𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭 | 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠

« 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨 »

Looking at yourself
A lot goes in your mind
"I don't know if I'm ready
to show myself"
You worry day and night

♡︎

"Hey guys, how's the little family
life? Is the little one troubling
you already?"

Jeongin smiled when Jisung let him
in but he immediately noticed that
the brunette could only chuckle
half-heartedly.

"Where's your husband and Akemi?"

"In the bedroom.
Baby just woke up."

"Then can we talk somewhere
for a minute?"

"S-sure, is something wrong?"

"No, I don't think so.
Don't worry."

Jeongin carried his bag inside
as he followed Jisung to the living
room, thanking him when his patient
brought him a glass of water.

"I've seen many people having
children over the years.
It's a roller-coaster of emotions,
no matter how many courses you
visit and how many books you read,
nobody is really completely
prepared for their first child.
And sure, you see all those couples
dreaming about the first weeks
with their newborn.
All those people posting on Instagram
how amazing everything is and stuff
but truth to be told.. The first weeks
aren't all sunshines and rainbows.
Right?"

Jisung looked down on his hands
as he listened to his midwife,
trying so hard not to cry right
there because yes, Jeongin
was so right.

"Nobody said it'd be easy.
Babies are just small, helpless
humans who absolutely depend
on their parents. And being there
for someone literally 24/7 is very
exhausting. Don't forget that your
feelings are valid, Jisung. You're
allowed to be tired, you're allowed
to be a little cranky when you have
to get up for the fifth time in the
night because your baby needs you.
That doesn't mean that you don't
love your baby. Also your body is
still high on hormones, from one
moment to the other it's not
incubating a little human
anymore but instead busy
producing the most nutritious
milk possible while also barely
getting any rest.
You're not a machine,
you're just a human too.
And you're not the first person to
feel overwhelmed with your
new parental role.
It's okay, Jisung. It's okay."

Jeongin placed his hand on the
brunette's shoulder when Jisung
buried his face in his hands,
a soft sob escaping him.

It was surely not the first time
the midwife had to support one of
his patients dealing with postpartum
depression but still it hurt every
time to see people break
under the pressure.

"I'll give you a moment and check up
on your husband and baby, okay?"

"Y-yeah."

The pink-haired male gave Jisung
a comforting smile before he left to
what he assumed was the bedroom
and gently knocked on the door.

"Mr Lee? Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Minho looked up for a moment
when Jeongin carefully entered
but when Akemi sighed softly in
his sleep, he went back to staring
at his sleeping child.

"A sleeping little angel.
Did he just fall back asleep?"

"Yeah, around ten minutes ago.
He hasn't been sleeping very well
lately. Like his parents, I guess."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's very hard to get him
to sleep when he's upset.
He's not drinking well either."

"As in he takes very long?
Or he throws up?"

"No. He won't latch on,
we don't know why. It takes
forever to actually get him to
drink but once he's suckling,
it's fine. But yeah, that's mostly
the reason he's upset."

Minho smiled sadly as he caressed
his baby's chubby cheek and placed
a soft kiss on Akemi's forehead.

Right now he was just a tiny
sleeping angel, so cute and innocent.

It seemed impossible that this
little human was the reason
for his mommy's tears.

"But he's taking the pacifier?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. I mean, there's the way I
helped him in the hospital.
But it's of course not the best
way, he'll get used to getting milk
without suckling if you do it too
often. The other option is feeding
him with a bottle. It can be easier
for you especially at night when
you don't want to wait forever
until he drinks. Just get a bottle
from the fridge, heat it up,
feed him and then everyone
can go back to sleep.
This way you both can feed him too.
But of course it'd be nice if you'd
give him the chance to drink from
the breast from time to time. It's
good for bonding between
mom and baby."

The ravenette nodded in agreement.

Everything Jeongin had just said
sounded very reasonable and in
all honesty he really liked the idea
of being able to take some weight
off his husband's shoulder.

Feeding their son had been
something Minho hadn't been
able to help with so far but now
he really wanted to be the one
getting up in the middle of the
night just so Jisung could sleep
more than three hours without
getting interrupted.

How could his lovely husband
ever recover from the pregnancy
and the birth if he barely got any
rest and didn't eat that well lately?

Minho wanted nothing more than
to help his Sungie feel better while
also taking care of their son.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
We'll definitely try it, thank you.
I just hope that we'll eventually
find a way that works for everyone,
it's very hard to see Jisung like this.
But on the other hand Akemi is just a
baby, he depends completely on us."

Jeongin nodded in agreement
as he began to pet Doongie who
had laid down between the
midwife and Minho.

"The first weeks are always rough.
No matter if you think you're
prepared beforehand, you're not.
Nobody is, maybe with the third
or fourth child. So it's okay to feel
overwhelmed, to be very worried
and to be very careful with everything. That's why I'm here to
help you with everything. I hope
you know that you can always
give me a call if there's something
you're concerned about."

And as if he wanted to agree,
tiny Akemi kicked his little legs
in his sleep as he whined softly.

"Thank you, Jeongin.
Really."

"Please don't, it's my job."

♡︎