur called after his husband, a faint smile tugging up on his lips. "You father's an idiot sometimes… well all the time is more like it. Still that doesn't mean I don't love the git." Arthur laughed softly as he pat Charlie's back and waited for Alfred to return.
The American soon came bounding down the stairs two at a time before he jogged up to Arthur and presented him with the received pacifier. "Mission accomplished, captain." The American grinned.
"Good work, love. Maybe this will help calm Charlie down." Arthur took the small object from his husband's palm and brought Charlie down from his shoulder and into his arms. The babe squirmed and whined, his round chubby cheeks blotchy, red, and wet with tears from his distress. "I know, pet, I know." Arthur soothed. "This should help." Arthur gently placed the pacifier in the baby's mouth. Charlie whined a bit more, waving his chubby arms, and squirming around a little before the infant began to settle down. His cried died down into small hiccups and the tears stopped flowing down from his sky blue eyes. "That better?" Arthur inquired as he reached up and took the spit cloth down from his shoulder and used it to dry Charlie's rosy round cheeks. The boy burbled a little and merely stared up at his two fathers with those endless eyes.
"Man, I never realized what wonders a pacifier could do." Alfred laughed a little as he crouched down in front of Arthur and the baby nestled in the Briton's arms. "It's amazing that just a little bit of soft plastic could calm him down." The American commented as he ran a hand comfortingly over Charlie's head.
"It's the simple things that seem to calm babies down. That is if I've learned anything from all those books or from this first month of parenthood." Arthur smiled softly as he gazed down at his son.
"A month? Man, has it been that long already? It feels like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital." There was a bit of nostalgia glowing in the back of Alfred's blue eyes. "I really hope he doesn't grow up too fast…" Alfred finished softly.
Arthur looked up and smiled softly at his beloved husband. "Don't worry, love. Charlie's still very young, we have a lot of life left to look forward to." The Briton comforted. Alfred returned the gesture with his famous award winning smile and a small kiss for his beloved. As Alfred pulled back away Arthur smiled and shifted the bundle in his arms, "I'm just glad he's stopped crying. For a few minutes back there I was thinking maybe," Arthur nearly shuttered at the thought of it. The thing that all parents feared or were grateful that it didn't happen to them. A certain something that appeared in a few babies around the mark of their first month of life.
"Maybe what?" Alfred inquired curiously.
"Oh nothing, nothing. The fact Charlie's calmed down so easily I can tell it was just normal crying and not something else. No need to worry about it." Arthur brushed off his suspicion, relieved that Charlie had calmed down since what he had read about the dreaded thing in his books was not a pretty picture. Alfred remained curious and a bit unconvinced, but the American didn't press the issue further. If it was something truly serious or life threatening there was absolutely no way Arthur would keep it to himself.
And so the two moved on with their day. Charlie fell asleep soon after his feeding and he was placed in his bassinet (Currently located in the living room) while Alfred prepared breakfast and Arthur went off to work on a few chapters of a novel he was trying to write. The boy slept peacefully up until a short while after breakfast was finished and cleaned when he woke up and began to fuss and cry. Arthur removed his reading glasses from his face and clicked the save button on his laptop before he got up from his chair and headed to where Charlie was. When the Briton walked into the room his American husband was already scooping Charlie up and bringing the baby into his strong arms. "Smells like someone needs to be changed." Alfred laughed a little as he turned to Arthur.
"Do you want me to do it or have you got it?" Arthur questioned.
"I got this one, you just go back and get your writing done." Alfred assured as he pushed past Arthur and began heading up the stairs to the nursery. Arthur smiled gratefully as he watched Arthur climb the stairs- Charlie's small cries fading into silence as the two traveled further and further away. Arthur retreated back into his study and sat down in the leather swivel chair in front of his desk. He placed his reading glasses back on the edge of his nose and set back to where he left off. Arthur had barely been working for fifteen minutes before he could hear the soft thumps of someone coming down the stairs and the steady crescendo of a baby's cry. Charlie was still crying? Arthur removed his glasses again and got up from his chair, heading into the hall just as Alfred was coming down the last few steps.
"What's going on?" The Briton inquired worriedly.
Alfred looked a little bit frazzled as he shrugged his shoulders slightly for Charlie was held against one crying and squirming. "I don't know. I thought it was just because he needed to be changed, but even after that he wouldn't stop. Then I tried talking to him, and playing with him, and giving him a pacifier but nothing worked. He just won't stop crying."
