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“Yeah, you’re right,” she says before disappearing and returning a minute later with a bottle in hand. “I don’t know why I’m freaking out so much about this.”
“Don’t stress, it’s normal,” I tell her. “Most first-time moms freak out, and they have nine months to prepare. This has just been sprung on you at a moment’s notice. No one expects you to be perfect. Just keep her safe until her daddy can take over.”
She lets out a shaky breath before settling the bottle down and reaching in to pick up the baby before pausing and glancing at me. “Do you want to do it?” she asks.
A wide smile stretches across my face. “Oh God, I thought you’d never ask.” Leaning over the side of the bassinet, I scoop the sweet little angel into my arms and take a seat on the nursery couch as Cass comes over with the bottle. She hands it to me and takes the seat beside me, watching as I help to push the bottle teat into the right position in her mouth. It takes the baby a few tries, but eventually she settles into it and takes her sweet-ass time drinking the bottle. But I can’t blame her. She’s barely a few hours old. She needs to work up the muscles before she’ll be able to drink like her uncles.
“Wow, how did you get her to do that?” Cassie muses, watching with a keen eye. “She’s been struggling with me.”
“You just need to relax when you’re with her. Babies feed off your emotions. They can sense when you’re upset and anxious, and that makes them uneasy. If you’re relaxed, the baby will be relaxed.”
“Well I can’t really help that right now,” she scoffs.
“I know, but when you’re with her, just be with her. Push everything else to the side and try to enjoy it,” I tell her. “Everything with her parents is completely out of your control, so all you need to do is think about her. She needs to feel safe with you, and that will come with your confidence.”
Cassie pushes out her bottom lip. “You know that’s so much easier said than done,” she says.
“I know, but I know you, Cass, and that’s how I know you’re going to rock this. Just give it a day or two and ease into it. I can stick around and help. We can tag-team it.”
Cass leans into me, her head resting against my shoulder. “I love you,” she murmurs just as an almighty yawn tears through her.
“I love you, too.”
The baby is just about finished her bottle when the door to the nursery opens and Carter strides in. He glances up as he approaches us before coming to a startling stop, clearly having forgotten that I was going to be here with Cass. His jaw goes slack as he stands in silence, not knowing what to say as he takes it all in—more specifically, watching me with his newborn niece tucked securely in my arms.
He stands motionless, looking completely lost for words. “I, um . . . just wanted to check on the baby.”
The thought of Carter looking out for this baby kills me, but then it makes me wonder if having this baby around might help change his view on the whole having kids thing. I mean, if he could negotiate on that, then I can negotiate on the marriage thing. As long as I can somehow have him in my life.
Shit. Wishful thinking has never got me far.
Passing the baby to Cassie, I stand and give her an encouraging smile, needing to be anywhere but here. “I’m gonna go and grab us something to eat,” I tell her, watching as she awkwardly tries to hold the baby while balancing her bottle and keeping it from falling out of her mouth.
“What?” Cass panics, her eyes wide. “Don’t leave. I need you.”
I help make adjustments so they’re both comfortable on the couch. “I’ll be gone for fifteen minutes at most. You’ll be fine,” I tell her. “Once she’s finished her bottle, sit her up on your lap and support her head, then gently pat her back until she burps. Then you should be good to change her diaper and put her to sleep.”
“Okay,” she says. “Wait. Why does she need to burp?”
A grin stretches across my face, and I lean in to give her the cold hard truth. “You know that pain you get in your guts when you really need to let one rip and you just can’t?”
Cassie’s eyes widen, understanding exactly where I’m going with this. “Right, okay. A burp is a must,” she says. “And what do I do after all of that?”
“Breathe,” I tell her with an encouraging smile, while desperately aware of the way Carter listens in on our conversation, his closeness making me need to reach out to him just as I did back in my apartment. “If she doesn’t want to sleep after that, give her a cuddle and enjoy it. Let her know that she’s got the best aunty in the world and that she’s going to be just fine.”
