CARINA POV
Isabella had recently turned two and a half years old; we'd learnt a lot from our little bambina. The terrible twos were in full swing and for some reason, we decided that we'd be open to deal with the terrible twos again but with another child. The child who's comfortable resting against my ribs.
The process didn't take as long as the first time. There wasn't therapy sessions and countless different forms to fill out since they had most of it all on record. We successfully used Maya's egg and my brother's sperm... which is slightly weird to think about. Maya didn't want to carry; her body doesn't yearn to be pregnant unlike me.
Andrea had been supportive (not surprising) and just like Mason, he came to every appointment possible and wanted updates all of the time. When we asked for his help, it took a little more convincing than it did with Mason. It wasn't so much of us trying to convince him as it was just educating him on statistics, procedures, and what role he'd play in the child's life. Two cups of coffee and a notepad filled with written notes, he agreed and started doing his own research.
When it came time for Maya to go on hormones for the egg retrieval, I got to deal with her wide range of emotions. Apparently when I was pregnant, I was hungry and angsty, the majority of the time. For the month that Maya dealt with her own hormones, she would cry. To give examples, she cried when she saw a puppy, she cried when we said the same word at the exact same time, she cried because our Chinese takeaway included a fortune cookie. The worst one was when she cried herself to sleep because she put on the wrong socks. It was adorable until it really wasn't, until she started to cry into her food because it was too enjoyable. Let's just say I was very thankful when the day came for the retrieval.
When it finally came to my part in all of this, my health miraculously hadn't changed at all over the last two years. It took just one appointment for the fertilised egg to stick to my uterus. The 12 weeks before the official pregnancy test at the clinic was nerve-wracking to say the least. Maya's hormones had returned to their original levels, so she was more rational about things in life. The constant crying did stop until the day of the pregnancy test. You'd question if she'd taken those hormones again, she cried from the bathroom to our bedroom while hugging me. In the afternoon, she went shopping and apparently cried throughout the different aisles – I'm glad I didn't go shopping with her.
But that leads us to today. Today, Isabella has become Maya's little handywoman, she's been carrying her plastic box of tools to every room Maya walks into. Maya had planned for today to be all about the children's rooms, we ordered a new bed for Isabella, and we have a tonne of baby things to either build or relocate.
"Can you find the triangle?" Maya patiently asks, she moulded her hands into the shape to make it easier for Isabella. Each time, Maya asked her to find something, she'd take the opportunity to work quicker before slowing down.
"This mommy" Isabella asked, holding up the corner piece for our son's bassinet.
"Well done, Isabella" Maya says, watching as she toddled towards her holding the piece in front of her face.
"Mama help" Isabella turned to me; our little girl wanted to help everyone. She had these instincts that always boiled down to wanting to help others, but sadly this whole came with her wanting everyone else to also help.
"I can't help" I reply, my eyes flitting to Maya's amused look. I roll my eyes and look back down at Isabella. She'd managed to walk over to me, resting her hands on my knees since I'm sitting down.
"I think mama wouldn't be very good for building. She gets very angry when she tries" Maya explains in a childish voice, we've started putting emotions to actions for ourselves and just generally. We think it'll help Isabella understand why people do things.
