Alex and I drove to the hospital early in the afternoon to pick up Courtney and our daughter. It was an exciting time, and one that scared the hell out of me. I had never been around a young child in my life and wasn't certain exactly what to expect. I know other people did it and I felt confident I would be able to do so as well, but the nervousness still remained. The hospital insisted Courtney ride out in a wheelchair, something she complained about but in the end had to relent since it was their policy and they told her she wasn't leaving until she followed their orders. Once they pushed her outside, Alex pulled the car up and I was falling all over myself trying to make certain she was comfortable for the drive home. We made certain Alexandra was strapped into the car seat, we didn't want anything to happen to her. I think Alex and Courtney were each laughing at me as I tried to make sure everything was completely perfect.
Alex was driving and I was up front with her, Courtney in back with our daughter as we made the half hour ride back to the ranch. Alex and I each were barraging Courtney with questions and I think she was getting tired, and at the same time Alexandra slept peacefully not even aware of the adults around her. I hoped this was a good sign, I had heard horror stories about not being able to sleep for the first six months of a child's life because that same child had a different sleep schedule from her parents. I guess we would find out, living with a young child in the house certainly would be something different.
We got home and there were quite a few cars in the driveway. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, there was a huge banner over the top of the door welcoming Courtney and Alexandra home. It didn't take much detective work to realize that Ellen and Liz were likely responsible. I thought they were going to way too much trouble, but decided to go with the flow since I really didn't have any choice. We went inside and everyone rushed to see the new baby, she and Courtney were the center of attention. That was fine with me, I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible until some of the excitement had passed. There were a number of our friends as well as work colleagues who had taken the afternoon off to congratulate us and meet our daughter for the first time. The house was filled with new flowers, plants and various other symbols of a new arrival. It was a happy time and I realized just how fortunate we were to have friends to share this time with us. I could see Courtney was getting tired but she was doing her best to stay upbeat and cordial as she greeted everyone individually and allowed each to get a good look at our daughter. Fortunately no one decided to overstay a welcome, after about two hours all but Liz and Ellen had left to return to their own lives. I thought briefly one or both of them might decide to stay over but each went to work helping to clean up and put things away before offering their own goodbyes to us.
Now what? This was the start of a new phase in my life, a new phase for me and Courtney together. I had no idea how our lives would change and I'm certain Courtney didn't have much more than I did but we would take things in turn as they came. The first thing that came was Alexandra crying, she had been quiet and slept most of the time the others were trying to get a look at her but not now.
"Now what?" I asked, I hoped either Courtney or Alex would have some idea.
"It's something you're going to have to get used to Travis. Generally when she cries it either means she's hungry or needs to be changed. There's not a lot you're going to be able to do about the hungry part right now but maybe we should teach you how to get her changed right away." Courtney said with a smile as she watched me for my reaction. I don't know what reaction she might've been expecting, but I had known for quite some time I would be drafted for diaper duty on a regular basis.
"Okay Cort, show me what I have to do and we can get started here." I said, it was time I did my first diaper change.
We had stocked up well before Courtney went into labor, we probably had enough diapers and baby wipes and everything we would need for at least a month.
Courtney took Alexandra into the bedroom and I followed, she set her down carefully on the bed and started giving me my first lesson.
"Pull off the tabs on each side of the diaper, then pull it down slowly. Be careful of what you find, you never know how much there might be." She said, chuckling at my uncertainty even as I started following her directions.
I pulled the tabs and slowly pulled the front of the diaper down, I didn't see anything but I wasn't sure exactly what I might be expecting either. Maybe it was best this way since it was my first time, but she was only wet. Courtney lifted her up as I pulled the diaper out from under her, rolling it up and throwing it into the waste bin that was specially designed for such use. She then lay Alexandra back down on the changing pad, and asked me to hand her one of the baby wipes. She proceeded to wipe her down everywhere, both in front and back to make certain she was clean and dry before we would put on a new diaper.
"Okay, pick up your daughter and I'll show you how to get the new diaper back on." She said, indicating I was to pick up Alexandra. I had held her several times in the hospital but each time I had been hypersensitive about the possibility I might drop her. I guess I would have to get used to this, it was going to be a regular occurrence around here for quite a while. I did as Courtney asked, she laid out a clean diaper and then showed me where to set Alexandra back down onto the diaper. Once lying there we lifted up between her legs and wrapped it around her small thighs and then pulled the tabs across to fasten the sides in place.
"That wasn't so hard was it?" She asked with a sly grin on her face. Alex had been watching the whole process and I could see she too was amused but I had been fascinated.
"Nah, it wasn't that hard." I said, it really didn't seem to be that bad.
"I'll remember that next time she has a load in the diaper, you remember that too." She said, now laughing more vocally.
"I guess I'd better get her fed, it's been a few hours now." Courtney added, she started unbuttoning her blouse and before long Alexandra was sucking quietly at her breast. This was something I knew would fascinate me, I had never seen a woman breast-feeding a child up close. I think Alex was just as fascinated as I was, we each moved in to get a better look as Courtney sat down in the chair and held our daughter to her nipple. We could hear soft sucking noises and occasional murmurs from the child, Courtney was looking at her with the love a mother shares with a child. It was an amazing sight and made me realize just how much family meant to me at this moment.
