Hope for All- chapter 66
The family arrived home exhausted but happy at the success of the photo shoot. They were able to all get changed as Angela headed upstairs to give the twins a longer feeding. Both babies were able to be put down in their bassinets as Tony and Angela were able to get some more rest.
The rest of the weekend and following week went by uneventfully. Tony and Angela were able to get the rest of the family their Halloween costumes. Tony spent time during the week pulling out the Halloween decorations and transforming the house into a beautifully decorated space. Mona and the kids joked that he was only doing it for the twins since in the past the house barely had any decorations.
The week after marked the twins turning six weeks old. The family had to convince Tony not to throw a party, but relented for that Friday to have a small celebration with a cake. Tony had some exams that week so he was spending some extra time at the library, the only place he could get some quiet for a few hours.
Friday morning came early for the family. The twins were hitting a growth spurt and a sleep regression, spending a good deal of the night cluster feeding. By four in the morning, they were finally able to settle them enough to get three more hours of sleep. Angela heard them cry first, deciding Tony needed the extra sleep before his classes.
"Good morning sweethearts! Thank you for the last few hours of sleep!" she whispered as she picked them up and headed into the nursery.
"Alright you two! Let's get you changed and fed. Mommy has to make a work call later this morning, hopefully during nap time! What are the odds of you two sleeping through it? And the odds of me being awake and alert through it after last night's lack of sleep?" she chuckled as she placed them on the changing table. She was able to change Anna, followed by Matthew. She decided to head downstairs and feed them, hoping to see the kids off to school since most mornings she was still upstairs by the time they left.
"Okay let's get you two fed!" she said as she arranged herself on the sofa. About half way through the feeding, Jonathan and Samantha came downstairs.
"Good morning Angela! You need help?" asked Samantha.
"Would you mind burping them? I really need to use the bathroom and get something to drink!"she said as she realized she hadn't done anything but care for the twins since waking up.
"Sure!" they both said as she handed Anna to Samantha and Matthew to Jonathan. Angela was able to get what she needed to done before taking the babies back to continue their feeding. Tony stumbled down the stairs just after the kids headed out for school.
"Angela you should have gotten me up earlier! Did the kids get off to school okay?" he asked with a yawn.
"Yes they did. They made their own breakfast and I gave them money for lunch. They helped me with the twins so there was no need for you to get up early, especially after the night we had" she said.
"Still… but thank you. Maybe I've got a chance of doing well on my test today!" he chuckled.
"Remember I have my six week check up later this afternoon" she said as she finished up feeding the babies, handing Anna over to Tony to burp.
"No problem Angela! I'll be back in time. Hi my little Anna banana! You're gonna be good for Mommy today right? What am I saying? You're always good for us little girl! Feel free to give some pointers to your brother over there!" he chuckled.
"I'm hoping they go back to sleep for a while so I can get some sleep" she said as she finished burping Matthew, snuggling him to try and settle him into sleep.
"Alright let me get us some breakfast. How about I teach you the art of eggs over easy on toast little girl?" he said as he stood up and took Anna into the kitchen. Angela decided to take Matthew into the study and get herself organized for her work call later in the morning.
"Alright Matthew! I'm hoping you and your sister will be ready for a feeding before the phone call so you can sleep through my call! You think you can do that for Mommy?" she asked as she repositioned him in her arms and started going through her paperwork as he fell asleep.
In the kitchen, Tony had their breakfast plated as he waited for the toast. He was becoming very skilled at holding a baby with one hand and doing a multitude of tasks with the other.
"And that Anna banana is how you make eggs over easy with toast! Once you get older, I'll teach you how to make a mean omelet!" he chuckled as he put the plates down on the table. He grabbed a pitcher of juice just as Angela walked in the kitchen.
"He's asleep and she's wide awake! So much for the same schedules today!" he chuckled.
