A/N WARNING if you haven't reread the Prologue, it's entirely new from what I put there as a placeholder back when I finished The Unwrapped Consequence. As a result, you get two chapters today, so I suggest you go back and read that, if you haven't already before starting here.
I wasn't sure you were going to get this chapter today. I was in a car accident a couple of days ago and wasn't really feeling up to editing this (Nothing really physical, just not in the right headspace). The prologue was done, so you would have gotten that at least, but I was fine today, so I finished all the editing. If I hadn't changed my publishing time, you wouldn't have gotten it.
Anyway, enjoy.
Chapter 2 The First Checkup
24 July 1:00 PM
Penny was just finishing putting on the baby's outfits. They were each in a red onesie, Annika's had a circled "Twin 1", in black, on it and Jesika's had circled "Twin 2". Penny had picked them out because she thought it funny the two would look like Thing 1 and Thing 2 in The Cat in the Hat. And while her and Leonard could tell the difference because of their moles, these made it easier to distinguish who was who, when the moles weren't readily visible.
Leonard was cleaning up the kitchen sink area, where they had given the twins a bath and Louise was straightening up and refilling the changing table in the bedroom and the supplies in the living room. Leonard walked out to the living room and picked up Jesika. He was smiling at her and bouncing her up and down.
"You ready to start packing things up and get ready to take them out on their first outing?" asked Penny.
"Yeah, I am," said Leonard, who then squinted and touched noses with the baby. "The past month has flown by, hasn't it?"
"It sure has," said Penny. "I just wish they would have stayed on the same sleeping schedule as each other."
Leonard chuckled, "Yeah, so do I. Now, we can't even get them to stay asleep together. Louise has been so helpful."
"Yes, it's been so great having Louise," said Penny.
Louise came walking up with a smile, "Did I hear my name and nice things said about me?"
"Yeah, we were just commenting on how great it's been with you around to help us," said Leonard.
Louise chuckled, "I seem to remember a couple thinking they only needed me for a few hours each day."
Penny and Leonard looked sheepish. "Yeah, we thought wrong," said Penny. "I don't know what we would have done without you here the last month. Thank you."
"You are welcome," said Louise. "But, I think you would have made it through. You haven't done so badly yourself."
"Not as well as we did with you," said Leonard. She fit right in with us. Gentle sarcasm; quick-witted, funny comments; and gentle with the twins; just like Penny and I. "But, it's time to get them into the car. That's fifteen minutes right there, as is getting them out. And, with a 2 PM appointment, we need to go now."
With that, Penny and Leonard took one baby each out to the car in their carriers. Louise carried the bag with diapers and cleaning materials, along with an extra outfit for each of them. She put the bag between the two car seats and then Leonard and Penny each put the baby they were holding in one of the car seats. After getting them in, Leonard carefully backed out of the garage and headed to the doctor's office for their one-month checkup.
24 July 2:05 PM
Leonard and Penny had checked in and, along with the two twins, were in the waiting room. Annika was being fussy and was softly crying. Penny knew she couldn't be hungry, she had eaten just a half-hour ago, so she checked her diaper. It was clean and dry so Penny picked her up and gently rocked her in her arms, while she hummed softly and Annika settled down.
Dr. Rose came out and called their names and the two got up and followed Dr. Rose back to his office. They put the carriers on the examination table, where Dr. Rose had pointed. His nurse came in and took Annika out of her carrier and put her on the scale, noted her weight, and measured her length. She then put the first twin back into her carrier before weighing and measuring the second one. She wrote something on the chart, showed it to Dr. Rose before whispering something to him, and then left.
Dr. Rose looked at the sheet for a few seconds then said, "So, how do you feel they are doing?"
Leonard and Penny exchanged glances then Penny spoke, "We think there are doing fine," she said. "They've started sleeping for three hours mostly, sometimes four, and are eating a bit more. However, they have started to not sleep at the same time, so we're getting pretty tired."
Dr. Rose chuckled, "Yes, that can happen. Let me look at them." He took Annika from her carrier. He looked in her eyes, ears, nose, and throat. He carefully looked at her umbilical site before moving her limbs around, checking for resistance, and put his finger in her palm, to see if there was a grabbing reflex. He then tickled her feet and arms, to see if there was a reaction and there was. He held a finger in front of her face and moved it around, watching her head and eyes move as she tracked the finger. He made a few loud noises and found her startle reflex to be good, also an indication her hearing was good.
