Family Forever- H.S. (Teen Pregnancy)

Through the Dark (August 2014)

"No, no,"Camryn sobs shaking her head side to side against Harry's chest. "I can get him to eat, he just doesn't latch well so he doesn't get much."

"Sweetheart,"Harry whispers, picking up her sticky and wet cheeks in his hands and tilting her head up to look at him. "Please, just let me feed him with a bottle this once. Just one time. He's hungry, baby."

"I know he's hungry, Harry!"Camryn snaps, "and I've been trying to get him to eat for the past 2 hours! He won't do it!"

"Okay,"Harry nods, sighing to try and calm him. "What about you lie down or take a shower to get some time alone and I'll try and settle him. Yeah?"

Camryn concedes with a nod and begins to wipe at her tears with her fingers as he takes the wailing and angry baby from the bed.

"Oh shhh shhh, mister,"he coos down to the little red-faced baby, "what is all of this about, hmm?" He looks up at Camryn who has already begun to walk over to her side of the bed. He watches as she curls up on it with her back towards Harry and he sees her shoulders start to tremble again with tears.

He decides to give her some space and he knows that Auggie's wails are just making her more anxious, so he walks out of the bedroom and down the stairs to see what Darcy's doing.
She peeks up from laying on the couch as soon as she hears the baby's wails. "Is the baby hungry, daddy?"

"He is, babe,"Harry nods and sways his hips with a bit of a bounce to try and soothe him. He knows that Camryn wants to breastfeed him. She's a major outspoken advocate for breastfeeding and has gone on talk shows and used her social media platform to advocate for the normalization of breastfeeding in public. She also breastfed the two other kids, but for some reason it's just not working for Auggie, but she's too stubborn to stop trying.

She's also not thinking straight. She hasn't been ever since Auggie was born. It's like a fog came over her and real life went out the window. She's not Camryn.

And that thought alone is enough to make tears burn behind his eyes as he bites his bottom lip.
But, he makes a decision in that moment. And he doesn't know if it's a smart one or utterly stupid. All he knows is he's the only parent that is thinking straight right now, so he needs to step up and put the baby's needs first.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, okay?"

Darcy nods with her eyes following Harry into the kitchen as he continues his swaying and bouncing motion all the way.

He bends down with Auggie in the crook of his arm to the fridge and reaches for a package of Camryn's breastmilk. She's always produced a lot of milk and the other two kids exclusively breastfed and have never had a bottle in their lives. Sometimes, however because of her milk production, she made more than both of them could eat and so she'd have to pump. Then, she'd donate the breastmilk to the hospitals for the babies there if they needed it. But, because none of the other kids bottle fed, she wants Auggie to breastfeed too.

He opens up one of the cabinets and reaches in the very back behind all of their other cups for the single bottle that they own. They bought it when she was still pregnant with Darcy and it still has the plastic on it, proving that it's never been used.

He fills up a bowl of hot water and pours the milk into the bottle before placing it in the warm water to heat it up, cooing down to Auggie the entire time.

"It's coming, bud,"Harry whispers as the baby continues to scream, "I promise, it's coming so soon."

He looks at the milk being heated up in the bowl and feels his stomach churn with anxiety. He knows he shouldn't do it behind Camryn's back, but he feels like it's his only choice. She won't let him feed him with a bottle and his little boy is hungry.