"Hopefully she goes down soon. I'd like to get some rest if possible before my meeting. Is that okay my little love?" said Angela in a high pitched voice as she got close to Anna and tickled her tummy. In response, Anna made a cooing noise and started to smile.
"Tony! Did you see that? She smiled! She really smiled!" said Angela as tears of joy came to her eyes.
"She did! Oh where is my camera? First smiles need to be photographed!" gushed Tony as he handed Anna to Angela and went to grab his camera. He came back in and made a bunch of silly faces at Anna, causing her to smile again as he took almost a whole roll of film.
"I think you've got enough Tony! We just have to wait for this little guy to give us a smile! Hopefully soon!" she said as she looked down at a sleeping Matthew.
"Alright let me take her back so we can eat and then I have to head to class. Do you need anything while I'm out?" he asked as they started eating breakfast.
"No I think I'm good!" she said as she enjoyed Tony's breakfast. Soon Anna was back asleep and Tony headed off to school. Angela was able to put them both down in the stroller and close her eyes on the sofa for about an hour before they got up ready to be changed and fed. She was able to get everyone ready and set up in her office before the phone call.
"Alright you two! You think you'll be good in the stroller for Mommy?" she asked as she put them into the stroller, put in their pacifiers and pushed them around the room until they fell asleep. She kept the stroller next to her desk as she prepared for the phone call.
"Hello Mother… how is everything going?" she asked when she answered the phone. She spent the next fifteen minutes getting updates from her team and reviewing the newest campaigns from her team. Just then, Anna started to cry.
"Hold on one minute!" she said as she tried to comfort Anna. Her efforts were met with more crying. She checked her but she didn't need to be changed. Matthew was still sound asleep so she decided to pick her up, which calmed her down.
"Okay where were we?" she asked as she walked around the room with Anna, trying to get her back to sleep. She was able to get another five minutes of the call when Anna started crying again. Angela sighed as she knew it was too early for a feeding but the cry coming from Anna was definitely a hungry cry. She was able to maneuver her way to her chair and latch Anna as the phone conversation continued. She was able to finish both the conversation and feeding Anna at the same time.
"What was that little girl? You're supposed to be teaching your brother your calm ways, not the other way around!" she laughed as she burped Anna. She held her on her lap as Anna was wide awake. She was able to get some more smiles out of Anna as she enjoyed the one on one time.
After a few minutes, Matthew woke up, wanting to be fed. She was able to take them into the kitchen and place Anna in her bouncer as she fed Matthew. She was also getting skilled at multitasking while feeding and was able to make herself a cup of tea as she fed him. Once both babies were fed, changed and sitting in their bouncers, she decided to make herself an early lunch.
"Okay! Lunch for all of us in the books! My meeting is done, which means that just leaves my appointment later today! Maybe we can go for a walk in a little while! It's not too cold out today so if we bundle you up and throw on some hats and blankets, we should be good!" she said. Just then, the phone rang.
"Hello Micelli-Bower residence… yes this is she… oh okay… yes in a half an hour? Yes that will work… thank you" said Angela.
"Okay change of plans! Mommy's appointment got moved up to a half an hour from now! Looks like you're coming with me! Alright let's get ready…" said Angela as she picked them both up and headed into the living room. She checked their diaper bags and put them back into the stroller. She grabbed their coats and hats as she double checked them for a last minute changing. Fifteen minutes later, she was out the door and heading to her appointment.
She arrived just at her scheduled time. She put the babies in the stroller. Both had fallen asleep in the car and transferred over to the stroller. She was able to place a blanket over the stroller as she headed inside. She was able to check in and eventually called back to the exam room.
"Hi Angela! How are you doing? I see you've brought along the newest additions! How are they doing?" asked the doctor as the nurse took Angela's vitals. Both the doctor and the nurse took the time to gush over the sleeping babies.
"Everyone is good! Tired but good!" she chuckled. Angela was able to have her final postnatal exam and was given a clean bill of health as well as returning to all activities. She knew Tony would be over the moon over that one.
