Sassy in Diapers (3 page)

SIX

Nate smiled at his hard work. He’d been able to paint what Ellie called the accent walls in the nursery. Kel had hired an artist to create a mural of wolf pups with their parents lounging by a river. The colors went perfectly with the furniture he’d found clippings of in Karla’s notebooks. She might not have gotten with the planning process of the nursery, but the few items she’d clipped had given him enough detail to do the entire place.

“Where do you want this glider?” Jake asked, helping bring the furniture into the room now that the paint was dry.

“Over by that window,” he pointed, already visualizing his wife nursing their babies and rocking them to sleep there.

Mason and Aric helped put cribs together, and Ellie focused on making sure the decorations matched with the theme. Who knew putting a nursery together could be so time-consuming? He wanted to make Karla happy, so if he had to do color coordination he would.

“So when are you telling mom?” Ellie asked while dressing crib beds.

“Telling her what?” He asked, placing mobiles in a pile by the cribs.

“That you married Karla in Vegas. While everyone was busy with Nic and Jake, you two snuck off to do your own thing,” Ellie grinned. “I’m not hating, just saying. You’re gonna have to tell mom someday.”

“Yeah, someday. As in not today. How did you find out, anyway?” He screwed a mobile in place and moved on to the next one.

“That day, when you did it, I noticed you both wearing rings. You took them off afterwards, but I’d already noticed.” She glanced down at his right hand. “I see you’re wearing them on the wrong hand, but I know.”

Shit. It was only a matter of time before his mother noticed too. “Great.”

“Word of advice, tell her
after
she meets her grandchildren. She’ll be so involved being in love with them that she will forgive you guys anything.”

Once the room was decorated, he left Ellie to handle the rest of the house to help make it nice and clean for Karla. Afterwards, they all headed for the parenting class. Ellie was going to teach the men.

*

They were standing in front of changing tables and toy babies when Ellie burst into giggles.

“What’s so funny, little pup?” Aric asked.

“You are all eyeing those babies like they’re aliens. Pick them up. They’re your babies for today.” She gasped. “Jake! You’re going to rip your baby’s arm off holding him like that. Carry him the right way.”

“It’s a toy, Ellie,” Jake replied, holding his baby by one leg now, while flicking through his cell phone.

“Carry him the right way, or I will make you watch a video on real-life birthing. You’re lucky mom let you guys off the hook on that one.”

“He doesn’t know how to carry a baby,” Mason said, “but I think we all know who’s a natural.”

“Mason, honey,” Ellie grinned, “If you don’t hold your baby’s head, he could have damage to his neck.”

Aric laughed. “Yeah, we all know who the natural one is.”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Ellie sighed. “Aric you can’t hold your baby between your shoulder and your ear. He is not a cell phone.”

“It’s called multi-tasking,” he threw back.

“It’s called bad parenting. Hold your baby the right way, or I swear I will make all four of you change real, stinky diapers.”

Nate glanced down at the baby he cradled in his arms and noticed a big wet spot on his T-shirt. “My baby is leaking.”

Ellie burst into fits of laughter. “He needs a diaper change. He’s not leaking. He’s not a faucet.”

“I bet I can change a diaper faster than the rest of you,” Jake yelled.

“Guys, don’t!” Ellie admonished, but it was too late.

Everyone threw their babies on the tables and started tearing the diapers off in a rush to the finish line. Mason finished first and lifted his baby, only to have the diaper fall off his body.

“Oh!” Jake gasped. “You’re disqualified. How can you not know how to put a diaper on a baby?” He proceeded to show off his own baby.

Ellie folded her arms over her chest. “Jake, the Velcro is supposed to be on the diaper, not the baby’s clothes.”

Sure enough, the front of the diaper slid down. At that moment, Jake’s baby sent a stream of liquid straight into Jake’s face.

Aric lifted his baby next. “Mine is perfect.”

Ellie raised her brows and said nothing. Within a heartbeat, the diaper slid down the baby’s legs. “You’re supposed to make it tight enough around his waist that it won’t fall off...like that.”

It was Nate’s turn. He showed Ellie his baby, and she nodded.

“It’s okay?” he asked.

“Let’s just say I’m glad you’re the one with the babies. These guys need baby boot camp before I leave them alone with any children.”