He then put her back into her carrier and then took Jesika out. He repeated all the tests with her, with more or less the same results, and then put her back into her carrier. He then walked behind his desk and indicated Leonard and Penny should sit in the chairs in front of his desk. They took the carriers and put them between their chairs, before sitting down. They then looked at Dr. Rose expectantly. He looked at his paperwork for a few seconds then looked up.
"Your babies are doing well," said Dr. Rose. "Annika gained 29 ounces and now weighs seven pounds, six ounces and she's gained an inch to 19.5 inches. Jesika gained 32 ounces and now weighs seven pounds, one ounce and gained an inch and a half to 19 inches."
"Is it normal for one to gain more like Jesika did?" asked Penny.
"Yes, it is," said Dr. Rose. "Especially for the second twin. She, like most second babies, was smaller and lighter, and how quickly they catch up usually depends on how much smaller. Since Jesika wasn't that much smaller, she has almost matched her twin."
"Their reflexes and movements are all within normal for their age. They both have good grips and they can follow motion with their eyes. They've gained weight, so I'll assume they have no problems with feeding, right?"
Penny nodded and said, "They get a good latch and feed easily. I'm not having any problems with them, or myself. They seem to take a bottle okay when Leonard or our nanny feeds them."
"Good, good," said Dr. Rose. "I expected as much, considering their gains. But, I usually want to check with the mother to make sure." He looked over his papers and then said, "Are you giving the babies some time on their tummies?"
"What do you mean?" said Penny.
"Are you putting the babies on their tummy once in a while?" asked Dr. Rose.
"Should we?" asked Penny. "We were told to put them on their backs, after all, we have to do that when they are in the bassinets."
"Yes, you should be placing them on their bellies, for a little bit each day," said Dr. Rose. "Now, I'm not talking about putting them on their stomaches and leaving them there. But, ten to fifteen minutes twice a day would be a good start for them. Say after the mid-morning and mid-afternoon feedings. Just make sure you are there watching them when you do it."
Leonard and Penny looked at each other, then nodded.
Then Dr. Rose said, "How are you doing, Penny?"
"What do you mean?" asked Penny.
"I mean what I said, how are you doing?" said Dr. Rose. "Are you feeling sad, nervous, or anxious?"
"Not really," said Penny. "Mostly I'm feeling tired and frustrated about not getting enough sleep, but not any of those other things, why?"
"Just checking," said Dr. Rose. "Some new mothers can have those feelings. It's usually called postpartum depression. I'm surprised Dr. Samuels hasn't asked you about it."
"I don't have my appointment with her until next week," said Penny. "But, there's really nothing to tell her. Other than being tired, I don't feel sad or any of those other things."
"That's good to hear," said Dr. Rose. "How about you Leonard? Feeling any of those things?"
"I'm not the mother," said Leonard, sounding puzzled.
"I know, but sometimes it can happen to the father," said Dr. Rose. "Now, are you feeling sad, nervous, or anxious?"
"No, not that I can recall," said Leonard.
"Can I get you to do me a favor?" asked Dr. Rose. "I have a short ten-question survey I'd like you to take. Just give me your answers based on how you've felt the last week."
He gave them each a pencil and a piece of paper. Penny looked at it and saw on the top: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (a 10-question survey).
"You're checking us for depression?" asked Penny.
"Yes, yes I am," said Dr. Rose. "I will probably see you more than any other health care person over the next year and while we're not required, let's just say Pediatricians, as a group, think it's a good idea to screen for postpartum depression."
Leonard and Penny nodded and started filling out the answers. It only took them a couple of minutes before they handed the papers back to Dr. Rose and he only took a minute to score them.
"Neither of you show signs of depression. But, I'm sure Dr. Samuels will ask you about it next week. Now, do you have any questions for me?"
They looked at each other, Leonard shrugged and Penny looked at Dr. Rose and said, "A couple of things. Leonard doesn't think they are big deals, but I'm wondering about them. First, why does it look like their breasts are developing?"
"Penny, why did Dr. Samuels tell you not to drink alcohol?" asked Dr. Rose.
Penny looked puzzled, but said, "Because the alcohol can get into the baby's system from mine."
"Precisely," said Dr. Rose. "And, the hormones you produced to get your breasts ready to enlarge your breasts to produce milk transfer over to the baby, which is the cause of what looks like the baby's breasts growing. That will go away over the first couple of months as the hormone level in the babies drops from not getting them anymore."
"Well, what about all the noises they babies make?" asked Penny. "I thought they would laugh and cry, mostly cry I guess. But, they make all sorts of noises, gurgles, screeches, snorts, everything. It really was a shock to me to hear all of the sounds that come out of them."
