Chapter 26
“Shh, shh, shh,” Troy quietly shushed as he scooped Addison out of her bassinet.
I blinked, attempting to clear the sleep from my eyes.
I shifted and frowned when I realized my front air bags were soaked.
I was confused for a moment and reached up to figure out why I was wet.
I winced when I realized how engorged I felt.
I looked over at the clock and realized it was nearly four o’clock in the morning.
I must have missed at least two feedings.
No one talked about these things or maybe I hadn’t been exposed to enough new mothers.
Heidi was a shit one all around so she could never have been a role model for me.
This was just something else I would have to refrain from talking to Sierra about.
She was approaching her due date, and her anxiety had increased with each day that passed.
Each day she had another horrific fact about delivery that spun her out.
I looked around me and noticed Jaxson, Drake, and Noah were still sound asleep next to me.
Lincoln was attempting to wake little man up to feed him.
Jace and Remy had an early morning, so they were in their own room tonight, so the babies didn’t disturb them.
Seriously, I couldn’t imagine doing these late night’s with just two people.
Once again, I gave mad credit to “normal” families and don’t even get me started with single moms or dads.
They had to be part superheroes to accomplish tasks like late night feeds, especially with babies that required constant feedings like ours.
I gingerly climbed over Noah, so I didn’t wake him.
The man was practically dead on his feet due to the long hours he spent in the clinic yesterday.
He was supposed to be off for paternity leave but unfortunately life outside the bunker had ramped up so we didn’t have the luxury of missing too much time off of work.
My voice came out as a rasp from unuse. “I can take her. How did I not hear them at all?”
Troy looked over and gave me a soft smile as he placed a fresh diaper on Addison. “We decided to take shifts and wake each other up when it was the other person’s turn.”
He came over and I gingerly removed my top. My shirt was practically clinging to my skin I would definitely need a shower when I was done feeding the twins. I placed it down beside me before taking Addison into my arms.
Troy stifled a laugh before sliding a boppy pillow onto my lap to prop up my arm.
He grabbed my shirt and threw it in the hamper before returning to hand me a Haakaa to attach to my other breast. Addison was making loud disgruntled sounds as she rooted for her food source.
She latched and I sighed when I felt instant relief and within seconds the Haakaa was filling up as well.
I was beyond thankful that I had no problems with my milk supply.
I fully sympathized with women who were unable to produce enough milk for their littles.
I then looked up at Troy. “Why did you guys let me sleep so long, she can barely latch I’m so engorged?”
I realized how ungrateful I sounded. I really wasn’t. I hadn’t slept that much since my first trimester. I felt more well rested than I had in a long time.
I leaned my head on Troy’s shoulder. “Sorry. That sounded bitchy. I really am thankful you guys let me sleep in.”
Lincoln leaned down and kissed the top of my head before placing a bottle in Andy’s mouth. “You had a long day yesterday and the twins seemed to want to sleep as well. We had to wake them for all their feedings accept for this one.”
. I participated in training for the first time yesterday.
My mind may not think birthing twins was too great of a hurdle, but my body still remembered.
I didn’t go full bore, but it was enough that my muscles had ached afterward.
I knew it was going to take time to get back in shape.
Luckily, I had the guys reigning me in when they realized I was in danger of overworking and possibly hurting myself or setting me back in my recovery.
“And we have to do it again in a couple of hours.”
There was a part of me that felt bad spending any time away from the twins, but a larger portion of me was relishing a routine out of the apartment.
It felt like we had existed in a bubble for far too long.
Once again, I was fortunate that there were so many of us caring for the twins that I knew they were always safe and they were getting the opportunity to bond with us all.
I laughed. “Okay, greedy girls, bon appètit.” I then looked up at Troy. “Why did you guys let me sleep so long, she can barely latch on I’m so engorged?”
I realized how ungrateful I sounded. I really wasn’t. I hadn’t slept that much since my first trimester. I knew I should still get as much sleep as I needed. A little bit of discomfort was well worth how refreshed I felt, despite sleeping for less than six hours.