Arthur furrowed his thick brows and pressed his lips together. "You didn't put the diaper on backward again did you?" There had been a few occasions when the ever oblivious American had placed Charlie's diaper on the incorrect way and it had made the baby fussy and cry. Maybe he had done the same thing once again.
"No, the part with the little animals goes in front. I did it just like you told me to, Arthur." Alfred protested against his previous mistake. Well Alfred was indeed right about that. Then what was bothering Charlie so much?
"Let me have him." Arthur said as he walked towards Alfred, arms open to accept his son. Alfred seemed relieved when he handed Charlie off to Arthur- the loud shriek of the baby's cries no longer directly in his ear. Arthur winced just a little as he realized the true volume of Charlie's cries and held the baby against his shoulder. "Shh, what's the matter, pet?" Arthur inquired as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet and rubbed soothing circles against Charlie's blue onsie clad back. The little boy's didn't quiet even by a little bit at the actions. Arthur pressed his lips together- wondering for a few moments why it was Charlie was being so darn fussy today- and tried to think of something that might sooth him. He had been fed, he had slept, and he had been changed and given attention… what was there left to do? "How about a bath? Does that sound good, love?" Arthur asked.
"Good idea Artie that oughta calm him down." Alfred praised as he turned and walked down to hall to get everything ready while Arthur still walked around and mumbled to sweet nothings to his wailing son in hopes of calming him.
So far it wasn't working.
Alfred and Arthur moved on with their plan, but through the entirety of the bath Charlie still whined and squirmed and cried. Arthur was starting to get a bit frustrated. Charlie had been such an easy going baby at first and suddenly he was a handful. The sudden transition had given Arthur and Alfred a small case of whiplash. Alfred took Charlie and put him in a clean onsie (One that was fresh and clean and still warm from the dryer). Making sure the baby hadn't soiled himself before putting him in clean clothes. "I don't get it," Alfred said as he came back down the stairs and into the living room where Arthur was busily folding the rest of the laundry. "Yesterday he was fine- slept all day and only cried once when he wanted to eat. Today he's all fussy and crying and no matter what we do he won't stop." It seemed as though even Alfred- one of the happiest easy going men on earth- had a limit to how much he could take.
"Well I guess everyone has their off days. Even babies." Arthur sighed as he folded one of Alfred's shirts. Arthur continued folding the clothes while Alfred sat down on the couch, putting his legs together and settling Charlie on his lap.
"It's kinda starting to freak me out. It's like there is nothing that will calm him down. What if he's like sick or something and we don't know it? We should take him to the doctor or something." Alfred said he took Charlie's tiny hands gently and began to play with him slightly.
"It's usually me who gets worried over little things," Arthur gave a dry laugh as he placed the neatly folded laundry back in the basket. "I don't think he's sick, Alfred, I think he's just not in a good mood today. It happens to everyone. Maybe he didn't sleep that much last night, or maybe he slept awkwardly- wouldn't surprise me seeing as how he's your son. I'm sure it's nothing physical, just emotional." Arthur explained rather calmly. Still worry buzzed in the back of the Briton's mind like an angry wasp. Please don't let it be what I think it is. I might just go off my rocker if that happens…. Arthur thought to himself. "He'll calm down… e-eventually. Just give him a bit of time."
And so they did. All day in fact. Charlie continued to cry despite his parent's best attempts to calm him. The lad only stopped his crying long enough to eat his lunch and then right after he was burped it was back to the wailing. Alfred was currently softly beating his head against the arch of the threshold to the living room while Arthur walked about with Charlie again. "I'm gonna lose it… I'm gonna lose it…" The American mumbled each time his head made contact with the wall.
"Oh belt up. I'm getting just as frustrated as you are." Arthur's voice was a bit bitter as he spoke- all too tired of having Charlie's cries blaring in his ear (The Briton was sure he wouldn't be able to hear out of his left each in the morning).
"Well Arthur, if he's crying this much there's gotta be something wrong with him, right? We should take him to the doctor and get this figured out already before we both lose it." Alfred said.
Arthur couldn't stay in his denial any longer. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that any moment Charlie would calm down and be the easy going baby he was yesterday it wasn't working. He knew what was wrong and he had dreaded it with every fiber of his being since the first time he read the term in one of his books. "I… I know what's wrong with him…" Arthur sighed in defeat as he turned away from Alfred.