SEVEN

Karla sat at her sofa and smiled. They’d gone off to a spa overnight, a gift from Nate for her to relax. She was sad Ellie couldn’t make it, but it was so nice of Barbara and the others to go away with her. Now, she and the others had just returned home, only to find she was being thrown an impromptu shower. So many presents. The idea of a shower had not even occurred to her.

“It was so nice of you all to take me out,” she smiled. She’d gotten home not ten minutes ago, and they had sat her down and kept her there, talking about the babies.

“You’re welcome. Just know we are very glad you’ve picked all of us as Godparents for the babies,” Nicole grinned.

“It helps that there’s three. And I can do whatever I want. So each of them can get two or three sets of Godparents, and I’m okay with that.”

Twinges of pains shot from her belly down to her uterus. They felt like cramps, only magnified.

“Uh-oh, you’re making a face like we’re keeping you from a nap,” Jordan said. “You really tired? We can go.”

Karla shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Another set of sharper twinges made her tense in her seat.

“You don’t look fine,” Barbara frowned. “I can tell you’re in pain. What’s going on?”

Karla sighed. “I’ve been having cramps for a few days.” She used the leather strap to help her to her feet. “I’ll be back, I just need to walk it off a bit.”

She took three steps before she felt a gush of warm water trickling down her legs. “I think I peed on myself.”

“Oh, honey. Your water broke!” Barbara said. “Let’s get you to a hospital.”

“My water can’t break. Nate isn’t here. I’m not ready. We have no nursery,” she gasped at the pain starting to make her belly tense. “Did I mention I’m not ready yet?!”

“Ready or not, those babies are on the way,” Emma grinned. “I think it would be better if we took your ass somewhere we can get you pain meds, don’t you think?”

Yes! Oh, yes. She could so kiss Emma. Pain meds sounded fan-fucking-tastic right then.

“Where’s your bag?” Jordan asked rushing from the bedroom back to the living room.

“What bag?” She asked, still wondering if she really hadn’t peed. Pregnancy was like a crash course in learning all the things she couldn’t control in her body. “I haven’t used a handbag in the longest.”

“Not a handbag,” Nicole supplied texting on her phone.

“The one with your stuff for the hospital?” Jordan raised her brows like Karla was slow or something. It wasn’t like she had babies all the time.

“It’s by the kitchen entrance. Easier to remember it,” Karla said, tentatively taking a step as she watched more water raced down her legs. “I think I broke a faucet or something in there. Every time I move more water comes out.”

Barbara laughed and guided her to the door. “Let’s get you to the hospital. Your babies want to come out now.”

Stubborn little mutts. Just like their father. They still had weeks to go. She could only hope everything was fine. “Where’s Nate?”

“He’s hunting with Caleb, but they’re going to meet us at the hospital,” Nicole said, jumping into the back of the SUV Barbara had used for their overnight trip.

They raced to the hospital. By the time they got there, Karla could barely speak from the constant slam of contractions assaulting her. She was taken to a private room and readied for delivery. A doctor checked her cervix and declared she was going to be pushing very soon. Push. She hadn’t even thought about that yet. Pushing three kids out of her body added a whole new level of fear to what had already built into a Himalayan-sized mountain inside her. If that wasn’t scary enough, Nate wasn’t there yet.

Gripping the metal bars on either side of her bed, she turned to Emma and screeched. “Get Nate in here, or I will hurt him.”

He had to be there for the birth of their babies. He had to. Or she’d kill him. He’d better get his ass in there pronto. How could he take so long? The one day she needed him on time. Wave after wave of cramps came at a faster speed. She glanced at Nicole, her eyes filled with tears, “Where are the pain meds?”

“I’ll handle this, dear,” Barbara said. She walked out of the room and returned shortly with two doctors and a nurse. “She needs pain meds and for you to check her cervix.”

A nurse put something in the IV. Her hope was it would work fast. Otherwise, she might kill someone, or everyone. One of the doctors checked the fetal monitor and frowned. “One of your babies is under distress.” He studied the printout of the heart monitor and glanced at the nurse and other doctor. “We’ll need to get them out via C-Section or risk something happening during vaginal delivery.”

“Where is Nate?!”

