Sunday 13th March 2016, 3pm

Sam and Tom flopped onto their bed after such a long week of work. But it had certainly paid off. And they were just going to get some rest whilst Daniel took his afternoon nap in his own bedroom, as Tom had convinced Sam that it was she who had to problem of him sleeping in another room, not Daniel. And that the longer they left it, the harder it would be.

Everything was finished. The garden looked neat and tidy with a table and chairs on the decking at the back of the garden, the flower beds were filled with beautiful plants and one of the two car garages was filled with plenty of toys for Daniel to play with in the garden for the summer. Downstairs, the kitchen - which hadn't needed much work because it was a newly fitted one - was packed with food ready for the week that Sam and Tom returned to work and the downstairs study was modern and clean with a large desk, their shared laptop, a bookshelf and somewhere quiet for either parent to calm down as well as a wooden rocking chair in the corner where Daniel would be able to calm down too and where Sam or Tom could read to him with him on their lap. The living room was cozy with a large flat screen TV, DVD player and Wii surrounded by sofas with a couple of beanbags on the floor for the dogs.

Then upstairs, Sam and Tom's bedroom was suited to their needs with a massive double bed, a large wardrobe, dresser and a brilliant ensuite bathroom that for the past week, they had both showered in with their son because there was so much more room in it than their previous one. The second bedroom that was right next to theirs had been made into a nursery for Daniel, everything was blue of course with his cot, changing table, dresser and a comfortable soft armchair in the corner for breastfeeding in. The third bedroom had been made into Daniel's playroom. It was bright and colourful with many different boxes including one for dressing up, one full of books, puzzles, soft toys, plastic musical instruments and many more. Then there was a small table and chairs that had jars or crayons, pencils, pens and a stack of plain paper as well as a corner for reading with two beanbags in. There was also a baby gate across this room to stop the dogs from going in there. Finally, the fourth bedroom had just been made into a spare room with a single bed in there that they would move into Daniel's room when he got old enough.

Everything had been put together by Sam and Tom (with 'help' from Daniel) and it had taken a long time, but after months of preparation, they finally had their dream home.

Saturday 2nd April 2016, 8am

Sam had just locked the family cubicle in their local leisure centre where they were about to take Daniel for his first swimming lesson. He was only 7 months old, and so he wouldn't actually be learning to swim yet, but it was just a session for parents and babies to bond, as well as for them to get used to the water and the learn a couple of skills such as floating.

"Right, I'll get changed first if you hold our little cheeky rascal." Tom stated as he dumped his bag on the bench in the large cubicle and so Sam sat on the end of the bench with Daniel on her lap. "Y'know, I don't mind going in by myself if you've still got a tummy ache. Me and Daniel will be fine and you can just sit by the poolside or go to the cafe and join in next week." Tom said kindly as he knew that she had woken up in the early hours of that morning in pain because he had gotten her a hot water bottle and some painkillers.

"No, I want to. Besides, exercise is supposed to help cramps so it might help rather than sitting about." Sam replied. "I might go and see my gynaecologist about going on the pill because ever since I've had Daniel my periods have been heavier and I've never had pains this bad before."

"I was gonna suggest that actually." Tom admitted. "I'll look after Daniel when you go. Unless you want me to come with you..." Tom trailed off questioningly.

"No, no. I'd rather go by myself. But I'll tell you what happens when I get back."

"Sounds like a plan." Tom nodded as he pulled his pants down so he stood there completely naked for a few moments before he pulled his swimming trunks on. "There we go." Tom smiled as Sam handed over Daniel to his father before she began to get changed into a black one piece swimsuit that showed how well Sam had gotten back to her pre-pregnancy figure in less than a year. She then took a small item out of her gym bag and concealed it in her hand.

"Can you get him changed while I go to the toilet quickly?" Sam requested.

"Yeah sure. Let's get your swimming nappy on shall we?" Tom cooed as he closed the door after Sam exited and he then pulled down the changing table that was attached to the wall. He used an antibacterial wipe that he had in Daniel's bag to clean it before he laid his son on it and he changed Daniel into his huggies swimming nappy and then he pulled a pair of tight red swimming shorts over the top of them. He had just put the changing table back up when Sam returned. "He's just had a wet nappy so hopefully he should be okay in the pool." Tom informed.