The American stopped banging his head on the wall and looked towards his husband. "You do, well what is it? It's nothing serious is it?"
"W-well… it all makes sense. The non-stop crying, the lack of any way to console him, the fussiness- it all adds up and leads me to the same thing."
"Yeah… and that would be what exactly?" Alfred was getting a little impatient.
Arthur shuddered slightly. "Only the thing that all parents dread…"
"Arthur, c'mon man you're starting to freak me out. What is it? Is it serious? Is life threatening? Is it curable? Come on tell me already." Alfred was starting to panic. The way Arthur was explaining it the Briton made whatever it was sound like some kind of life threatening disease and that terrified the American.
"Oh come off it you git. It's not life threatening it's just irritating beyond belief. Charlie doesn't have a disease he as Colic." Arthur snapped.
Alfred stared at his husband, blinking a few times. "Colic? What the heck is that?"
Arthur rolled his eyes and shifted the baby in his arms. "Tosser, it's a condition some babies develop when they're around one month of age. It's when they cry nearly round the clock and there's hardly anyone to console them. It's not permanent or anything but good lord it's annoying." Arthur should have known better than think the universe had blessed him with a wonderfully easy going baby. The universe like torturing him far too much for that.
Alfred chewed the inside of his cheek in thought for a few moments, "Sooo… what do we do?" He questioned.
"Nothing. There isn't anything we really can do. We can try and calm him down, but it won't help most of the time. All we can do is just carry on as usual and get used to the volume." Arthur explained as he looked down at his son from the corner of his eyes- heartbroken to see the baby so upset.
Alfred shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Well crap Artie; I'm supposed to go back to work full time the day after tomorrow." Oh. Arthur had forgotten about that. Alfred's boss had given the American a month to adjust to life with the new baby provided the blonde came in every once in a while to sign papers, sit in on the occasional meeting, and other suck tasks (Good thing no one could really say no to that lovely face of Alfred's).
"Oh… well… that certainly throws a wrench into the gears…" Arthur muttered lowly.
Alfred chewed the inside of his cheek again as he mulled over the options in his head. He very well couldn't leave Arthur here alone with a screaming baby while he went off and enjoyed the silence of his office. They were in this together and it wouldn't be fair to Arthur. "Well… y'know I can try and talk to my boss… I mean I put in a lot of hours before Charlie was born so… a-and maybe if I gathered up all my sick days… and my vacation days, I should be able to stay home and help you with Charlie and-!" Arthur promptly cut off his husbands spontaneous ramblings.
"No, no Alfred I can't do that to you. You would most likely get in trouble with your boss and we don't want that now do we? Besides we're going to need some income regularly coming back into our funds and we can't very well get that if neither of us works."
"But what about your writing? Won't your editor get angry?" Alfred asked guiltily.
"No, she's a mother herself and she understands the difficulties of being a new parent. I'm sure if I explain the situation I can get some extensions on my deadlines." Arthur assured his worried husband. "Please don't worry, love. I'll be just fine, I have a strong constitution."
Alfred remained a bit unconvinced, but he didn't press the subject further. He merely nodded his head and agreed claiming that he would be sure to come home as soon as he could to take the baby off of Arthur's hands.
Arthur could make it. Yes as long as he remained positive and confident he could overcome anything. Endurance and perseverance that was the key. He was fine, well bred English gentleman there was nothing he couldn't do. At that particular moment Charlie let out a rather loud cry and began squirming against Arthur's hold on him. The Briton sighed internally. Still… this was going to be a very long few weeks….
Yay! New chapter! So this idea was originally going to be one chapter, but then it got to be too long so I'm breaking it down into two parts. For those of you who are like "OMG what happened to the Franada?" Be patient loves. We gotta give the two love birds a little while to themselves to figure out they love each other.
Alright then and now for a lesson on babies! I've done my research so this should be accurate. Around the one month mark handful of babies are effected by something called 'Colic' it's not something that really life threatening it's just really, really annoying is all. Babies effected with Colic will cry near constantly, over 3 hours a day for about 6-7 days of the week. There is almost no consoling babies that have colic. You can try all you want, but there isn't must you can do.
So now you all learned something new! Hooray *claps*
Okay lovies, you know what to do. Keep those lovely reviews coming so I have something to live off of. Thanks for all the support so far, you guys are awesome!