Sleep was once again not great for Maya and Carina. Neither of them really fell back to sleep after Carina's nightmare and Nora woke up crying at 3 am and ended up in their bed afterward because she was clingy. Maya was still pumping every three hours during the night and all of it just made them exhausted.
Rowan was up bright and early at 6:30 am asking about her baby and also wanting breakfast. Carina got up with her because Maya needed to pump again.
The morning felt a bit like they were walking through molasses as they tried to get the twins ready and out the door. It was a long morning with Rowan insisting she didn't want a lid on her cup and then proceeding to spill smoothie all over herself, bursting into tears as the drink somehow even ended up in her hair which resulted in Carina taking her upstairs for a quick bath while Maya tried to get the kitchen cleaned up and get Nora to eat which went alright considering she was complaining her stomach hurt and that she didn't want to go to daycare. Maya sat with her and helped her with some breathing exercises after checking her temperature just to make sure she wasn't feverish. Luckily, that was not the case and after some deep breaths and a few hugs and talking, Nora ate some food while Maya packed lunches.
Carina and Rowan came back downstairs, Rowan redressed in clean clothes, her damp hair tired up in a braid.
"Bambina, I could have done that," Carina said when she saw Maya making lunch for the girls.
"I've got it," Maya said, "You were busy with a bath."
"Si," Carina sighed, "But now her hair is smoothie free and we talked about her using cups with lids for a little while longer. We compromised that she can drink water outside without a lid on her cup."
"Good," Maya nodded finishing filling Nora's water bottle for daycare, looking at her wife before lowering her voice so the twins couldn't hear, "Nora is complaining about her tummy again. We did some talking and breathing, but just so you know."
"Ok," Carina nodded, sighing as she looked over at the little brunette who was taking a tiny bite of toast. It took another hour before everyone was ready to go which was forty minutes later than they hoped to be out the door, but it wasn't too big of a deal considering they didn't have work or anything today.
On the way to the hospital, Nora again complained her tummy was hurting and that she wanted to stay home with Mommy and Mamma which broke Maya and Carina's hearts, but they also knew it was important to help her through this and show her she could do it. They got to the hospital, Rowan holding Maya's hand to talk in while Carina carried Nora.
"I don't want to," Nora said, shaking her head as they got there, "I want to stay wif you and Mommy."
"I know Piccola," Carina said, "But we are just going to go sit and be quiet all day and you will have much more fun here with Harper and Rowan and your friends."
"But I will miss you," Nora said, "I don't want to."
"You can do this Nora," Maya said, coming over with Rowan, having grabbed an emesis bag from the daycare worker just in case, "Should we take some deep breaths?"
Instead of taking a breath though, Nora gagged, Maya quickly getting the bag under her chin.
"Hey, you need to breathe Piccola," Carina said, really hoping they could avoid Nora actually getting sick, "Come on. Let's all take a breath together."
"It's okay Noa," Rowan said, holding her sister's hand as Carina guided all of them to take a deep breath and then a few more, Nora settling down some after that.
"Are you feeling better?" Maya asked, rubbing her back a little bit.
"Si," Nora said, tears in her eyes, "But my tummy still hurts a little."
"I know," Carina said, picking her back up again, "But I think it will feel much better once you are playing. It usually does, right?"
Nora nodded, burying her head in Carina's shoulder.
"It is going to be ok Piccola," Maya said, rubbing her back, "And someone will come get you after naps just like yesterday ok?"
"Mommy and Mamma?" Nora asked.
"We don't know yet," Carina said, "We need to see how Lia is feeling first."
"But I want bof of you," Nora said, slipping her fingers into her mouth.
"We will try," Maya said, not wanting to make any promises but also feeling her heart break for the toddler.
"Maya, Tarina, can we go to daycare now?" Rowan asked, clearly ready to start her day.
Rowan was always very patient when it came to her sister, but she was also only three.
"Sure," Maya said, taking Rowan's hand and walking her over to Nicole who was at the desk.
"Hey," Nicole said, "You guys ok?"