"So Angela have you thought about birth control options? These two are very cute but I'm not sure you want anymore right now!" laughed the doctor.
"Yes not right now for sure! I think I'd like to try using a diaphragm" she said.
"I think that's a good option for you. If you don't mind another quick exam, I can measure you and have it ordered so it's ready sometime this coming week" he said. She nodded as she got back up on the table and had another exam. Once it was concluded, she was able to get dressed as she was given the prescription and information for the diaphragm.
"Once it comes in, you can come in to pick it up and the nurse will review how to use it as well as proper maintenance. Any questions?" he asked as the babies started to cry.
"No I think I'm good for now!" she said as she pushed the stroller, soothing Matthew but not Anna.
"Is she the fussy one?" he asked as Angela picked her up.
"No believe it or not! She's my calm one, minus today! They both hit their six week sleep regressions last night and she started smiling this morning so I think she's just out of sorts a bit! I'll take it if it means she keeps smiling!" she said as she rocked Anna. She stopped crying and looked up at Angela, giving her a smile.
"Girls are definitely more advanced for a while so she will probably hit more of the milestones before he does but it evens out! If you need to feed them, we can give you a room" he said as he finished up her paperwork.
"No it's okay. I'll get them home and then feed them. I will call next week about the prescription" she said as she put Anna back down and headed to check out. She was able to get everything she needed as she headed back out to the car to head home. She pulled up to the house and saw that Tony's car was in the driveway. She barely had the car turned off when Tony ran out of the house.
"Angela! Where were you? I was worried sick!" he practically shouted.
"Relax Tony! My doctor called and needed to see me earlier so we all went" she said as she got Anna out of the car seat and bundled her up. Tony went around to the other side and picked up Matthew.
"Oh okay… could you leave a note next time? I was about to start calling people!" he said as they walked into the house.
"Tony… I'm lucky I remember my own name these days! I… I will try okay? It's just that they called and it was last minute. After my call today, which went well, this was a lot. Anna has been very clingy today, which has been an added stress" she said as she sat down on the sofa and took off Anna's hat and coat. Tony sat down next to her and did the same for Matthew.
"I'm sorry sweetheart I just worry about you when I'm gone. I overreacted… I'll try and not do it… so much! So how was your appointment? Did you get clearance for… ya know…" he said as he tried to get his point across with a wink and a goofy smirk.
"Yes I'm cleared Tony! I got fitted for a diaphragm but it won't be ready until next week. So if we want to… you know… we will need other forms of contraception until then…" she said.
"I already got that covered Angela… if and when you are ready then I am too… not for nothin' I've been ready for almost six weeks!" he chuckled. Both babies started to fuss.
"You might be ready and I might be ready but finding a time when these guys will let us have some alone time… what are the chances of that happening?" she asked as they started to cry louder.
"We will need to find some time alone… I'm not going to be able to wait another six weeks!" he chuckled as they started changing the babies. Angela got herself ready and started feeding the twins.
"If we can't find some time in the next two weeks, I'll ask Mother to watch them for a few hours at her place" she said.
"I won't even mind all the teasing we will get!" he laughed. They enjoyed each other's company as the babies fed and then eventually settled with each of them. About an hour later, Samantha and Jonathan came home from school, both wanting some cuddle time with the twins.
"Guess what? Anna started smiling today!" gushed Tony as he handed her to Samantha.
"Really? Oh wow! That's so exciting! Hi little Anna banana! Can I get a smile from you?" said Samantha as she made silly faces at Anna, getting a big smile from her.
"Aww! She's so cute! That smile is adorable!" she gushed as she got her to make a few more smiley faces.
"How about Matthew? Any smiles from him yet?" asked Jonathan.
"No not yet! I have a feeling in the next few days we might get one out of him!" said Angela.
