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Trinity
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Reece and I spent the next few days in the hospital with the babies. They were born just after midnight on the first, which was a Tuesday. Reece and I were going to be staying with all of the babies until it was time for them to go home. Reece was determined not to leave my side at all, and had therefore called to dictate what it was that he wanted to have done to the nursery.
He was telling them where to move the cribs, what sheets to buy, and where to hang the new name sign that he had ordered and put a rush delivery on. He was not patient enough to have it wait until he got home to do it himself, but he was a perfectionist and wanted it to be done to his specifications. And he was also not wanting to leave until me and the babies left with him.
Over the course of the next couple of days, Reece and I got to know the babies very well. We got to see what their personalities were like and how they responded to each of us. And there was also the fact that during this adjustment period, Reece and I had the help of a lot of nurses. May was especially helpful, unless it was during a time that Rudy was there with her.
I loved seeing how they were slowly falling in love with each other. Every time that I saw Rudy and her together, they had stars in their eyes and smiles that were filled with love. They both had things that were keeping them busy, but when they weren't working, or when Rudy was visiting during May's shifts, they would talk and get to know more things about each other.
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I have to say that seeing this all happen before my eyes, I felt like I was part of some sappy TV show that was all about two people falling in love with each other. They were perfect for each other, and that was clear for us all to see. It didn't matter that Rudy was a demon from the underworld and May was a wolf from the city, they completed each other in the best of ways possible.
Now, as far as the babies go, they were all doing fine. They were moving onto drinking my breast milk, but they didn't want to nurse from me directly. Instead, I was pumping for them and giving them that in bottles. It was working for now, but I feared that, eventually, I wouldn't be able to keep up with four growing babies. I was afraid that at some point in time, I wouldn't be able to pump enough milk for them.
The Griffins as well as the pediatrician told me not to worry about that though. If I wasn't able to keep up with their demand, we could always just mix my breast milk with formula to make sure that they had enough. Apparently, this wasn't uncommon for mothers with larger numbers of multiples.
I will say that hearing the two of them reassure me did make things a lot easier for me. I didn't need to worry about what I would do, and they had already been eating formula, so I knew that they would be able to handle it later. As long as we stuck to the same brand and didn't change their routine too much.
Over the last several days, since the babies were born and everyone wanted to be a part of it, Reece and I had a constant stream of visitors. Riley and Katie, Bryce and Bree, Cedar and Acacia, Ella and Devon, Jackson and Melita, Gina, Rawlynne, Thoma and Izzy, Star and Artem, Landon and Ava, Gabriel and Roisin, almost everyone that I knew came either by themselves or in groups. They were all eager to meet the magical surprise baby that had somehow eluded us all during the entire pregnancy.
I didn't mind the visits. It let the people that I loved and cared about know that we were all doing just fine. We got to hear from many different perspectives that the kingdom was still running smoothly. And it helped to pass the time as well. It made things a little more lively during these long days.
All in all, things in the hospital were going just fine, but I was ready to be getting back home. By the time that the babies were a week old, I had been in the hospital for two weeks. I may be able to walk around and move freely now, but that didn't make it any less boring here. I wanted to be with Reagan, Rika, Talia and everyone else at home. I was ready for our family of nine to be together at home for the first time in forever. And not only that, but Reagan, Rika and Talia had already gone back to school since the new year started. They needed me and Reece there with them. They needed their mommy and daddy around. Yeah, they were doing OK with their Móraí, Papa, Nona and Lola. But that wasn't the same as having mommy and daddy there.
Griffin had declared that the babies would be good to go home once they were a week old. And that was today. Today was Tuesday January the eighth and I was already itching to take an adorable family picture with the babies. I needed to start their tradition of pictures. I had done it every week for Reagan and Rika as well as for Talia. Well, every week until they were a month old, then I did it every month until they were two years old. It meant that I had a lot of pictures and a lot of memories to look back on. And one day, when they were all grown up, we would love these pictures and cry over them as well.
I was ready from the moment that my eyes opened that morning. I was going to make sure that Griffin knew that I wanted to go and that I wasn't going to hang around here anymore.
After the babies were fed and changed, I went to take a shower while Reece sat with them. I took my time, luxuriating in the way that it was melting away my tension and nerves. It was really nice to be taking a shower like that.
After I was cleaned and dried off, Reece took his shower and I got dressed. I dried my hair and pulled it back into a loose ponytail. I didn't bother with makeup though, I was only going home and that was where I was able to be comfortable.
After I was ready, Reece came out of the bathroom, already fully dressed with hair that was dried and perfectly styled like it was no big deal at all. I swear it was so easy for him, it was like he fell out of the shower all set and ready to go.
Griffin seemed to have been waiting for us to get ready too, since the moment that Reece was back in my room, he came in and told me that we were all set to go. He would be coming to check on us at the house in a couple of days, but for the most part, things were just fine and we could go on with our new life as a bigger family.
I couldn't have been more excited or ready. Neither could Reece. He rushed to the car to get the car seats and to call home and let them all know. We would get there while Reagan, Rika, and Talia were in school, but that didn't matter too much. We could be settled in before they get home from school and then they would feel like it was all chaos.
We worked together to get things ready, just me and Reece. We needed to get this routine down. Oh, and of course, one of these car seats had to be delivered by Noah sometime this week, since we had a surprise girl. It was pink and purple too, while the boys all had blues and greens. It was traditional and all that, but I didn't mind right now. As they got older, they would like the colors that they wanted to.
Four babies changed. Four babies were put into car seats with little blankets on them. There was even a fourth blanket that Mom had brought over for Zaley, it was also made with pink and purple. And after the four babies were ready to go, Reece and I got our shoes and coats on.
I needed to be pushed down to the car in a wheelchair because of hospital policy, but that was fine. I held Zaley and Zayden on my lap while Reece carried Zachary and Zander. We loaded them all up into the car, or rather the SUV with three rows of seats. And finally, it was time for us to go home. It had been a long and eventful two weeks, but it was time for me to be back home with my family once again. It was time for us to have our lives together and live in peace for a while, hopefully forever.
No more wars. No more even gods or goddesses. No more important things that take me away from my family. It was time for me to be home and be with them. I could still be a queen, but I would like it to be during a time of peace now, not during the struggles of war. It was time for me to be truly happy once and for all.
