Niall triple checks that he has everything he needs. Baby wash cloths, baby soap, baby shampoo. He has the little toys that kept her distracted last time and aa fluffy warm towel waiting. He dips his fingers into the water, making sure once more that it isn't too hot for her precious skin.
Then he heads out of the on suite bath, down the hall to the nursery he'd put together by hand. He ducks his head in, smiling when he sees you burping your daughter.
"There we go," you hum, patting her back and turning your head to kiss the side of her head. "Are you all full now, baby?"
Niall's seen this a few times since you two brought her home, small mother daughter moments. Sometimes he feels like he's intruding because there's an undeniable bond between you two. But most of the time, like right now, he feels grateful to be privy to these moments.
You slowly lower your daughter into the cradle of your arms, smiling at her as she coos. A tickle of your fingers across her little belly bring out cooing noises from her. "Hi, pretty girl," you hum. "Are you laughing for mumma? Is that your laugh?"
When you look up, you meet Niall's eyes and give him a tired but well meaning grin. "There's daddy," you whisper, as Niall steps into the room.
Niall walks around behind you and puts his hands on your shoulders, dropping a kiss to the top of your head. "Were ya so good for mumma, petal?" He hums, looking at your daughter who squirms in your hold.
"Mhmmm. She ate a lot," you mumble, stroking her tiny cheek.
Niall presses his thumbs into the knots between your shoulder blades. He kisses the top of your head when you sigh in relief, "Feels good..."
"Yeah?" He confirms, applying a little more pressure. "Remember our deal?"
"Yeah... but are you sure, Ni?" You tip your head backwards against the rocking chair to look up at him.
"Yes, baby, I told ya it'll be fine," he promises, bending down to kiss your forehead. "I need you to get some rest, okay? Barely sleepin as it is."
He knows, without a single doubt, that you're the best mum to his little girl but he also knows you're much more tired than you're letting on. So he offered to give her a bath while you catch up on some sleep.
It's not just that he's nervous, because he is. Up until that point you two had bathed her in a team and it was obvious that she was not a fan of it. The first time both of you had nearly broken down into tears because she was so fussy. But he needed to learn and take one for the team because a sleepy mumma isn't good for anyone and he cherished alone time with her. He's not as freaked out as he was when you guys brought her home, afraid he would drop her or do something wrong. The little build in confidence these past few weeks has been a long time coming.
"Okay... but wake me if you need help, okay?"
"I won't, now off to bed. I'll wake ya up with some tea once I get her down," he says as you transfer the baby to his arms.
She peers up at him with sleepy blue eyes and he shakes his head, "No ya don't. No sleeping yet, little one. We have things to do." He raises her in his arms so he can kiss her forehead a few times, walking into the bathroom once he's sure you're in bed.
"Alright," he says, setting her down on top of the towel. She kicks her little legs out and they smack against his tummy since he's bent over her, keeping his one hand cupped under her head while he tries to get her little onesie off with the other. It makes him laugh and he grabs one of her little feet, bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. "Going to be a footie star, aren't ya? Always kicking me.."
Up until that point she's been fine, making 'o' shapes with her little pink lips and squirming around as much as he'll let her. But once he gets her little arm out of the onesie and the cold air flies in, her face falls. Niall's heart breaks as her lip wobbles just a tiny bit and then she's bursting into that heart wrenching cry of hers.
"I know, I know baby," he tries to soothe, working quickly to get the rest of her little body out of the clothing and into the bath. "It's cold, isn't it? Daddy's bein so mean to ya..."
He finally lowers her into the water and her ear piercing cries subside only momentarily. Niall has to admit it's harder without you holding her, but he does his best with his one hand, spreading the bubbling soap over her little torso and using the wash cloth to gently clear her up.
But the feeling of the water lapping up against her skin doesn't keep her distracted for long and she's wailing again and then she's turning red from the force of them and suddenly Niall wants to start crying too.
He's trying to get her clean as quickly as he can, cooing to her, "I know, darlin. It's almost over, you're okay," and when he's truly desperate, "Please don't cry... ya know da hates to see you cry."
The door to the bathroom is closed so no more cold air than necessary passes through, but Niall feels useless and he considers sticking his head out the door and yelling for you.
She looks so miserable and he doesn't know how to fix it. No amount of books or classes or anything prepared him to deal with her tears. He's supposed to wipe them away, not cause them.
Thankfully he gets her all clean and then wraps her up in a fluffy towel. He wishes he was done but he needs to wash the ample amount of hair she has on her little head.
"Okay, baby, we're almost done," he promises. "Then we can have a nice cuddle, okay?"
He keeps her wrapped up in the towel even if it is awkward for him to wash her hair at this angle, but it doesn't help much. Her little cries are closer to his ears now and he's hopeless. If she keeps going like this then she'll wake you for sure.
He's out of ideas and he still has to put lotion on her, which is going to be the most difficult part. He starts humming, softly at first. Then suddenly her cries start to dissolve into sniffles and she looks into his eyes curiously.
Niall smiles, pronouncing the words softer and more deliberately, "Little darlin...." She focuses in on him while he continues on, "Here comes the sun and I say, it's alright." He starts tapping his feet a little, rising the shampoo out of her hair carefully, "Doo doo doo doo."
To his delight she starts smiling at him, a gummy little baby smile that steals his heart just like it did the first time he saw it. "Do ya like me singing, little darlin? Yeah?
He quickly gets her hair dry and cradles her little towel clad body to him, the hood of her piggie towel way too big for her head. He hurries them to the nursery again, still humming as he keeps her cradled to his chest.
When he sets her down so he can put the lotion on, she frowns but doesn't cry. He keeps singing the same lines over and over to her and it keeps her distracted enough for him to wiggle her into a new diaper.
"Look at you," he coos. "All cleaned up, huh? Daddy didn't do a bad job." He leans down and carefully presses fluttering kisses along her little tummy, making sure his stubble doesn't grace her soft skin. He slips her into a new onesie and as he's fixing the last little button, her little hand latches onto his.
Niall pauses, glancing down at the same blue eyes he is. "Yes? Can I help ya little darlin?"
There's no response, of course, but he kisses her little fingers and then wraps her up in a blanket before he starts to rock her back and forth.
It doesn't take long until her eyes are shut and Niall exhales as he sets her down in her crib. As the sun sets outside and evening settles in, his heart swells with pride that this little darling is all his — forever.
