A/N This chapter has made me so glad I went with publishing once a month. Real Life is going nuts for me right now. I have my drum lessons and I'm talking to some other musicians about jamming together. I've been cast in a play, so I'm learning lines. I'm working on some home and yard projects, and my wife will be getting hip replacement surgery in, we think, June. Meanwhile, she is very limited in what she can do, so I'm doing most of the work around the house. Also, they are still working on our car, hoping to be done the second or third week of April, but we currently have a rental. Once a month publishing gives me time to write and edit each chapter without having to rush it.
This is Penny's postpartum check-up and Leonard and Penny's first trip away from the twins. So, before the doctor's visit, they are getting lunch at a place that should be familiar to my long-time readers, along with some discussion of who's coming to visit.
Enjoy, and I'll see you late May 1 or early May 2.
Chapter 3 Looming Visitors 3244
27 July 6:45 AM
Penny heard the crying and got out of bed, looking at the clock, she thought, Well, they are certainly getting up later today. She walked across the hall to the twins' bedroom. It was Annika who was crying this morning, it seems they are taking turns waking up first, though Penny. She picked her up, took her over to the chair, sat down, and unbuttoned her pajama top. She took out her breast and offered it to Annika. Annika took it in her mouth, got a good latch, and she started feeding. Penny, as usual, rocked back and forth as she fed her. When Annika was done, Penny burped and changed her, then sat in the chair, holding her. Penny let her grab her fingers while she stroked Annika's hair, rubbed her face softly, or kissed her forehead. Annika fell asleep and Penny placed her in her crib before checking to see if Jesika was ready to eat, but she was still asleep. So Penny turned on the baby monitor and went back to her bedroom.
She put on her robe, quietly so as not to wake Leonard. After all, he did three feedings last night and she was going to let him sleep until ten. She walked down the stairs, turned on the baby monitor there, then turned on the coffee. Penny decided to have eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast, so she got out the eggs, put the pan on the stove, and turned it on after putting a pat of butter in the pan.
Just then, she heard crying coming from the monitor, so she shut off the stove and went back upstairs, to the twins' room. She found Jesika was finally awake and she fed, burped, and changed her. She also then held her for a time while doing the same things she had done with Annika before she too fell asleep. So, Penny placed her in her crib and walked back down to the kitchen.
She turned the stove back on, before placing two slices of bread in the toaster and putting three slices of bacon they had cooked the day before, in the microwave. She then poured a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice. The butter was melted so she started frying the eggs. The toast popped up and she buttered it and just before the eggs finished, the microwave went off, indicating the bacon was done. She put that on her plate, then the eggs, and took the plate to the kitchen island. She sat down and started eating, thinking about the weekend.
With the weekend being Louise's two days off, it had gotten hectic, at times, over the weekend, without Louise there to help them. Several times over the weekend, Jesika or Annika's crying had woken the other twin, so they had to deal with two crying babies. Other times one twin would not go back to sleep after a feeding and would keep the other one awake and crying. This would interrupt either Penny or Leonard's sleep and they would get up and help the other.
On the positive side, Amy and Bernadette had come over on Saturday, with Bernadette bringing Halley and Michael over. The occasion was Leonard and Howard, along with Raj, going over to 4A, to play some board games with Sheldon, something they hadn't done since the twins were born. They had ordered pizza for dinner, as the women did at Penny's and the guys returned around 8 PM, with Amy leaving to go back to 4A and Bernadette returning home.
On Sunday, Howard brought Halley and Michael over, while Raj and Sheldon came over to play board games at Leonard's, so the women would have a break from the kids. The women came back early enough that, everyone could eat at their own homes. The twins were again fussy on Sunday night and Penny thought about how great it was going to be having Louise there today, she was due to come in at 9 AM, and Penny thought about getting a nap.
Looking at the clock, Penny saw it was 7:30, so she put the dishes in the sink, grabbed the baby monitor, and went to the living room. She could watch a couple of episodes of Unsolved Mysteries before Louise got there if the twins didn't wake up.
27 July 11:30 AM
"Penny, are you ready?" shouted Leonard up the stairs.
"Be right down," he heard Penny say.
He walked over to the bassinets, where Louise was letting the twins grab her fingers. "Are you sure you'll be all right?" asked Leonard.
"Yes, I will be fine," said Louise. "You and Penny can go have lunch and go to her appointment without worrying. I'll have everything under control here."
"Yes, I know you will," said Leonard, a bit nervously. "But, this is our first time out, away from the twins, since they were born. So, we're both a bit nervous about leaving them, even with you here."
"I can understand that," said Louise. "But, didn't you hire me for just these kinds of circumstances?"
Leonard nodded, "Yes, we did, but it's still hard."
Louise smiled at him, "I suppose so, but they are in good hands if I do say so myself."
Leonard nodded, then turned as he heard Penny coming down the stairs. She also looked nervous as she walked over to the bassinets and said, "You're sure this won't be a problem?"
"As I just told Leonard, everything will be under control," said Louise.