"Alright. Let's go for it."

It was only the first of the twelve swimming sessions that occurred weekly so the eleven other babies and their parents were all in the same boat because it was their first class too and they ranged from 4 months old right up to a year old. Though even at 7 months old, Daniel was still one of the oldest in the class that had four instructors in the small baby pool that was kept nice and warm.

"Good morning mums, dads and babies. Now I'm the head instructor here and my name is Carla. These are the other instructors who will also help you. This is Saffron, Sue and Penny." Carla explained as she and the other instructors stood in their black wetsuits. "Now your beautiful sons and daughters here today aren't old enough to learn how to swim just yet, but these sessions are going to get your baby used to the water and teach them some essential survival skills such as holding their breath underwater so that when they get older, they'll be very prepared and it'll be easier for your child to begin swimming lessons with a bit of a head start. To start off with, I want you all to hold you baby under their arms and have them facing you so that they can see a familiar face and just bounce them up and down a bit, but keep their heads above water for now, just to let them get used to the water." She instructed.

"Go on, you can go first." Tom said softly and so Sam held Daniel under his arms with his shoulders and head out of the water. "Oh go on then, I can't resist." Tom smirked as he squatted down in the shallow pool behind Sam and put his arms around her sides so that he too had contact with his son's skin to keep him calm.

"We're going to be doing this for around five minutes." Carla announced.

"Do you like being in the water Daniel?" Tom cooed as he rested his chin on Sam's bare shoulder. "You used to hate being in the water, you absolutely hated baths and now look at you. The next Tom Daley." Tom said proudly.

"Mm." Sam smiled.

"Hiya, I'm penny." One of the instructors introduced as she came over to the Kent family who were the furthest back in the pool from the front but they weren't too spread out from the other families. "Who is this handsome little man?" She asked.

"This is Daniel, I'm Tom and this is my wife Sam." Tom explained.

"Wonderful to meet you all. And how old is little Daniel?"

"He's seven months old." Sam replied.

"Well he looks like he's enjoying that very much so I'll leave you to it. But if you want a hand or you've got a question, don't be afraid to give me a shout." She smiled before she went over to another family.

"People like her really tick me off." Sam whispered.

"Why? Because she's in a good mood?" Tom smirked.

"No because she thinks that she knows so much more than me about my own son."

"She was just offering help with swimming, nothing else." Tom chuckled.

"I still don't like her." Sam shrugged.

"Wow, you're really good at kicking aren't you?" Tom cooed at Daniel to change the subject as the boy kicked his legs back and forth in the water whilst Sam continued to lift him up and down a couple of inches in the water. "I tell you what, I bet you're as ticklish underwater as you are out of it." Tom smiled as he tickled Daniel's hips. The infant giggled so he kicked even harder but unfortunately he accidentally kicked Sam in the abdomen which instantly caused Tom to worry as she flinched back slightly. "Are you okay? Do you want me to hold him for a minute?" Tom asked quickly.

"Tom he can't kick hard enough to do any damage." Sam stated bluntly. "He could stand on top of my stomach and it probably wouldn't hurt very much."

"I know, I just wanted an excuse to take Daniel off of you." Tom admitted and Sam rolled her eyes before she very carefully handed her son over to the man that she loved. "Aw, does this remind you of shower time?" Tom asked softly as he held his child against his chest.

Sunday 1st May 2016

Time had flown by and neither Sam nor Tom could believe that their son was already 8 months old. Tom was watching TV whilst Sam was polishing the fireplace when she felt a little tug on her skinny jeans. She knew Daniel had been crawling towards her on the carpet but as she looked down, she saw a very concentrated face on her son as he continued to pull on her trousers.

"Tom, look." Sam whispered and both parents watched as Daniel pulled himself until he was standing up on his own two feet for the first time in his life, but he was clinging on for dear life and he looked a little scared.

"Daniel well done!" Tom praised as he got onto his knees on the carpet next to his son in case he fell.

"Good boy." Sam smiled as she smoothed her hand over his short brown hair. The encouragement caused Daniel to smile and, as he always did when he was happy, he began clapping his hands together. But once he had leg go of Sam's leg he began to fell backwards and thankfully Tom caught him, hoisted him up into the air and then gave him a cuddle.

