Small But Loved (Age-Regression)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Daddy's Best Friend

Theo POV:

"Good morning, stinky butt." I whisper as I lift Mila off of her giant teddy bear. Somehow, I managed to get it into her room last night. That thing was a hassle to get up the stairs, but I managed with a little bit of help from Kai and West. Originally, I put Mila in her crib last night to sleep. She must've climbed out in the middle of the night to sleep with her bear.

My baby girl nuzzles into my chest and proceeds to go right back to sleep. That's to be expected since she's still recovering from her surgery.

Instead of waking her, I just lay Mila back down on the changing table and get to work cleaning her bum. She sleeps the whole way through her diaper change. Since she's still sleeping and doesn't seem to be moving anytime soon, I decide to pick an outfit out of the closet. It's amazing how much clothes Mila has. Hazel needs to go through this and donate all the clothes she doesn't wear. I mean, it looks like an overflowing rainbow in here.

Sighing, I rummage through the multicolored onesies until I come across a baby pink one. This will work. I pair the onesie with a pair of gray sweatpants and a pair of white socks. Perfect. Once my little girl is dressed, I lift her and carry her downstairs where Hazel's making breakfast. She's wearing one of my shirts and a pair of short athletic shorts. "Morning, babe and baby." My wife greets.

"Morning, sexy." I press a kiss to her lips and hand Mila over. She cuddles our sleeping baby while stirring some eggs with her other hand. "There's some baby food in the pantry. When Mila wakes can you feed some of that to her? It shouldn't be too hard on her throat." Hazel asks. I nod and take Mila back into my arms so my wife can finish cooking.

Twenty minutes come and go, and Mila starts waking up. She sits up on my lap and rubs her eyes. A tiny smile lifts her lips when she sees me. Usually, the first person she wants to see when she wakes is Hazel. That doesn't seem to be the case today. My baby whispers, "Dada." In her hoarse voice. "Hey, ladybug. Did you have a good sleep?"

A nod is what I get in answer. I rub my hand over her messy blonde hair, then ask, "Do you want to eat some breakky? There's some bananas in the pantry that are calling your name, chunky girl." My fingers tickle her belly while Mila nods. She normally doesn't eat much baby food, but she loves the fruity type. "Why don't we go wake your brothers first?"

That catches Mila's attention. She scurries off my lap and marches her little behind up the stairs, heading to West's room first.  He's still asleep when she barges in without knocking. We have to work with her on that, but for now I let it slide. She struggles to climb up onto his bed, so I help her by lifting her chunky body up and depositing her right on West's chest. He startles and quickly sits up, making Mila fall back onto the covers. She's smiling, but not saying anything due to her sore throat. "Breakfasts ready." I tell him. West nods and tosses the blanket off his body. He stands up and heads into Kai's room, probably trying to wake him as well.

"Let's go, little ladybug. Mama's waiting for us downstairs." One quick good morning from Hazel later, and Mila's strapped into her highchair. The boys are all destroying the homemade waffles my wife made us. I swear, our grocery bill has went up tenfold from West being here. Teenage boys are truly bottomless pits.

Mila suddenly slaps her hands down on her highchair tray when I'm not quick enough to spoon more food into her mouth. She taps her fingers together, signaling 'more' in sign language. That's something new Hazel's been working on with her. "Good job using your sign, pea." Hazel praises while I scoop more bananas into her mouth. Some dribbles out, and I'm quick to catch it with the spoon. Mila swallows with some difficulty, then washes it down with the diluted juice in a sippy cup.

"Kai and I were wondering if we could go to the movies this afternoon?" West inquires through a mouthful of bacon. I raise my eyebrow at him, and he quickly swallows whats in his mouth before asking again. "Sure. Do you guys need some cash?" West shakes his head in answer. Meanwhile, Mila bursts into tears beside me. "Oh no, pea. What's wrong." Hazel coos.

Mila just keeps crying while rubbing her eyes, "Wanna gu tew mooovie!" She wails pitifully. Hazel stands up and lifts Mila out of her highchair. She brings her close to her chest while patting her diapered butt. "I know, sweetness. We'll go another time together. You're still getting over having surgery. How about we have a movie day here? You can watch any movie you want."

My baby girl sniffles, then nods. Crisis diverted. I know she sometimes feels left out when Kai and West go out and do teenage boy stuff. Sometimes, they bring her along, but they also want to do stuff as boyfriends. Bringing Mila along is kind of a buzzkill. We try to make up for it by doing fun stuff with her too. But when Mila wants to do something and she's told no, she kind of acts like a brat. That's what we get for spoiling her. Another thing added to the list of things that we need to work on.

***

It's later in the morning and the boys are gone. They left about an hour ago to go see their movie. Mila is currently cuddled up on my lap, watching one of her princess movies that she's seen probably a thousand times. Hazel is off working in her office, talking to Scarlett and Camden. Apparently, a friend of theirs needs her help with some interior decorating and whatnot. I'm pretty sure another trip to Canada is in our future.

"Wan Mama bewbie." Mila suddenly whines while grabbing my hand and placing it on top of her head. That's her little signal letting me know that she wants her hair played with. I gently run my fingers through the semi-tangled strands, while using my other hand to text Hazel. She appears in the living room doorway not a minute later.

"There's my pea. You want some milky?" Hazel questions as she comes over to me and takes Mila off my lap. My baby sticks her hand under my shirt that Hazel's wearing, and grabs her breast. I chuckle as Hazel comes to sit beside me. She lifts her shirt properly, tucking it under her chin while she gets Mila latched on. Mila drinks loudly while staring up at my wife.

A genuine question enters my head unbidden. "Do you ever have thoughts of weening her? I know it's not easy for you to breastfeed on demand. It takes a toll on your body. Plus, you have oversupply, so you have to get up at night to pump whenever Mila doesn't wake up to nurse."

Hazel looks at me and shrugs saying, "Not really. Rationally, I know I can't nurse forever. That doesn't mean I won't try. I won't lie and say the thought hasn't popped into my head, but I also love breastfeeding. I love being able to have this special bond with Mila. Yeah, sometimes waking up at two in the morning to pump is unpleasant, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. If the time comes when Mila wants to stop, then I'll let her. She's showing no signs of wanting to stop, though. So, I'll let her be."

Smiling, I lean over and place a soft kiss on my wife's plump, pink lips. She smiles against my mouth and returns my small kiss. That is until my baby gets a tad bit jealous. She reaches up and pushes my face away from Hazel's, grunting as she does so. "I'm not allowed to kiss your Mama?" I joke with a laugh. Mila gives me her telltale angry eyes in return. It's a laughable sight. How can her eyes be angry when she has a mouthful of boob? No idea.

"She was my wife first." I state with a raise of my eyebrow. Mila kicks her tiny foot at me, then turns back to staring at Hazel. "Don't be mean." Hazel chastises me. I hold my hands up in a playful, defensive position saying, "Hey! She's the one that tried to kick me."

"Yeah, because you're teasing her." Hazel smiles and goes back to focusing on her pea. I roll my eyes lightheartedly, and go back to watching this shitty princess movie. My eyes often find themselves back on my wife and daughter. They're adorable cuddled up like that. Seeing the image those two make together reminds me why I work so hard. Without the money I make, we wouldn't be able to live a nice relaxed life like this. We're a truly blessed family.