"I know, but this is our…"
"Yes, it's your first time away from them," said Louise, with a grin. "But, I'm experienced with twins so I don't see a problem. You two go enjoy your lunch and then go to your doctor's appointment without worrying," knowing full well, they would both worry.
Penny nodded, although she didn't look very confident. She kissed both babies on the forehead and then watched as Leonard did the same. They both hesitated until Louise shooed them away and they finally went out to the garage.
27 July Noon
Leonard and Penny had just finished their salads and were waiting for their meals. They were eating at Marston's, their favorite restaurant, which they hadn't been to in almost four months. Penny was looking off into the distance when Leonard said, "You thinking about the twins?"
Penny sighed, "Yes, I am, aren't you?"
Leonard grinned, "Of course I am, but I've been thinking about something else."
"About what?"
"Something Louise said," said Leonard. "Look, we hired Louise because we thought she was the best one we interviewed. So we have to trust her that she'll take care of them."
"What do you mean?" said Penny sharply.
"Penny, if we don't trust her, then why are we having her take care of the twins?"
"Well, when you put it that way…" said Penny.
"What other way can I say it?" asked Leonard. "If we think she should be taking care of our babies, then we can't worry about it when she does take care of them."
"But, it's hard, Leonard," said Penny. "They are our babies and we have to make sure we're taking care of them."
"Yes, it is hard, but we are taking care of them, Penny," said Leonard. "We made sure Louise is the right person to help us take care of our babies, and we let her take care of them when we have to do other things."
Penny gnawed on her lower lip and then said, "You're right, of course. I think Louise is just the best, I'm glad we have her. I mean look at everything she does."
"I know everything she does and we both look forward to having her come to the house," said Leonard. "Changing the subject, how are feeling about your parents coming in next Monday, for the week?"
"I'm fine with it," said Penny. "They are both thrilled with the twins. You know, she's been calling me every week, asking how the two little ones are doing, dropping hints and advice. And, I don't understand it, it's not like they don't have other grandchildren."
Leonard didn't say anything. He knew both Penny's parents adored him, simply because of who she had dated previous to Leonard. While he was grateful, he felt a bit uncomfortable, with how Penny's siblings and their partners were talked about by her parents.
"It's okay, Leonard," said Penny, reading his mind. "I feel the same way. Randle's worked his tail off helping around the farm and trying to keep sober and my dad scarcely notices. Lisa's been with her current guy for almost three years and has settled down, but somehow, my parents won't let go of the past where those two are concerned, although they have for me. It's not fair to them, but I can't think of anything I can do about it."
"But, it should be okay, since my parents will only be here for a week," said Penny. "My mom won't feel so awkward this time, since she won't be meeting your parents and she was comfortable with our friends. My dad will have some business to attend to and I want to take them to Disneyland, but they are coming to see their grandchildren. So, I'm not really worried about it."
"Okay, if you're not worried, I'm not worried," said Leonard.
After a pause Penny said, "Speaking of parents visiting, your dad comes the week after my parents and then your mom the week after that, any worries from you?" Leonard thought for a second, "The biggest one is making sure my mom doesn't get here before my father leaves."
Penny chuckled at that and said, "Or Sheldon's mom doesn't come."
Leonard smiled and continued, "No worries about my dad and I'm not worried about dealing with my mother anymore, not after the last time. But, I wonder if she is going to want to try to experiment on our twins."
"Hell, no," said Penny with a vehemence that surprised Leonard. "She will not get any kind of chance for that. I saw how bad she messed you up, she is not going to get a chance to do that. She wants to play with them fine. She wants to cuddle them, again fine. But, if I see her try anything even looking like an experiment, I'll go all Nebraska on her."
Leonard smiled, "That was the way I kinda figured you would take that. So, no I'm not worried about her coming to see the babies, because I mentioned it to her, and will again when she arrives."
Penny looked sheepish, then smiled.
Just then, their food arrived, the waiter put it on their table, asked if they needed anything, and then left upon receiving a negative answer.
Leonard looked at his phone, "We better get eating, we have less than 45 minutes to finish eating, pay our bill, and get to Dr. Samuels' office."
Penny looked at her phone and said, "Yeah, you're right."
They both put their phones down and started eating.
27 July 1:05 PM
It feels funny to be here, and not be pregnant, thought Penny. She had obviously been here for her yearly OB/GYN appointments, which was before she had gotten pregnant. But, this is the first time in almost ten months that she had been here and not been pregnant. She had given all her blood samples for testing, they had taken her blood pressure, and weighed her, before sending her back out to the waiting room.
Dr. Samuels came out and called them back to her office. They sat in the same chairs in front of Dr. Samuels as before. Dr. Samuels looked over the paperwork in front of her and said, "So how are you feeling?"
"Tired," said Penny, and Dr. Samuels chuckled.
"Actually, I'm feeling fine," said Penny. "I waited for the week you said I should before I started picking up the babies, and that's about all the lifting I've done. Well, all the lifting that Leonard or Louise lets me do."
Dr. Samuels looked puzzled, "Louise?"
"Yes, our nanny," said Leonard. "She's been a godsend and has been very helpful."
