Giggles and Nips, 2019

Resar, summer, 2019
Si'Enya is 27; Trevor is 37, Kane is 4 simlonic months

slightly NSFW

Parenthood was exhausting. At first Trevor and Si'Enya tried to do everything themselves, they wanted to be able to parent their newborn son their way without any outside influence. 

But they quickly realized that it truly took a village to raise a child. There was lots of crying, mostly Kane and Si'Enya, occasionally from a weary Trevor as well. Family and friends made vigils to thier home almost daily. Bringing food, nectar, disposable underwear, ointments and more nectar.

Si'Enya was still so sore from the tough delivery and her body wasn't healing as quickly as she wanted it to.

Relax, her sister and friends had said. You just had a baby. It will take time.

Her mother and sister insisted on staying with them for the first three weeks. They took turns staying a week at a time. Helping Si'Enya navigate the stairs, providing pillows for her to sit on and cooking, or ordering food. Trevor and Si'Enya both hated that they were there, but were extremely grateful as well. The paradox was unnerving, but it seemed like being a parent was wrought with paradoxes.

Elphy came over to help, even though she had a child of her own, or maybe because she had a child of her own. 

She helped Si'Enya struggle through latching issues when her nipples became so raw and sore that they bled. She taught her new positions to hold Kane, how to check for a correct deep latch and to not be afraid to unlatch him and try again. How to hook up the pump and find the best setting. How to feed him a bottle that would help support her breastfeeding. Now Si'Enya was comfortable enough to feed him while standing or walking through the house.

Her sister, S'Ahmisa, came over and told her about soothing baths mixed with healing oils and salts to soothe the stitches. She was the one who told her not to wipe, to pee in the shower so it wouldn't burn so much and to let the wound air out without constricting it with clothes. She was the one who told her that it didn't look right and that she should really see a doctor about it. She was the one who Si'Enya credited with catching the infection before it got worse, deadly worse.

It was Rashid and Sazo that sat Trevor down and told him the virtues of a nanny, the benefits of free time for each parent, and how important it was to simply rest. How to be comfortable holding his son, that he wouldn't break the child by putting his arm through the sleeve of a onesie, or that Kane's cries were ok and not always a cause for alarm.

Now they were getting the hang of it. They were not pros, but they were ok with their new normal and how it would change every three weeks. Their butler pitched in with Kane, not because he was paid to, but because he wanted to. They hired a nanny to help during the day with Kane so that they could return to work. 

For the moment they mostly worked from home, Trevor recording in his studio and 

Si'Enya analyzing reports and writing scientific papers.

They captured the beauty of the moment in a series of photos

and decided that it was time for a vacation.

They flew to their newly finished vacation cabin and Trevor had to admit that Andrew was a genius when it came to translating their vision.

They enjoyed the quiet time around the lake,

cooking fresh fish for dinner, 

not worrying about the long distance zoom lenses of paparazzi desperate for a photo of their child. They discussed which photo to release to the magazine and which charity to donate the proceeds to.

They played chess,

and enjoyed the giggles of their son.

They made plans for more children, but knew that they needed to wait. Doctor's orders. The birth was so traumatic and the recovery process had been hard on Si'Enya. 

But since they wanted a healthy mother and a healthy baby more than anything, 

they were content with waiting before adding another child to their family.