Harper & Lee Plus Three

One Month Later

June thirteenth was one month after my six little miracles came into this world. They'd already been in the NICU for this long, and they still had several months to go. The triplets were devastated that their baby brothers and sisters wouldn't be there for the first day of school, but probably Halloween instead. For Phoenix, it would be "Thanksgiving if you're optimistic."

"I have a good feeling about today," said Lee, his eyes still looking ahead at the road.

"You say that every day," I said.

"I know but...it just feels like something extra special is gonna happen today."

"And for that special day, you wore another Star Wars t-shirt."

"Babe, the new movie is coming out in a few months!" he said.

"Tell you what, if something special actually happens, I'll buy you tickets to see the new movie in 3D."

"You are so on!" Lee said.

I rolled my eyes as we pulled into the hospital parking lot. We grabbed our masks and headed into the NICU. To my surprise, Ayla and Connor were there.

"Wow, what are the chances we'd see you two again!" said Connor, grinning ear to ear. He had a baby carrier on his lap. Ayla held the other one. "It's graduation day for us!"

"Aww! That's so sweet! I'm so happy for you guys!" I said. "Cross your fingers for at least one of ours to come home by Halloween."

"It goes by quick, I promise," said Ayla. 

    I made sure to put Ayla's number in my phone. She promised all our boys could have a playdate when they were old enough.

    We went further into the room, where our three girls were in incubators decorated with their names.

    "Hey guys, are you ready for today?" asked Jenny, our favorite nurse.

    "Oh, so there is something special going on. It looks like Harper is taking the whole family to see The Silent Jedi in 3D!"

    "I'll do you one better. How about you have a seat in the rocking chairs?" she asked.

    "What? We get to hold one today?" Lee asked.

    "That's correct," Jenny said.

    Lee and I looked at each other, both almost ready to bust out crying. We went around to the cordoned-off visiting section of the room and took a seat in two of the open rocking chairs. There was another couple waiting there. A nurse walked into the room, carrying a baby in a blue blanket.

    "Baby Hawk's family?" she asked.

    "That's us!" said Lee.

    "No way! I get to hold him!" I said.

    The nurse carefully handed him to me. He was still so tiny, but adorable, even though he was covered up by so many machines.

    "Hey Hawk-y. How are you? Mommy's here now," I said to him.

    He put his hand up and it touched the back of mine. It slid down a little, which led to his fingers wrapping around my pinky. Lee was already taking lots of pictures. Hawk started to whimper. I gave him a kiss on the head.

    "Baby Griffin's family?"

    We both looked up when we heard the nurse. This couldn't be. It just couldn't. Lee held his hands out and took baby Griffin.

    "I can't believe it," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. "I didn't think we'd get to hold two."

    "Baby Alexa's family?"

    "That's us," said the woman sitting across from us.

    The nurse handed them their baby girl. I held Hawk a little tighter. Nurse Jenny walked in with another baby wrapped up in pink. I assumed it was a sibling of the baby across from us.

    "Who wants to hold Raven?" she asked.

    Lee and I both gasped. I shifted Hawk over.

    "Me! I want her!" I said.

    Nurse Jenny carefully placed Raven into my free arm as I cried tears of joy. Underneath the CPAP mask, I could see the dimples on her tiny little cheeks, but got taken out of my trance when footsteps were coming down the hallway. Two more nurses were standing in the doorway.

    "You guys ready for two more girls?" said the one in the front.

    Lee and I exchanged glances with each other.

    "I'm too nervous. I can't hold three at once," I said.

    "It's okay. I'll do it," Lee said.

    The nurses put Robin and Wren in his arms. I watched Lee looking down at the babies like the proud Dad he was.

    "Oh wow, you guys are that family with the sextuplets, aren't you?" asked the woman across from me.

    "Yeah. That's us," I said.

    "Wow! I can't believe our kids are in the same NICU! I was just watching you on MTV the other day!"

    "Oh uh...thanks. They were really hyping it up. I heard the season premiere got a few million views," I said.

    "Pardon my wife. She loves her Teen Mom," said the husband.

    "It's okay. We've started to have people recognize us in public, so we're getting used to it at this point," said Lee.

    "Would it be too much to ask for a picture with you?" asked the woman.

    "Not at all! I love taking pictures with my fans!" I said.

    She handed her baby and her phone over to her husband as she positioned herself between Lee and I's rocking chairs. Her husband took the picture with his free hand.

    "Yay! Thank you two so much!" she said.

    "You're welcome. Any time," I said.

    She sat back down next to her husband and stared at the photo he took. I couldn't believe just taking a photo with someone could make them so happy. Being on TV really had its perks. I just hoped it wouldn't get too stressful over time.

***

Author fun facts:

-This chapter was partially inspired by a scene from Sweet Home Sextuplets, when the NICU staff surprised Courtney and Eric Waldrop by bringing them all six of their babies to hold for the first time.

-Thanks again for everyone who is here for the long haul! There are 25 chapters left to go.