We're Having Our Baby

Thirty Seven

"I've been well! Charlie's good too, she's napping right now," I tell her.

"Aw, I can't wait until I can meet her. From the few photos I've seen, she is adorable. She's the perfect mix of you and Harry."

"Thank you," I smile at the compliment, "How's your business doing?"

"It's amazing, I'm so glad I decided to do this. Are you interested in expanding?"

"I am, actually," I laugh, "I just started thinking about it, but I'm still kind of on maternity leave so I thought what better time than now to explore it?"

"Totally! I will say it's a lot of work, but it's so worth it. The first thing you'll probably want to do is figure out what sort of system you want. Some people just join with a bunch of freelance photographers and pitch into renting a building and hiring a receptionist or two, or you could start an entire company from scratch.

I chose the second option, and right now I have a receptionist, a few photographers, designers who work on collages and brochures and stuff, and I sort of do both the photographer's and designer's jobs. It's super fun because you get to have more clients, work with others in the field, and depending on how many positions you have it can totally lighten the load. All of the photographers do their own photo editing, but then they work with the designers on the final orders."

"Wow, that is a lot."

"Yeah, and that's not even including getting a building, setting everyone up on payroll, taxes, etc."

"Well, it's definitely something I'm still interested in. Did you do this all yourself?" I ask, a little overwhelmed by the idea of tackling this on my own.

"No, I forgot to mentation that part, oops. I found this company that helps small businesses get started. I just purchased a package and they helped throughout the entire process from renting a building to creating job postings and becoming an official business! I can send you a referral if you want. They were so helpful."

"Thanks, that would be great! I really appreciate it, Rosaline."

"Of course! I'm happy to help."

Rosaline and I continue talking for about thirty minutes until Charlie wakes up. It was great to catch up with her, we used to have a lot of fun times together in college.

"Hello Charlie!" My previously cheery smile is now gone because as soon as I enter the nursery, I'm met with the horrid smell coming from her diaper. We recently moved Charlie into her room full time since she's been sleeping for longer stretches of time over night.

"You smell terrible," I laugh as I carefully pick her up. Luckily, she's not crying at the moment, but I'm she will the minute I take that diaper off of her.

Aaaand, I was correct. Shrill screams fill the air as I work on cleaning up my nearly three-month-old before she can eat.

"Charlie, what are you screaming about?" I talk in a silly voice, "we're just getting you aaall clean so you can drink some yummy milk! Then Daddy will be home and we'll have some more family snuggles!" I talk her through the rest of changing her and then stand her up to kiss her chubby cheeks.

We then make it down to the kitchen where I wash both of our hands and prepare to breastfeed in the living room. After Charlie eats, we facetime my mom for a bit and before we know it, Harry is back... with Mitch and Sarah.

"Hey! Harry didn't tell me we were inviting company?" I greet Sarah and Mitch from the couch, all while eyeing Harry who doesn't seem to be phased by my jab.

"Sorry about that," Sarah says, "It's so good to see you though! And oh my god, Charlie!" She reaches for Charlie as soon as she's close enough to pick her up. We've had conflicting schedules since Charlie was born, so this is the first time she's meeting her other Auntie and Uncle.