Chapter 39- Doctor, Doctor

Maya woke out of a sound sleep to the sound of Gabriel crying. She shot straight up in bed, forgetting where she was for a moment. Gabriel and herself had been released last week and, for the most part, were falling into a routine. She looked over at the clock on her phone. 3:45am, right on time. As she stumbled into Gabriel's room, she noticed that Josh was already at the changing table, gathering a diaper and the wipes. He jumped slightly when he turned and saw Maya.

"I got this, if you want to head back to bed, Maya." Josh offered. Maya smiled at him.

"No, I think you are gonna need me sooner than you think." Maya replied, and then noticed his confused expression. "It's time to feed him, Josh." She gestured to her engorged breasts. "But hey, if you think you can do that without me." She pretended to turn and leave.

"No, no. I'll just change him and you can feed him afterward." Josh said. "Do you want me to make some coffee?" Maya nodded exuberantly and smiled.

"That would be awesome, hon. Yes." She waited for Josh to finish changing Gabriel and scooped him up. While he went to the kitchen, she carefully sat in the rocking chair next to the window and fed Gabriel from her breast. As she rocked the chair, she sang to him.

"My darling love, you are an angel. My darling love, you are my light. My beautiful boy, with the face of a cherub, and big blue eyes, so clear and bright." She looked down at him and sure enough, his eyes were wide open and he seemed to be listening to her singing. She smiled at him and caressed his cheek with her pinky finger. He stopped feeding to coo at Maya.

"Hi, my Gabriel. How are you this morning?" She continued to rock in the chair and sing until Gabriel had fallen into a milk-coma. She started to get up, but Josh came in at that moment.

"I've got him, you sit." Josh carefully placed Gabriel back into the crib and retrieved the coffee from the top of the dresser. Handing Maya her cup, he sipped slowly from his own.

"I heard you singing, Maya. It was beautiful." Josh observed. Maya, flushed with embarrassment, silently sipped her coffee.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I know it wasn't." Maya replied.

"Yes, it was. And it made Gabriel happy, so it was beautiful." Josh argued. After they finished their coffee, Josh collected the mugs and returned them to the sink. Coming back to the baby's room, he noticed that Maya was gone. As he entered their bedroom, he saw that she was already fast asleep in bed. Smiling to himself, he slid into bed beside her, and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist. She scooted closer to him and wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

The next morning, Maya and Josh were at the doctor's office for Gabriel's two-week appointment. He was sleeping on Josh's chest, while they were waiting for the doctor to come in. There was a light knock on the door and the doctor quietly stepped in, smiling when she saw the baby.

"Good Morning, guys!" she whispered. "How is little Gabriel doing this morning?" Maya and Josh nodded, mouthing the word 'good.' While still on Josh's chest, she examined him. She checked his soft spot on the top of his head and lightly ran her fingers down his neck and spine, checking for deformities. Lightly patting the exam table, she smiled at Josh. He stood up and gently placed Gabriel on the exam table, leaving one hand resting on the baby's belly for support, until the doctor took over. With Maya and Josh carefully watching, the doctor lightly pressed on Gabriel's belly and "bicycled" his legs. She checked his startle reflex and removed his diaper to see how his circumcision was healing and to see if his testicles had descended yet. She seemed satisfied with everything and put his diaper back on, then handing him back to Josh. Sitting on her stool, she turned toward Maya.

"How has he been doing with feeding?" she asked. "Any problems with latching, or seeming like he isn't getting enough to eat?" Maya shook her head.

"No. He latches perfectly and he is up about every two to two and half hours to eat." Maya replied. "He usually feeds for about 30 minutes, and falls asleep." Nodding, the doctor wrote it down in the medical chart.

"And his bowel movements? Normal?" The doctor asked without looking up.

"For some reason, his poops are yellow and it looks like there are little seeds in it. But other than that, he poops about 6 times a day." The doctor smile and looked up at Maya.