"We will be," Carina said, rubbing Nora's back as the toddler was still buried in her shoulder, "Nora has had a bit of a rough time this morning, but her stomach is feeling better now right?"
Nora nodded, turning her head so she could see Nicole.
"Good," Nicole smiled, "Nora, are you ready to come with me?"
"Mamma or I will come get you after nap ok?" Maya said, rubbing her back, "And Rowan will be with you all day."
"Yeah," the little blonde said, "I'm wif you Noa. We can pway together. Yet's go."
"See Nora," Carina said, "You can do this. It's ok to be nervous, but you know daycare is safe and you have fun there and we will be back later, ok?" Nora nodded, giving Carina a hug before leaning over and giving Maya one too while Carina held her.
"I love you Nora," Maya said, hugging her tightly, "And you should be so proud of yourself for going to daycare today. I know I am."
Nora nodded.
"One more breath Piccola," Carina said, helping the toddler take a deep breath, "Good."
"Bye Maya, Bye Tarina," Rowan said, hugging both of their legs, "Love you."
"Love you Rowan," Maya called as Carina handed Nora to Nicole.
"I think she will be fine, but her stomach was hurting this morning, just so you know," Carina said.
"Ok," Nicole said, "We are going to be ok, right Nora?"
Nora nodded a tiny bit, fingers still shoved in her mouth.
"You've got this Piccola," Carina said, pressing one last kiss to her forehead, "I love you."
"Wait," a man said, coming up behind them, "If she's sick, she shouldn't be in daycare. I don't want Sammy to get sick."
"She's not sick," Maya assured him as Nicole headed into the daycare with Nora.
"How would you know?" the man said, "She's her kid."
"She is our child," Carina said, turning and looking at him, "And she is not sick."
"Why are you telling the daycare her stomach was hurting then?" the man asked defiantly, "Sick kids are supposed to stay home."
"She isn't sick," Carina said again. "Then what's wrong with her?" the man asked.
"That is none of your business," Maya said, feeling anger starting to boil, not wanting to explain her daughter's anxiety issues to this stranger.
"Nora and Rowan are playing together," Nicole said, coming back out, having missed what was going on.
"Oh, Rowan," the man said, "I need to talk to his parents."
"We are HER parents," Maya said, giving the man a look.
"Oh really?" the man said, "So not only do you send you kids to daycare sick but you also have them running around daycare talking about obscene things?"
"Perdon?" Carina said, confused immediately.
"Sammy came home yesterday talking about how Rowan told him that his…or I guess her mom had a baby and it came out of her vagina," the man said, Maya's face turning bright red.
"And what exactly is obscene about that?" Carina asked, "It is the truth."
"They are toddlers," the man said, "They do not need to know about words like that."
"I disagree," Carina said, shaking her head, "It is never too early for a child to learn the proper names of their body parts. It helps keep them safer."
"Oh, I should have known you were one of 'those' parents," the man said, rolling his eyes.
"What exactly does that mean?" Maya said, feeling herself get defensive.
"I mean, I should have known it from the time you told me you two were married. You're part of those progressive parents who think kids can just do whatever they want and don't believe in discipline or even parenting."
"Excuse me, what did you just day?" Maya said, "Did you just say we do not parent out children because that is the furthest thing from the truth."
"Well, your toddler is running around talking about private parts," the man said, "What else are you exposing her to?"
"All we are doing is teaching her how things work," Carina said, "Which has been shown to help children develop better relationships with their bodies and also allow them to communicate better if anything ever happens. Plus, it is just basic anatomy. How is anatomy wrong to teach children?"
"Hey," Nicole said, having just finished helping another family check in when she realized there was some kind of argument going on, "Can I help you guys?"
"These two need to have their children removed from this daycare," the man said, "They are teaching my Sammy inappropriate things."
"I'm sorry, can you explain?" Nicole said.
"Their child told Sammy that babies come out of vaginas," the man said.
"Ok," Nicole said, clearly waiting for the rest of the complaint.