"Shall we try again?" Tom suggested as he sat Daniel down on his bum on the carpet and then Tom held both of his hands. "Can you stand up Daniel?" Tom asked but Daniel wasn't moving.

"I think he prefers it if he can pull himself up on something sturdy rather than you helping him." Sam stated.

"Well then, let's sit him here." Tom said as he moved Daniel so that he was sitting with his legs straddled around one of Sam's feet. They both watched for a few minutes as Daniel clutched some of Sam's trousers in his hands tightly before he slowly and clumsily pulled himself into a standing position again. "Well done Daniel."

"Can you take a couple of steps towards daddy?" Sam asked as she pointed towards Tom as he held his arms out to receive his son. But Daniel didn't understand and he frowned as he didn't know how to sit back down on the floor and it looked like a long way down, even though he was only 2 ft 3 inches in height. He screwed up his face and both parents knew that that was what he did before he cried. "Daniel it's okay baby, you did really well." Sam said reassuringly as she bent down and picked him up. "How about we go outside and okay with bubbles? You like bubbles don't you?"

"I love bubbles." Tom stated as he jumped up and followed Sam outside. There was already a pot of bubbles on the table where they had played with them that very morning because it was a nice sunny day. "Right, I'll blow a bubble." Tom said slowly as he did so and Daniel clapped his hands together before poked it with his finger and popped it. "Do you think you can blow one Daniel?" Tom asked as he put the stick into the mixture and then held it for his son.

"Are you gonna blow Daniel?" Sam cooed as she bounced him on her hip.

"That sounds so wrong." Tom smirked and Daniel blew into the circle but he spat a bit too which amused Sam. "Oops, it popped. Let's try another one. Ready... Well done Daniel!" Tom praised and Daniel clapped as he felt proud of himself, only Sam had given him a helping hand by discreetly blowing from behind because he couldn't yet do one himself. Daniel giggled to himself which always made Sam and Tom smile - he sounded just like a stereotypical baby laugh on the TV.

That night, Sam and Tom were fast asleep when they were woken up by the shrieks of their baby. Usually, Daniel slept through the night and he would only wake on the odd occasion but never had he been screaming like he was then. Both presumed that it was something serious so they simultaneously jumped out of bed, ran into his bedroom with Sam in front and she switched his light on to find him leaning against the rails of his cot and he was clinging on for dear life.

"Hey, what's the matter with you?" Sam asked softly as she felt his red cheeks to check of he had a temperature but he was only a little bit warm on the cheeks and not on his hands so it was just because he was crying that his skin was flushed. They both watched as he squatted a little bit whilst he held onto the rails but he quickly pulled himself up again. "You don't think he's crying because he doesn't know how to sit down yet do you?" Sam asked her husband.

"Maybe." Tom shrugged. "Here we go mate." Tom said a he gently lifted Daniel up under his arms and he sat the infant down on his bum. "Is that better?" Tom asked as he wiped the tears away from his cheeks. Daniel immediately stopped making loud noises though he did still look a little upset and he didn't lie down which he would usually do on his own.

"Can he come and sleep with us please?" Sam asked.

"Go on then. I think he's earned it today." Tom nodded so Sam scooped her baby into her arms and carried him through to her bedroom. They got into bed with Daniel in between them and they kept the duvet folded back so that it was below their knees and nowhere near their son. "Settle down, settle down." Tom whispered softly as the boy wriggled his arms and legs about. "Do you mind if I read him a story? See if that sends him off?" Tom asked.

"Not it's fine. Hopefully it'll send me off as well." Sam mumbled as she laid on her side to face her son and husband and rested her head on the pillow. Tom grabbed a book from his bedside cabinet and began softly reading it. He was about halfway through the short story when he paused to see that Sam's chest slowly rose and fell and her eyes were closed, so she had gone back to sleep sooner than their son who was definitely getting sleepier. Tom began reading again and just as he got to the end of the book, Daniel closed his tired eyes and stopped fidgeting.

"Finally." Tom whispered in relief before he silently put the book away and flicked the light off.

Coming up: Sam and Tom take Daniel, who had just turned one year old, out for a meal. But when they get home and a storm begins, they learn that their son's fear of loud noises includes thunder.

Thanks for reading, please review :)