"That all seems very normal, Maya. And those 'seeds'? Those are undigested milk fat. That is also very normal. It seems like everything is going very well as far as development. According to the chart, little Gabriel even came back up to his birth weight and then some. He is a big, hefty 9 pounds, 4 ounces. Good job guys. Do you have anymore questions for me?" Maya and Josh shook their heads. "Ok, then, I will see you guys in about three weeks or so. Make an appointment on your way out. You guys are doing great." She stood up and extended her hand to Maya, who accepted and shook it. She didn't want to disturb the baby, so she opted for a wave to Josh. "Have a good day guys!" With that she left the room and closed the door behind her. Maya smiled at Josh, squeezing his free hand.

"Did you hear her?" Maya asked. "She said he was good and we are doing great as parents. I can't even believe that. It's like we were made for this, Josh." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Like there was ever any doubt." He replied.

Once Gabriel was fed and put to bed at home, Maya and Josh relaxed on the couch and watched a movie. Maya was dozing off when her phone rang, causing her to jump. Picking up her phone from the coffee table, she looked at the number and answered it.

"Hello? Mrs. Matthews?" Maya answered.

"Maya. Please. Call me Amy or Mom. Mrs. Matthews makes me sound like a teacher." Amy replied, laughing. "Are you guys home?"

"Yes, Mrs. Ma-" Maya stopped herself. "I mean Mom. We just got back from the doctor. What's up?"

"We thought we could stop by for a visit."

"Stop by? You live in Philidelphia?" Maya teased. "New York isn't exactly across the street."

"Be that as it may, we are coming over for a visit. We will be there in about an hour."

"Okay. No problem. We'll be here."

"All right, see you then. Love you guys."

"Love you too, Mom." Maya and Josh said simultaneously into the phone. Maya put down the phone and looked around the house, grimacing. There was no way she was going to let Josh's parents into the house, in the state that it was in. There were nursing pads on the kitchen table and dishes in the sink. Next to the wall of their bedroom, there was a pile of dirty baby clothes they had not had a chance to wash yet. The laundry that was washed and dried was sitting in a laundry basket on the couch, waiting to be folded.

"This house is a mess, Josh. We have to get this cleaned before they get here." Maya observed. Josh sighed, but got up from the couch anyway. "How did we let this get away from us?" Josh looked around.

"Life with a baby, I guess." Josh remarked. "No time for anything else." Maya nodded, agreeing with Josh and started with folding the laundry, while he washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Just about the time they finished cleaning, Gabriel woke up and wanted to be fed. Maya retrieved Gabriel from the crib, feeding him and staring at his beautiful face. He was almost asleep when Amy and Alan knocked on the door. Josh greeted them at the door and let them in, showing them to the living room. Amy quietly squealed when she laid eyes on Gabriel. Alan averted his eyes while Maya was still feeding. When Maya noticed what Alan was doing, she grabbed a cover and fed him underneath.

"Sorry, Dad. I didn't even think about that." Maya apologized.

"No need to apologize, Maya. You're providing nourishment for a human. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all. It just threw me off a little. Carry on, though." Alan replied, carefully taking a seat on the couch.

"No, its all right. He's done anyway." Maya said, putting away her breast and removing the cover. Amy gestured toward the baby and Maya nodded and handed him over to her. Amy placed Gabriel's head on her shoulder, and while supporting his head, began to lightly tap on his back, until he belched.

"Oh!" exclaimed Amy. "That was a good one!" She took Gabriel off of her shoulder and cradled him in the crook of her arm, cooing at him as he gripped her finger. Josh sat down on the couch next to his mother and father.

"So, Mom. Dad." Josh inquired. "What are you doing way out here in New York? You don't just hop in the car to travel 2 hours, just to 'visit'. Not that we don't love your visits." Alan and Amy shot each other a glance, which Josh noticed. "What's going on?"

"Well, we were going to come down next week and visit, but we had a visitor ourselves that we thought might like to see." Alan teased, playfully.

"Who and where is this, 'visitor'?" Josh looked around, thinking he missed a dog or something.

"Parking the car." Amy replied. "I didn't realize how hard it is to find parking in this city. So crowded." Josh wondered who this mystery visitor was. He didn't have to wait very long, because as soon as the thought left his head, there was another knock at the door. Josh got up to answer it and was shocked when he opened the door.

"Where have you been?" Josh asked. "It has been forever. Come on in."