"Well let's practice then! Hi Matthew! C'mon give your big brother a big smile!" he said as he began cooing to his baby brother. After a few tries, Matthew smiled back at him.
"He's smiling at me! Way to go Matthew!" he gushed.
"Look at him go! Oh let me get the camera! I got a whole roll of film of Anna's firsts smiles this morning!" said Tony as he got the camera. It didn't take long for him to go through another roll of film, only to go through another entire roll trying to get the babies smiling at the same time. By the final few photos, Tony managed to get all four kids smiling.
"If those came out as cute as they looked, we will all need copies of them!" said Angela with a smile and a yawn.
"Angela why don't you go upstairs and sleep until dinner. I'm going to get a head start on dinner and cake for dessert. I'll put them in the carrier and hopefully get these smiley faces to nap!" he said.
"Okay… I'll be upstairs if you need me" she said as she dragged herself upstairs, the day's events finally catching up to her. She collapsed on the bed, falling into a deep sleep moments after her head hit the pillow.
She woke up about two hours later, semi-rested as she dragged herself out of bed. She could hear crying coming from downstairs. She opted to head to the bathroom to freshen up first before heading downstairs.
"Oh good you're up! Anna has barely slept and they are both hungry!" said Tony as he handed Anna to Angela. She was able to sit down and start feeding Anna as Samantha handed her Matthew. Tony and the kids finished getting dinner ready as Mona walked through the front door.
"Hi Mother! How was work?" she asked.
"It was good- how did it feel to be back in the game, if only long distance!" she joked as she sat down next to Angela.
"It did feel good! Maybe I'll start doing weekly phone calls soon, maybe even a few times a week. I'm nowhere near ready to go back yet, even working from home, but that would be a nice transition, especially on the days Tony is home all day" she said.
"I think that's a great idea. The office is a well oiled machine, but I think you will do well dipping back into the work world every once in a while. While domestication is looking better on you this time around, I think too much time spent knee deep in diapers, nursing and these four walls will eventually get the best of you" said Mona.
"Alright dinner time!" said Tony he stuck his head through the opening of the kitchen door. Mona stood up and headed into the kitchen as Tony came in to keep Angela company. Soon they were both burped and ready to head into the kitchen to eat. No sooner did they sit down to eat when Anna started to cry.
"Oh Anna… please let this be just today! You're the calm one!" laughed Angela as she watched Tony walk her around the kitchen.
"I think she just wants some food!" laughed Jonathan as he took a bite of his lasagne.
"Soon, soon little girl! Nothing is wrong with your lungs!" said Tony as he tried in vain to soothe her.
"Here we will trade. She's been super clingy and hungry all day today. She probably just needs more calories than normal" she said as she traded babies. She was able to latch Anna as the family settled into their dinnertime routines. They caught each other up on their days until it was time for the cake.
"Alright you two! It's your six week birthday! Daddy made you a cake that you can look at and not eat!" he chuckled as he held up Matthew to see the cake.
"We don't have to sing do we?" asked Samantha. She thought it was adorable how her Dad was going overboard with the twins but even cuteness can be sickening if taken too far.
"Of course we have to sing! Alright on the count of three… one two three!" he started as he began singing happy six week birthday to the twins, both of which were more focused on their pacifiers than the cake or the singing.
"Alright now photos and then it's cake time!" said Tony as he went to get the camera, handing Matthew to Mona as the family all rolled their eyes.
"I don't think we've all taken as many photos these past six years than we have these last six weeks!" laughed Jonathan as Tony came back in with the camera, taking photos of the twins and the cake.
"Can we eat the cake or are you going to dip it in bronze to commemorate the occasion?" asked Mona.
"Very funny! Okay! Who wants cake?" he asked as he began cutting the cake and passing out pieces. No one seemed to mind Tony's overzealous nature as they devoured the cake, leaving only a few crumbs and two sleeping babies content in their family's arms.