"I imagine she has," said Dr. Samuels. "You said you haven't been lifting anything besides the babies, have you been exercising?"
"Except for some walking, I figured I'd wait until I saw you and you said it was okay to start," said Penny. "I read about first check-ups and was wondering why my first check-up was now, at four weeks, and not at six."
"Well, we had to do surgery on you, to remove pieces of the placenta," said Dr. Samuels. "For a cesarian, we usually have the woman come in at two weeks. In your case, I wanted to check on the surgery a bit earlier than six weeks which is normal, but I felt two weeks was a bit early. So, I split the difference and brought you in at four weeks."
Penny and Leonard nodded.
"Speaking of the surgery," said Dr. Samuels, "is there anything you want to go over, want to talk about, or do you have any questions?"
Penny and Leonard both looked like they were thinking, then Penny said, "You know, Leonard has been worried about not being there when I passed out, is there anything he could have done."
Dr. Samuels looked at Leonard. "I've already told him, there wasn't anything he could have done. I started back to the hospital as soon as I got word from the pathology team and that's when you lost consciousness. There is nothing Leonard could have done." She turned to Leonard, "Leonard, you need to get over this, you didn't do anything wrong."
"I know," said Leonard. He was looking down and looked embarrassed.
"Thank you, Dr. Samuels," said Penny. "I haven't been able to get through to him. As for everything else, you explained it pretty well while I was still in the hospital."
Looking back at her paper Dr. Samuels said, "Your blood pressure, which we were so worried about during your pregnancy, is back to normal. You've lost almost two-thirds of the weight you gained, which is why I asked if you were exercising. Your thyroid seems to be normal, your hormones are back to normal. Everything else looks good. Are you having any problems with incontinence, hemorrhoids, or constipation?"
Penny shook her head, "Nope, nothing like any of that."
Dr. Samuels paused, "How are you feeling, emotionally? Are you feeling down, or depressed?"
Penny smiled, "Dr. Rose told me you would ask this. He gave both of us a test last week, to check for depression and said both of us were fine."
"Oh, he did?"
"Yes, he said we would see him more than any other healthcare giver, over the next year, so he was going to look out for us and he did give us the test."
Dr. Samuels chuckled, "He's not wrong, you will see him more than any of your other doctors. Okay, good, since you are both fine, I won't give you the test, but I will ask him about it. Okay, let's check you over physically, come on over to the exam table, and change into a gown."
Penny walked over and removed her clothes, then put on the gown. She laid on the table and Dr. Samuels pressed on her belly, then checked her breasts. She asked if there was any pain and Penny said no. Dr. Samuels then called the nurse in and they inserted the stirrups into the end of the table, then had Penny put her feet in them. Dr. Samuels explained that she was going to do a pap smear and then she would do a pelvic exam. It felt like a normal yearly check-up and then Dr. Samuels said, "So far, everything looks good, now I'll check on the surgery."
She rolled a machine over to the table and said, "This is the Morcellator, we used something similar to it to do your surgery. But, today, we are only going to use the camera section, to look to see if the surgery area has healed. We won't need an anesthetic for that. If we find something or have to look around a bit more, then we'll have to numb you. But, let's look first."
The nurse brought the monitor over and Dr. Samuels inserted the instrument into Penny's vagina and into her uterus. She moved it around looking at the images on the screen. They heard her ask the nurse "Do you see anything?" and when the nurse said, "No" Dr. Samuels nodded and removed the instrument and turned off the machine.
"Okay, Penny, you can get dressed," said Dr. Samuels. "I'll explain more after you come back to my desk."
Penny took off the gown and got dressed, then she and Leonard went back to their chairs. They watched Dr. Samuels was writing something down, then she stopped and looked up and smiled.
"Your breasts seem in good shape and your pelvic exam was normal," said Dr. Samuels. Your pelvic area has healed well, another two to three weeks and you'll be fine. We'll call you if there is anything non-normal with your pap smear. As for your uterus, I can't see where I made the cuts, that means your uterus had healed as it was supposed to heal."
"So, what does that mean for…" started Penny.
"You'll be able to resume exercising in another two weeks," said Dr. Samuels. "As a matter of fact, I highly recommend it."
Penny was shaking her head.
Dr. Samuels smiled, "Ohhhh, sorry, I should have realized what you were asking. No, there is no damage so yes, you will be able to have more children, if you want them."
Penny shook her head more vigorously.
This time Dr. Samuels chuckled, "I was getting there, as for your sex life, I would suggest another two to three weeks before you start that. But, really, everything should be good by then. Do you have any other questions?"
"None that I can think of," said Penny.
"Well, then, I think we're done," said Dr. Samuels. " If you have questions, feel free to call or make an appointment. I would like to see you in twelve weeks for your final postpartum check-up. After that, it will be your regular yearly OBG/YN appointment. For now, if you need something contact us and keep us informed on how the little ones are doing."
"We will," said Penny. "Thank you Dr. Samuels for everything and we'll see you in a few months."
Leonard and Penny rose, the three of them exchanged goodbyes and they left. They stopped at the window to make her 12-week appointment, Penny insisting on the 9th of October, before heading home.