"He is four years old," the man said, "He doesn't need to know words like that."
"Sir, just because you don't feel comfortable teaching your son about the names of body parts, doesn't mean other parents are not allowed to," Nicole said, "Nothing Rowan said was wrong or harmful."
"Listen, I don't have time for this," Maya said, "You, sir, are an idiot and need to grow up and learn that basic anatomy isn't taboo. How you even managed to have a son with that mindset is a mystery to me but that is none of my business. Our girls are fine and they will be staying at this daycare so if you have a problem with it, your son can go somewhere else. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go see my sick baby down in the NICU so goodbye."
With that, Maya walked away and headed down to the NICU, scrubbing her hands before making her way over to Lia's incubator, finding Jenna back with her.
"How was she overnight?" Maya asked.
"She was good," Jenna said, "According to her night nurse, her vitals were stable. Her labs came back and her hemoglobin levels are stable also which is a great sign. The team talked about possibly bringing down her CPAP settings tomorrow and seeing how that goes. They wanted to give her one more day to just recover from yesterday and make sure she is stable. She has been a bit fussy for the last hour or so, but she has been pretty ok with a small back rub and a little shushing."
"Can I please hold her?" Maya asked.
"Of course," Jenna said, "I'll get her. Is Carina coming today?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded, only then fully realizing her wife wasn't with her, "She should be right down."
"Ok," Jenna said, scooping Lia up, the baby letting out a little cry as she was carried over to Maya, settling almost as soon as she heard her mommy's voice.
"Hi Peanut," Maya said, wrapping the blanket Jenna gave her around Lia, "Good morning. I am so sorry we weren't here last night. But your big sisters needed us. Zio Andrea said you had fun with him though. I hope you aren't feeling too sick right now."
Just then, Carina appeared next to Maya.
"Hey," the blonde said sheepishly, "Sorry I left. I didn't mean…I just…Sorry."
"No, it's ok," Carina said, shaking her head, "That guy was a prick."
"Carina," Maya said, stifling a laugh.
"He was," Carina said, "Accusing us of sending our child to daycare when she was sick and then calling us bad parents for being responsible with what we teach our children about their bodies. I do not understand how some people are so dense."
"Is it ok now?" Maya asked.
"Si," Carina nodded, "Amy came out and was talking to him and I talked to Nicole and she said that she would take care of it and that everything was fine. I guess normally his wife does drop off so she doesn't know him that well. But she threatened to call security on him if he didn't back off and that worked. Hopefully we don't have to deal with him anymore. Now, enough about him. How is our Trottolina this morning?"
"According to her nurse, she has been good," Maya said, "A little fussy, but she has been fine since I have been holding her. And her hemoglobin is stable so the nurse said that's a good sign."
"Good," Carina said, "I am going to go drop off her milk and I will be right back."
Maya nodded, looking down at Lia again who was now sound asleep on her chest. Carina came back over after a few minutes, smiling as she looked at Lia's adorable face resting on Maya's chest.
"She always looks so content sleeping on you," Carina said as she sat down next to Maya.
"I always feel calmer when she is," Maya said, looking down at Lia again, taking a deep breath as she felt herself relax a bit more, "What do you want to do about the twins tonight? Do you think we should both go home with them again? I mean, Nora was clearly struggling again today and I want to be there for her, but I also want to be here for this little peanut."
"I don't know," Carina sighed, "Part of me feels like we should keep things consistent for the girls for now, both of us going home with them in the afternoons, but part of me also thinks we should get them used to one of us not being there and instead being here with Lia. But the twins are more aware of when we are there or not there with them and Lia doesn't know really yet but at the same time, Lia is sick and needs us and…"
"Carina," Maya said, looking at her wife, "Hey, it's ok. Take a breath for me, Babe, ok?"
Carina nodded, taking a shaky breath as she tried to calm herself down.
"We will figure it out," Maya said, "For today, let's see how Lia does. If she is really fussy or unsettled all day, one of us can stay with her, but if she is just calm and relaxed, maybe we go home with the twins? I really want to be here with her, but they need us right now too."