I leaned my head on Troy’s shoulder. “Sorry. That sounded bitchy. I really am thankful you guys let me sleep in.”
Lincoln leaned down and kissed the top of my head down and kissed the top of my head. He shifted Andy in his arms, attempting to keep him awake. “You had a long day yesterday and the twins seemed to want to sleep as well. We had to wake them up for all their feedings accept this one.”
I participated in training for the first time yesterday. My mind may not think birthing twins was too great of a hurdle, but my body still remembered. I didn’t go full bore, but it was enough that my muscles still ached.
I knew it was going to take some time to get back in shape. Luckily, I had the guys reigning me in when they realized I was in danger of overworking and possibly hurting myself of setting me back in my recovery.
“And we have to do it again in a couple of hours,” I said with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
Yesterday, had taken a toll on my body. Me sleeping through a majority of the night was proof of that. Mom-guilt was real. I reveled in feeling like my old self again. Yet, on the other hand, I felt like I was depriving my children of their time with me.
There was a part of me that felt bad spending any time away from the twins, but a larger portion was relishing a routine out of the apartment.
It felt like we had existed in a bubble for far too long.
Once again, I realized I was really fortunate that there were so many of us caring for the twins.
They were always with me or their dads. It was more than comforting knowing they were always safe and getting the opportunities to bond with each together and separately.
“You can take a day off if you want,” Drake said with a large yawn, blinking sleepily.
My eyes snapped to the bed, and I gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, if we woke you.”
Drake smiled before reaching over for his glasses, then shrugged.
“My alarm was going to go off soon. The shipment will be in soon and Carlos had a family emergency he had to attend to. I know Shane and Eddie could probably handle it, but I had to make some last-minute additions to the order sheet, and I want to ensure it came in.”
He got up and sat on the edge of the bed before wiping a hand over is face. He made a grabbing motion with his hands. “Can I have one of my babies?”
I gently disengaged Addison. “Miss Thing probably needs to burp before I feed her anymore and I should probably feed little man.”
Troy stood up and took Addison from me, gently patting her back as he took her over to Drake. Drake grinned wide taking Addy. He spoke softly too her before attempting to burp her.
“Should I warm up a bottle for her?” Lincoln asked, placing Andy in my lap.
I latched him on my other breast before handing Troy the Haakaa. “That should work. I don’t think Addy will be patient enough to wait until her brother’s done eating.”
I knew I could tandem nurse them, but I found it slightly overwhelming.
Addison was just as active outside of my womb as she was in it.
Sometimes she would strike her brother, and he seemed distracted, disinterested, or too upset to continue eating.
Until Andy could fit in his 0-to-3-month clothing I didn’t want to continue working on something that wasn’t conducive for both of them.
“Sit down, man. I’ll warm it up before bagging this.” Troy stated.
Lincoln took the seat Troy vacated. He kissed my shoulders and ran a fingertip over Andy’s cheek.
He, like the others, was completely enamored by our children.
My worries that they wouldn’t see the children as their own due to biology were completely unfounded.
None of them treated the twins any differently.
“Thanks, Papá.” I blew a kiss his way.
He winked at me and I was momentarily distracted.
These men were sexy, but somehow, they became sexier since they became fathers.
The way they behaved you would have never believed that these were the first newborns they ever had to deal with, let alone raise.
They took to fatherhood so well, and the way they loved our children was such a turn on.
Troy was shirtless and dressed only in low slung silk pajama bottoms. The provocative ‘v’ disappearing into his bottoms was tantalizing.
He was rocking a five o’clock shadow and his hair was sensuously mussed due to the early morning hour.
He turned and winked at me, and I felt my lady bits begin to stir.
The doctor had cleared me for all activities at the beginning of the week, but the guys weren’t rushing me and seemed copesetic about waiting until I gave them the green light.