✅ Over Protected

45. Sarah Treats the Babies

Mummy made dinner before she went out. Sarah had some homework still to do, I think, so we didn't see her for a little while. I was watching cartoons with Penny and Lyra, and we all got a little bit giddier. I wasn't sure how much of that was because we were having fun with our friends, and how much was from whatever Mummy might have done to baby us. But I didn't care, and I knew that was something I didn't need to think about. I could just play along, doing whatever came naturally, and that was all I needed to think about. My mind was free to live in a land of make-believe, with cartoon characters, dreams, and silly games.

Dinner was fun as well. We had crunchy dinosaur shapes, playing in a little forest of mixed veggies. That was something we didn't have often, even since I'd become a baby. An occasional treat for the little ones; and I didn't push it because I knew that Mummy sometimes talked down to both of like we were little kids when we were eating this stuff, and there was a limit to how much Sarah was willing to play along or put up with the silliness for the sake of her little sister.

I was so happy when I saw that we had something childish to eat today. Even more so when Sarah came around to sit beside me and started helping to cut up my food for me. I didn't really need that, and she knew that I didn't, but I think she might have actually started to understand that I enjoyed being treated like a baby. She understood that this wasn't just something that Mummy liked doing, treating us like kids, but something I wanted too. Or maybe Sarah had figured out that if she wanted Mummy to talk to her like an adult, then helping to look after the little ones might make it easier.

A part of me wanted to know what they had talked about before they came down for dinner; but that was grown-up stuff that I knew I didn't need to know. Not needing to know everything was the most fun part of being a little baby, so I wasn't going to ask any questions.

Lyra tried to feed herself, and looked more than a little frustrated when she couldn't get the little blunt knife and fork to go where she wanted them. Her coordination had been getting worse over the last week or two, but I hadn't realised that it was getting so bad. Mummy sat down beside her and leaned over to cut up the dinosaurs. Then she put a fork into Lyra's hand and guided it, so that she could feel like she was feeding herself. That was so sweet, and I was just a little bit jealous. Maybe that was why Mummy had asked Sarah to help out; so that Lyra didn't feel like she was the only one not coping.

I glanced over quickly at Penny. She was laughing just a little, and seemed to be mashing her dinosaurs more than cutting them up, but I was almost certain she was just playing along for fun. Like I was, really. We could all still be friends, and maybe realising that dinnertime could still be fun would make Lyra a bit more comfortable.

We did make a bit of a mess. But with the grown-ups looking after us, we weren't in too much of a state. After dinner, Mummy came around to wipe bits of turkey and mashed potato off Penny's face with baby wipes, and then Sarah gave me the same treatment, before attending to Lyra. And then it was time for Mummy to go. I was a little bit sad about that, but I was looking forward to letting Sarah look after us. She'd seen me in full baby mode a few times, and had been willing to help out before, so I knew I didn't need to be embarrassed. Still, it was just a little bit different with my friends here too.I was excited, not quite sure how this evening was going to turn out.

"I'll see you later, Alice." Mummy waved bye-bye, and I raised both hands over my head to wave back. I was sure that I was getting a bit baby-brained again, but there was nothing big for me to worry about. Maybe, if I was being the little one tonight, that might help Lyra to learn a bit more responsibility. But it was only a couple of minutes before all those thoughts evaporated, and I wasn't thinking about anything but having fun with my friends. "See you later Penny, and Lyra. You all be good for Sarah, okay?"