"Si," Carina nodded, knowing exactly how Maya was feeling, "I know. I wish there were two sets of us so we could be here with Lia and at home with the twins."
Maya nodded, sighing as she looked down at Lia who was just snoozing away. This day ended up being pretty similar to the one before it, Lia taking turns cuddling with Mommy and Mamma, Maya attempting to pump and still not having much success, and Carina constantly reminding her to keep drinking.
Around noon, Amelia texted, seeing if there was anything they needed because Link's parents were in town and wanted to keep Harper and Scout overnight so she and Link could go out but he had been called in to work after the other orthopedic surgeon who was supposed to work today got stuck in New York due to multiple canceled flights, and that was when Carina got an idea.
"What if we asked Amelia to come sit with Lia for a little while tonight?" the Italian said, "I mean, I know we would both rather it be us, but I know I would feel better if someone was here with her, and then we could give the twins the attention they need too."
"I think that that is a good idea," Maya nodded, looking down at Lia who was currently awake on her chest, "Is Amelia working today?"
"Let me ask," Carina said, texting her friend.
"If she is, she should come down and meet Lia," Maya said, stroking the top of Lia's head gently.
"She is working today," Carina nodded, "She's on a break between patients at the moment so she is going to come down."
"You are about to meet your Zia Amelia," Maya said gently to the baby she was holding, "She is a little bit wild, but she loves you so so much. I think you will really like her. Sometimes she is a little loud and overwhelming, but she is nice and she cares so much."
"Maya," Carina said, rolling her eyes, "Don't tell our daughter her Zia is overwhelming before she even meets her."
"What?" Maya said, "Sometimes she is. And it's not like Lia knows what that means right now anyway."
Carina rolled her eyes a bit but knew her wife was right. Her best friend was sometimes loud and overwhelming but in the best way. About five minutes later, the NICU doors opened and in walked Amelia. "Hey," the neurosurgeon said quietly as she walked over to them.
"Ciao Amelia," Carina said, "Come meet our Trottolina, Cecelia Katherine, little, tiny Lia."
"Oh my, she is precious," Amelia said, "I mean, seriously? She is so cute. Hi Lia. I'm your Auntie Amelia. I have seen pictures of the inside of your brain, but now I get to see the outside too."
"Oh, you did see her scans?" Carina asked, having all but forgotten they were going to put in a consult with Amelia.
"I did," she said, "And I agree with Dr. Jax. All we can do it wait and watch her for signs of any issues. I told him to get a repeat scan in a week unless she gets worse before then, but hopefully it will just stay a grade II."
"Do you think she's going to be ok?" Maya asked, looking at Amelia with tears in the corners of her eyes.
"It's impossible to say right now," Amelia said, "I'll have a better idea in a week, but I will tell you that if her scans remain the same, her outcome is likely to be very good. Grade two bleeds very very often have no lasting results, but Lia and time are the only things that will tell us for sure, isn't that right sweetheart?"
Lia let out a little sigh just then, causing a smile out of all three of the adults looking at her.
"So Amelia, you know how you asked if there was anything you could do for us?" Carina said.
"Yeah," Amelia said, "You name it and I'll do it."
"Would you be willing to come and hang out with this little peanut for a few hours tonight?" Maya said as she shifted a little, trying to get comfortable without disrupting Lia too much.
"Wait, seriously?" Amelia said, "You are asking me to come hold your tiny baby tonight?"
"If you want to," Carina said, "The twins have been very much needing both of our attention since Lia has been born, but it's so hard to leave Lia. And you can bring work and chart and things. Andrea did it last night. And you don't have to stay for a long time, but it just makes it a little easier to not be here knowing someone is. But you don't have to." "Are you kidding me?" Amelia said, "I would love some time to hang out with the youngest Bishop-Deluca. I have so much to tell her about her mommy and mamma."
"Maybe we don't want Amelia watching her," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Haha, very funny," Amelia said, "But seriously, I would love to hang out with her."
