Chapter 57

576 40 32
                                    

Mani's P.O.V

No wonder I got so big towards the end of this. Gabrielle ended up being 8 pounds and 10 ounces. I guess she got hungry towards the end of it. Even though she was early, everything was fully developed and she is the hairiest child I've given birth too. We've been home for a week now and even though she was so active in the womb, she's really a calm baby and hardly cries...she just won't sleep. That's to be expected though. Lauren thinks we should let Aiden have a bigger role in caring for Gabby to make sure we don't have anymore pregnancy scares from him but...I barely trust Lauren to hold my baby so...I'm going to pass.

Don't get me wrong, Lauren is an amazing mother but she makes me nervous with newborns. Honestly, it might be more me than it is her. I'm just very protective of kids. Gabby is still too young to really tell who she looks like, but she looks like Lauren to me, especially her lips.

"I'm jealous." Lauren says as she walks into our bedroom. I'm feeding Gabby right now and she's drifting in and out of sleep.

"Why?" I ask quietly.

"She's getting more boob time action than I've gotten in like the last 3 months." She says as she softly sits on the bed. Lauren softly runs her fingers through Gabrielle dark locks then kisses her cheek with a soft smile on her lips.

"She's lucky she's cute."

"Yeah, and so are you." I tell her as she sits up.

"I would've left a long time ago if you weren't." I tell her.

"I'm hot, not cute." I ignore her and reposition myself so that I'm more comfortable.

"Need more pillows?" She asks and I shake my head.

"I'm fine. She's falling asleep so I'm going to try to take a nap." Lauren nods her head in response and stands up again.

"Okay, want me to put her in her crib?" I shake my head again.

"I'll do it after I burp her. Did Dinah and Ally leave?" I ask.

"Yeah and Aiden took the kids to the park so we both get to sleep." She says then walks over to her side of the bed.

"Oh, well in that case, you can burp her and lie her down. I thought they were still here so I didn't want to take you away." I check to see if she's done feeding and she is. I wipe her mouth with a towel and hand her to Lauren after she lies down. I hand her the towel too then fix myself.

"I think she's the easiest one so far." Lauren says as she rubs Gabby's back.

"Shh. I'm going to sleep." I turn on my side and relax into the bed. Lauren glares at me briefly but then focuses on Gabby. I just need 5 minutes with my eyes closed.

"My parents are coming next week." I groan and hear Lauren giggling before I close my eyes.

Lauren's P.O.V

It's been awhile since I've had to deal with a newborn. It's worse than I remember. Don't get me wrong, love the new addition to the family, just wish she was already potty trained. I don't see myself actually being able to take a nap. Aiden will probably be back soon with the kids and we still need dinner so I'll just let Mani sleep. After Gabby falls asleep, I carefully carry her to the living room and put her in her swing then go to the kitchen. The kids come back home 15 minutes into me cooking and I have to quiet them down so they don't wake the baby.

The boys went to their rooms but Sierra went to sit next to Gabriella in the swing. I glance over there every so often and it looks like she's just talking to her while gently pushing the swing. As long as she stays asleep, I don't really care what Sierra is over there doing. I was able to cook about 70% of dinner before Gabby woke up again but Aiden picked her up so I could finish. He's sitting on the couch, playing with her when I walk over to him. I look down at her and see she's smiling at him.

"Don't get any ideas." I say and he glares at me. I sit next to them and rest one arm on the arm rest then put the other one behind him.

"I like babies. Other peoples babies." I nod.

"Keep it that way."

"I don't even have a girlfriend." He says. Aiden and Christina broke up while he was grounded. He told us he ended it but I'm not sure I believe him.

"I didn't have one either but still ended up with a kid."

"Moving on..." He starts then continues to tell me about his day in school. I wouldn't be a good mother if I didn't listen...so I'll make sure he thinks I am.

3 hours later Normani finally wakes up and comes into the living room with us.

"Welcome to the party." I tell her as she comes to stand behind me on the couch.

"Thanks for starting without me." She says as she walks past.

"You're welcome." Jordan says and I snicker. Mani sticks her tongue out at him and goes to sit in the recliner.

"What did I miss?" Mani asks.

"Nothing much. People died. Normal stuff." Aiden says in reference to the horror movie we're watching. Aiden is half lying on the couch with Gabby on his chest and Sierra and Jordan are sitting on the love seat.

So this is my life now. Four kids and a wife. If the old Lauren could see me now. That idiot would be proud of how far we've come. I couldn't be more grateful for the way my life turned out.

The end

Life Is A Surprised (Laurmani) Completed Where stories live. Discover now