Dr. Rose laughed, "Yes, many parents are surprised by how noisy their little ones are. But, I assure you, it's all normal. Is there anything else?"
"Not that I can think of," said Penny. "Leonard anything from you?"
"No, nothing," said Leonard.
"Ok, well, before you leave, I want to give them their first Hepatitis-B shot," said Dr. Rose. "Some pediatricians give them the shot at the two-month appointment. But, I like to give it now, as there are other shots they will get next month, and this reduces the number they'll need next month."
Dr. Rose called his nurse who came in with two syringes, and two hypodermic needles. Dr. Rose said, "I'm going to need you to hold the babies while I give them the shot. Some parents have trouble seeing their babies in distress, but we need to give them these shots."
Penny, knowing how Leonard freaked out about needles said she would hold them. Penny picked up Annika and carried her over to Dr. Rose. She could see Leonard tightening his grip on the arms of the chair, then heard Annika start crying loudly. Penny gave her to Leonard who was more than happy to try and calm his daughter, so he wouldn't have to look at the other one getting a shot. Penny then picked up Jesika and five minutes later, both of the twins were back in their carriers and were no longer crying.
"Well, then, I think we're finished for now," said Dr. Rose. "Make an appointment for around a month from now and we'll see you then."
Penny and Leonard thanked Dr. Rose then carried them, twins, out to the receptionist. They made an appointment just short of a month from today and headed home.
24 July 3:30 PM
Leonard and Penny arrived home with the twins and found that Louise's car was no longer there. They weren't totally surprised as they had told her she could take the rest of the day off if she wanted to. They took the twins from the car to the house. They put them in the bassinets on the first floor, then Leonard mentioned bringing one of the playpens down from the second floor.
"Why would we do that?" asked Penny.
"Well, the doctor talked about getting them some tummy time," said Leonard. "I figured we could put them in the playpen for that."
"We don't have to do that," said Penny. "We could put one of our quilts down and let them lay on their tummies on that. We don't need the playpen, they aren't crawling around or walking yet."
Leonard thought about that for a minute, "Won't we have to watch over them, if we do that?"
"We have to anyway," said Penny. "Remember, the doctor said we have to watch them while they are on their tummies."
Penny could tell he was thinking about it, from the positioning of his eyebrows. Finally, he nodded and headed up the stairs. When he came back down, he heard Penny say on the phone, "Yes, this is Penny Hofstadter."
He was spreading the blanket out, while listening to Penny, "Yes, I have an appointment on Tuesday. Oh, this is a courtesy call. Excuse me, what…oh, I see, can I ask why…uh huh…uh huh…oh, okay, that makes sense. Yes, I can bring someone with me. See you then." Leonard saw Penny disconnect.
"What was that about?" asked Leonard.
"I need you to come with me to my check-up appointment on Tuesday," said Penny. "They want to do a Diagnostic
Hysteroscopy, to look at where they cut out the pieces of the placenta. Dr. Samuels wants to do local anesthesia, so they don't want me driving home, so you'll have to come with me."
Leonard nodded, "That's fine. Now, how about I bring Annika over for you to feed, and while you feed her, I'll start laying the quilt down and we can put them on their tummies after they eat?"
Penny nodded and began unbuttoning her blouse.
25 July 6:05 AM
Penny heard the crying and got out of bed, walking across the hall to the twins' bedroom. Leonard had done the midnight and 3 AM feedings and so it was her turn to feed and change them and, besides, Leonard was sound asleep. It was Jesika who was crying, so she picked her up out of the crib, took her over to the chair, and after sitting down, she lowered the strap of her nightgown and guided Jesika's head to her breast.
Jesika knew what to do and she was soon suckling. Penny slowly rocked as Jesika ate. When she was done, Penny burped her, changed her then put her back in her crib. It was now Annika's turn and Penny repeated everything for Annika, before putting her back into her crib.
She started down the stairs thinking about today. Since it was a Saturday, Louise had the next two days off. She and Leonard were going to have to deal with the twins for the weekend, all by themselves. They would manage, but they were going to miss Louise. At least Penny got to bed by 10 PM and got eight hours of sleep. She planned on letting Leonard sleep to 11 AM, so he would get eight hours. It was much better than when they first brought them home.
Getting to the kitchen, she turned on the baby monitor and then the coffee pot. Let's see, what for breakfast, she thought. If I make French Toast, Leonard can run it through the microwave after he gets up. She smiled and started gathering the ingredients for the French Toast.
A/N The depression test is a real thing. Pediatricians and OB/GYN use it to gauge how much if any, postpartum depression a parent is having. And, yes, both the father and mother can get it.