"Thank you so much Amelia," Maya said, "It has been so hard to leave her but also so hard to be away from the twins."
"I'm sure," Amelia said, "I am happy to help when I can, with her or the twins if they ever want to come over and play with Harper and Scout."
"Hopefully at some point, they will," Carina sighed, "Though Nora was back to almost being sick before daycare again this morning so I am not sure when that will happen. We are trying to get them back into a normal routine to help, but it is just hard right now."
"I'm sure," Amelia nodded, "When do you have to go back to work?"
"I'm actually not sure yet," Carina sighed, "We have to talk about that."
Just then, Amelia's pager went off.
"And I have a trauma coming into the pit," Amelia said, "Well, I am off at 6 so I will come down and cuddle Miss Cecelia after that?"
"Whenever you can," Maya said, "Thank you."
"Thank you for trusting me enough to ask me to do this," Amelia said as she ran off.
"We have some pretty great friends," Maya said, looking over at her wife.
"Si," Carina nodded, "We really do."
"I know you told Amelia we had to talk about it so we probably should," Maya said, "But when are you thinking about going back to work?"
"No lo so," Carina sighed, leaning back in her seat, "I have my parental leave which is 12 weeks long if I take the extra time, but I would rather save that until Lia is home because while I love spending time with her here, I know when she is home, it is going to be a lot more work for us. I don't even think I am technically on my parental leave at the moment. I think I just took PTO which I probably need to change and either go back or get on proper leave. I don't think I am ready to go back yet though. I want to be able to help you until you are feeling a bit better and have had more time to recover. But I was kinda thinking maybe when Lia is two weeks old, I will try to go back? Unless you want me home more, then I will be."
"I mean, I always want you home," Maya said, "But I think by the time she is two weeks old, I will be feeling better and hopefully the twins will too. And I agree, I want you home when she comes home. I have been thinking that too. Like maybe I should go back sooner rather than later but at the same time that sounds like actual torture to not be with her but I want to be able to be off when she is finally home whenever that is but I don't want to be away from work for too long and…"
Just then, Lia started fussing on Maya's chest, clearly agitated which made Maya panic more.
"Bambina, take a deep breath," Carina said.
"But she's crying," Maya said, Carina watching the panic build.
"She is ok," Carina said, "She is feeling you panic. Take a deep breath for me, ok? You can do it."
Maya tried, breathing in, not quite getting as full a breath as she wanted, Lia crying more.
"Do you want me to take her?" Carina asked, heart breaking into a million pieces as she watched her wife struggling.
"I don't…I…" Maya stuttered, Carina standing up and going over to her wife, mindful of Lia and her tubes and wires as she carefully pulled Maya and Lia into a hug, knowing the pressure often helped Maya's panic attacks.
"Just breathe with me Bambina," Carina said, taking an exaggerated breath, "In and out. Good."
Jenna came over just as Maya was starting to calm down.
"Is everything ok over here?" she asked, "I heard her crying and her heart rate went up a little bit."
"Si," Carina said, glancing at the monitor, seeing Lia's heart rate was coming back down, "Just a little bit of a tough moment, right Bambina?"
"Yeah," Maya nodded as Carina wiped the tears off her cheeks, "We are ok. Or I am at least. Is Lia ok?"
"Her heart rate is back down to where it should be," Jenna nodded with a smile.
"Is that normal for that to happen?" Maya asked, rocking Lia a little bit as the baby continued to fuss some.
"It can be," Jenna nodded, "When babies cry, their heart rates can go up and as long as they come back down when they calm down, we don't really have an issue with that. It wasn't critically high or anything, just higher than little Miss Lia normally sits. But it's almost back to her baseline."
"Ok," Maya nodded, "She's still kinda fussy though."
"I think she might need a diaper change," Carina said, "She fusses like that a lot when she is wet."
"Oh," Maya said, "I…I didn't even realize…Yeah. Let's change her."
Carina took Lia, carefully bringing her over to her incubator to change her.