“I’m here!” He shouted as he ran through the doors to Karla’s side.

“Okay,” she breathed through a contraction. “Do what you need to do to get my babies out now.”

The doctor nodded at the nurse. “Let’s prep her for the operating room.”

Everything was a blur after that. She was given a shot in her spine they called an epidural. It numbed her body almost fully, but she was able to stay awake, which was kind of freaky. On the one hand, she didn’t have the contractions killing her anymore, but on the other, she wouldn’t be able to hold her babies as they were born.

Only Nate was allowed in the room with her. He sat beside her, holding her hand while they pulled out her babies, one by one.

“Here’s Baby A. And it’s a boy.”

She glanced at Nate. “That’s our Matthew.”

He stood and took the scissors the doctor handed him to cut the umbilical cord.

“Now we have Baby B,” said the doctor. “Another boy.”

“Michael,” Nate grinned, moving out of her view to cut his umbilical cord.

“And finally,” the doctor laughed, “we have Baby C. And she’s a beauty.”

Karla gasped. She hadn’t expected a girl. Still, they’d picked out a few names just in case. “Madison.”

She waited anxiously for the babies to cry and get cleaned before Nate brought them by her face, one by one. She kissed each one, wishing she could hold them before they were taken away.

* * *

EIGHT

Karla’s lashes fluttered open. She’d fallen asleep in the operating room. She glanced around the room and met Nate’s golden eyes staring at her. “Where are they?”

He pushed back a curtain separating her from the three little hospital cribs.

One by one, he handed her the babies to hold, until all three lay on her chest. She’d never felt so happy, in love, and scared in her life. Knowing these little helpless babies depended on her only made her more determined to be the best mother she could.

She hadn’t realized she’d been laying there, hugging the babies in silence until Nate spoke.

“Don’t cry, beautiful. We can do this. Together.”

She nodded and smiled. “I know. I trust us.” She frowned when she realized how quiet her room was. “Where is everyone?”

He laughed. “Waiting outside for you to wake up, so they can come meet the babies.”

“Can we come in yet?” Barbara asked from outside. “I’d like to hold my grandchildren before I get any more gray hairs.”

“Mother, you don’t have gray hairs,” Ellie laughed.

“And I’d like to keep it that way,” she countered.

Karla nodded. “Let them in. They’re our family. Nothing’s more important.”

* * *

“Nate what in the world are you doing? Are you sure it’s safe?” She tip-toed carefully, trying not to trip since she couldn’t see anything.

“It’s perfectly safe. I just have a surprise for you,” he said, guiding her blindfolded through their house.

He stopped after a few minutes and, by the sound that she heard, opened a door.

“Okay. I’m about to take the blindfold off, but before I do, there’s something I need to say.”

She gulped, her nerves getting the best of her. It was her first day home after almost a week at the hospital. She’d developed a mild infection and needed a few extra days to recuperate. Her nerves were already stretched thin. She wanted to get on her bed and sleep. It was days like those she wondered how she would be able to cope raising three newborns.

Thankfully, Barbara had offered to come in daily and spend the day helping out with the kids. She’d offered to stay the night, but Karla didn’t have it in her to deprive her of sleep too. It seemed her little babies liked to sleep, so it wasn’t too hard to get some rest once they were all sleeping. In fact, Emma, Ellie, Jordan, and Nic were all eager to come babysit. It made her happy to see she really wasn’t as alone as she’d feared.

“What did you want to say?” she asked Nate.

“I just want you to know that even if I didn’t think it possible, after watching our children come out of your body, I love you more than I can say. There aren’t words to express how much I thank you for what you’ve given me.”

She felt herself tearing up over his words. “What have I given you?”

“Love. Pure. Honest. Unconditional. And family. I could never ask for more.”

She reached out to cup his face and rose on her toes to meet his lips for a kiss. It was short but oh, so sweet. A true expression of the love they shared.

The blindfold came off, and she gasped. “Oh, my!”

Her nursery was better than she could have imagined. She turned to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. Stupid hormones. “You did this for me?”

“I love you. Your happiness is my happiness.”

She hugged him tight, letting the fear and tension drain away to be replaced with hope and joy. They could be great parents.  They had the drive and determination. They also had the family to help them along the way.

THE END