Doing skin to skin was important to me, so they let me unwrap her and lay her on my bare chest for an hour before they take her for shots and tests. I hate that Brandon isn’t here to be with her, and as if Hunter senses my anxiety, he asks if I want him to go with her. Immediately, I nod and tell him to take pictures and not let her out of his sight. For all the hospital knows, he is the dad, and if that’s what it takes to give me peace of mind, then I’d scream it from the rooftops. He’ll always be someone important in her life no matter what.
Sophie and Maddie stay with me while I’m wheeled into a new room. I didn’t even realize they were taking photos until I see all the snaps they got, and as soon as they message them over, I send one to my mother.
Lennon: She’s here. Healthy and perfect. I hope you meet her someday.
I don’t know if she’ll respond or even care at this point, but I won’t let her use it against me in the future that I didn’t tell her.
A nurse wheels the baby into my room with Hunter on her tails, and he flashes me a wink as soon as he sees me. This man never ceases to amaze me. He’s been so protective of me, does whatever I need, and I know, without a doubt, he won’t be any different with the baby.
“She has a good set of lungs on her,” the nurse teases. “She’s ready to eat.”
Hunter excuses himself when the nurse starts talking about breastfeeding, and I know this is probably uncomfortable for him. I read up on it as much as I could, but I seriously have no idea what I’m doing. The nurse helps me and within a matter of ten minutes, the baby has latched on and is sucking away.
“Try to get her to switch to the other breast in about five minutes or so,” the nurse instructs before she leaves.
“Does that hurt?” Maddie asks, wrinkling her nose. “Your boobs are massive, by the way.”
“Thanks.” I snort. “It feels…weird. I read that it hurts after a while, though,” I say, staring at this little human I’m now responsible for.
“She really is beautiful,” Sophie gushes. “I can see Brandon in her.”
I smile. “Me too.”
“Did you choose a name?” Maddie asks.
“Yeah, I think so…” I rub the pad of my finger along her forehead. Her hair is light, like mine, but she has Brandon’s nose. “I was torn between two but after seeing her, I think she definitely looks like an Alison.” I stare at her, captivated by her little features. “After—”
“The singer of ‘Baby Mine,’” Sophie interjects. “Alison Krauss.”
“Yep,” I say proudly.
Managing to switch sides, she proves to be an eating champ, and I’m so grateful. I’ve read breastfeeding horror stories, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to or she wouldn’t latch on. I know we aren’t out of the woods yet, but it gives me a sense of pride to be able to feed her right away.
After feeding Alison, my sisters get ready to leave, knowing I need to rest, but they promise to be back later that evening. Hunter returns just as they head out, and I tell him it’s okay if he goes home to sleep too. Of course, he insists he’s fine.
“My brother says congrats,” he tells me, taking a seat in the rocking chair next to me.
“Oh, tell him thank you. You called him?”
“Yeah. Mason and Liam too. They said to let them know when they can come visit.”
I raise my brows. “They want to come see the baby?”
“Is that so surprising?” He smirks.
I shrug. “A little.”
“How’d feeding go?” he asks, changing the subject and keeping his focus on the baby. She’s wrapped up like a burrito, sleeping soundly in my arms.
“Really well actually. I hope we can keep it up.” I turn and look at him. “Do you want to hold her?”
His smirk deepens. “Yeah.” Hunter stands, leans over me, and carefully picks her up. He acts like a total pro, not at all nervous about holding a newborn baby, which is surprising. “She’s so tiny,” he says once he sits back down.
“I know. She was seven pounds, five ounces, and twenty inches long.”
“That literally means nothing to me.” He chuckles, not taking his eyes off her.
“She’s completely normal in size. I think I was a tad bigger, but otherwise, the nurse said everything looks perfect.” I beam with pride. I know my body is exhausted, and I hardly got any sleep before labor kicked in, but I’m running on pure adrenaline right now. I could stare at her all day long or even worse—stare at him holding her all day long.