"You ok Bambina?" Carina asked, noticing Maya was still sitting in the chair, looking about a million miles away.
"Yeah," Maya said, nodding unconvincingly, "Just thinking."
Carina turned her attention back to Lia who was now much calmer in her incubator with a fresh diaper.
"I am going to go talk to your mommy for a minute ok Trottolina?" Carina said quietly as she stroked Lia's tiny fingers, "Can you just hang out here for a minute?"
Lia looked over at Carina, blinking a few times which the Italian took as a yes before she went over to her wife.
"Where's Lia?" Maya asked as Carina walked back over to her. "Lia is nice and comfy in her incubator," Carina said, "I think we should go get something to eat and get some air."
"No," Maya said much more harshly than she meant to, "Sorry. I just…we are going to have to get the twins soon and I just want to spend as much time with Lia as I can."
"Bambina, you have to take care of you too," Carina said, "Let's just go grab something quick from the cafeteria, maybe go sit outside if it's not raining, and just take 20 minutes for ourselves."
"No," Maya said, shaking her head, forcing her achy body up and going over to Lia, "No, I need to be with her. I need to make sure she is ok. I need to be right here." "Maya," Carina said, "Hey, what is going on?" "I didn't know why she was crying," Maya said, slipping her hand into the incubator, "I didn't know why our baby was crying and you did and I just…I feel like I am failing her."
"Hey," Carina said, going over to Maya's side, wrapping her arm around her, the blonde not taking her hand out of the incubator or looking at her wife, "Bambina, you are not failing her. You are doing the opposite. You are here with her as much as you can be and you are making food for her with your body. Bambina, you are doing everything you can for her. So you haven't learned what her cry when she needs a diaper change sounds like yet. That's mostly because you pay so close of attention to her body movements so much that you somehow usually instinctually know when she needs to be changed before she does. I only know because when you go pump, I don't have that skill and she cries like that for me more. You will learn too once you hear it more. You are taking such good care of her, I promise."
"I just…I don't want her to be upset and cry and hurt," Maya said, tears running down her cheeks.
"I know," Carina said, "Neither do I. I never want any of my favorite girls to be upset but it is part of life and as her moms, it's our job to help her through those moments when they happen. Just like it is my job to help you through these moments when you are hurting."
Maya kept her hand in the incubator but turned some, allowing Carina to pull her into a full hug.
"You are doing a great job Bambina," Carina said, hugging her close as she kissed the top of her head, "Such a great job."
Maya just stayed holding her wife tightly for a minute until she noticed she was uncomfortably wet.
"What?" Maya said, pulling away and noticing her shirt was wet around her boobs.
"Oh Bambina," Carina said, looking down and seeing some patches of wetness on her own shirt as well, "Well, I think your milk maybe has finally come in."
"Oh my god," Maya said not sure if she should laugh or cry, "I…I guess I should go pump? But what am I going to do? I can't keep wearing this bra and shirt."
"I can run home and get you something else," Carina said, "Or I can go up and see what is in my office. I know I have shirts for both of us and you might have a spare sports bra or something up there which isn't ideal I know, but we are going home in a few hours."
"Wait, both of us?" Maya said, looking at her wife and seeing there were wet spots on her shirt too, "Oh. Oops. Sorry."
"It's ok," Carina said, smiling at her, "You go pump, I will go figure out what to do about clothes for us."
"Ok," Maya said, turning back to look at Lia who was now sound asleep in her incubator, her little hand up by her face, "She looks so cute sleeping like that."
"Si," Carina nodded, smiling as she pulled out her phone, taking another photo of Lia to add to the hundreds she had before turning to her wife, noticing the wet spots on her shirt were only growing, "Oh, Maya, ok, you need to go pump."
"Oh, yikes," Maya said, looking down again, "Ok. I'll go."
Carina headed up to her office while Maya went to go pump, the Italian finding she did in fact have one of Maya's sports bras in her office along with two zip-up hoodies which shocked her because they didn't own than many.
