The parent project - Chenry

Chapter eleven: Can you not?

Henry's POV -

I wake up out of a horrible nightmare, gasping. I can hear my heart drumming in my ears, a feeling like daggers and ice mixed with heat crawled across my back. Then I look down, and I see Charlotte is still cuddled against me. I'm holding her like a first place trophy against my chest. I sigh and remember where I am. But it's not supposed to be like this. Slipping away from Charlotte, I get out of the bed and rub my hands over my face. The twins are awake, I can hear them gurgling over the baby monitor. I reach over to wake Charlotte up, but then draw my hand back. Maybe I can handle it this time. She looks so tired, last night had left her shaken. I thought about what she said to me. I'm not a terrible person, but I felt like one after that. I can show her that I'm in this too and I don't want to make her feel lonely anymore. 

Waking up was hard, I shook off my sleep gunk and left the bedroom to pick Jordon and Jayden up out of their cribs. They looked at me funny at first, moving their mouths as if sucking on invisible pacifiers and shoving their chubby little fingers up my nose and into my mouth, like they were trying to figure out exactly what or who I was.

"Daddy is gonna be mommy today guys, so she can get her beauty rest and not be so pissed off at me all the time."

I told them as we journeyed from the nursery into the kitchen. When I got them in the high chairs, I stood in front of them and realized I had no idea what the hell to do next. Jayden and Jordon just stared at me blankly with their messy crib hair and drooling little lips.

"Ummm... Okay, let's see."

I spotted the instruction manual on the counter and grabbed it, flipping through the pages. 

"How to use AC... How to cook... How to clean... Laundry... Childcare! Okay, here we go."

I mumbled. As soon as I started reading the page with the instructions on how to feed the twins things made a little more sense. 

"Take a clean bottle with a washed nipple, attach it to the top and prepare one half cup Similac dried mixture in 2 half cups of water."

I read the directions aloud and fished around in the dishwasher for clean baby bottles. Jayden and Jordon were getting antsy now, but I was working as fast as my brain would allow. With them whining on the brink of full on wails, I could hardly focus on one thing at a time. I grabbed the bottles, filled them with hot water and then mixed the Similac into them. I popped the first one into Jordon's mouth and helped him feed hisself using a stack of magazines and a Dr. Seuss book. But when I looked back over the instructions I realized I had done it all wrong.

"Shit, shit, shit... Aw, man. Let me get this back from you for just one second J."

I took the first bottle as gently as I could away from Jordon, but he had been in such a good groove he didn't want to let it go. As soon as it was gone he began to cry, his face turned red and his lips trembled so quickly.

"Shhh, I promise I'll give it back I just need to make it over, I'm so sorry buddy."

I remade both the bottles quickly, dumping them out, washing the nipples over again, and sticking them in the bottle warmer. Seeing Jordon so upset had a bad influence on Jayden and soon she started crying.

"No no no, not you too! Shh shh shhh, daddy is trying so hard right now."

I picked Jayden up and patted her back a few times while over seeing the bottles. Jayden grabbed onto my ear and squeezed it, screaming at the top of her little lungs. Ouch. I couldn't wait anymore, I pulled the bottles out of the warmer, sat down in between the high chairs, strapped Jayden back into hers and fed the twins. One at a time, alternating between both of them which was a lot harder than any human sport I've ever tried to accomplish. By the time I was burping them, Charlotte was up and I was exhausted. It took all morning for one meal between the both of them.