Once she changed, she decided to run to the cafeteria, grabbing some premade sandwiches, knowing her wife needed food in her. She then headed to the nursing room that was near the NICU, finding Maya alone and having just finishing up pumping.
"Wow, Bambina, look at all that milk," Carina said, smiling as she watched Maya screw caps onto the bottles of milk.
"I honestly can't believe it," Maya said, "I never thought it was going to happen."
"You just had to have some patience," Carina said, "Your body was barely getting enough nutrition while you were pregnant so it probably just needed a little more time. And she isn't even a full week old yet so it's not that unusual for this to happen. Now, I found a sports bra that I think must have gotten dropped out of one of the bags I was bringing back and forth when you were in the hospital and a zip up sweatshirt. I also brought you a sandwich that you need to eat if you want to go see Lia."
"Thanks," Maya said, pulling on the new clothes as she and Carina sat down at a table that was also in the room to eat.
It didn't take long for both of them to finish up their lunches, Carina also forcing some water into her wife, knowing that if she wanted to keep up the milk supply she had, she was going to need to stay hydrated. Once they were done, they both headed back to the NICU, Maya carrying the two bottles of pumped milk.
"Jenna," Maya said as they walked back into the NICU, seeing Lia's nurse, "This is for Lia."
"Wow," Jenna said, "Looks like someone's milk finally came in. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Maya said, smiling shyly as Jenna took the milk while Carina slipped her hand into her wife's, the two of them going back to find Lia who was still sleeping soundly in her incubator.
"I don't want to wake her," Maya sighed, slipping her hand into the incubator, placing her finger in Lia's hand, tiny fingers curling around it, Lia's little lips moving like she was trying to suck.
"Look," Maya said, having never really seen her do that before, "Does that mean she is ready for a bottle?"
"Probably not," Carina said, shaking her head, "That is a reflex that starts around 32 weeks which she is now but they usually wait to start trying oral feedings until a little later, just to make sure she doesn't aspirate. But I have an idea. I'll be right back."
Carina disappeared, leaving Maya to stare at Lia who was just sleeping. Carina came back a minute later with a small package, opening it and revealing a tiny blue and clear pacifier.
"Let's see if she can do this while she's sleeping," Carina said, taking the pacifier and sticking it in Lia's mouth, holding it there for a second before pulling her hand back, revealing the suckling motion of the pacifier.
"She's doing it," Maya said, looking at her wife with tears in her eyes, "She…she's really doing it."
"Si," Carina said, wiping her own tears away, "She is."
"She looks so cute," Maya said, taking out her phone to take a picture, "Is it bad for her to have a pacifier though? Won't it make it harder for her to learn how to feed?"
"No," Carina said, "I mean, she is going to have to learn the entire process anyway and by having her suck on something like a pacifier, it will help strengthen the muscles in her mouth and get her more ready for a bottle or boob."
Just then, Lia stopped sucking, the pacifier falling out of her mouth as her eyes opened again.
"Good morning Peanut," Maya said as Lia blinked sleepily, "Are you ready for some Mamma cuddles?"
Lia stretched her little arms and legs before letting out a little fussy cry.
"Ok," Carina said, opening the incubator and taking her out, "Come here. I know, you like to be held don't you?"
Carina walked over to the chairs that had started to feel like a second home to them, sitting down and adjusting herself with Lia while Maya grabbed the pacifier again before coming to join them.
"Do you want to try this again Trottolina?" Maya asked, rubbing the pacifier on Lia's lips, the baby opening them as Maya slipped the soother into her mouth.
Lia sucked on it for a second before stopping, Maya catching it before it fell.
"Maybe not right now," Maya said, leaning over and rubbing Lia's back, "But we are so proud of you for trying Peanut."
"Si," Carina said, pressing a kiss to the top of Lia's head, "So so proud. You are doing such an amazing job."
For the next hour or so, Maya and Carina just stayed there with Lia, giving her all their attention, and trying to soak up every single moment of time they had with her before it was time to go get the twins and yearning for the day when all three of their children would be under the same roof.