Silver Lining

twenty six.

Iris Rhodes.

"Which screwdriver again?" I look at the pile between us on the floor. My brain is so foggy I couldn't tell you which does what or what Nathan asked for. Last year I could build anything, but I'm useless right now.

Nathan leans over, grabs the red-handled one and chuckles to himself.

"I'm sorry, it's the baby brain, I can hardly think, never mind take instructions," I rub my hands over my face before I pick up my next Amazon parcel.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine if you want to take a break, you can?" he offers but I shake my head.

"No, I want to do this with you and I've been in bed all day," It's the harsh truth of officially being in the third trimester.

For the last week, I've been constantly exhausted and unorganised; I can't seem to find any motivation to do anything; I just want to sleep all day. The only things that have kept me from doing so are the babies kicking me and Bailey wanting attention. I'm forcing myself out of the rut though, starting now because I don't want to rot away for the rest of my pregnancy; I want to be present, but it's easier said than done.

"Just stick to the parcels for now, baby, we have a lot to unbox and I'll keep building; I'm almost done with the second crib," he says with a proud smile.

"You're doing amazing," I tell him.

"It's getting there," he looks around the room.

All the furniture we bought for the nursery is in a beautiful soft grey; the last thing to put up after this will be their changing table. Guaranteed, I will be stocking it with all the diapers, wipes and necessities we have accumulated in recent months, as soon as it's built.

Getting on with the remaining parcels, I open a multipack of baby towels Nathan ordered last night and I place them on the large pile of clothes for laundry, which will be tomorrow's task. I wish I could say I'm dreading it, but I'm not; I simply can't wait to do the laundry and organise their clothes in the closet. It's something I've been looking forward to since the beginning.

"Are they good quality?" Nathan asks, pointing to the towels, "The reviews weren't telling."

I chuckle, "They're very soft, you chose well."

The next box is rather large and one by one, I pull out boxes of baby bottles. There's no telling if I'll be able to breastfeed or if the babies will be able to latch, so we've prepared for either outcome by ordering enough bottles to feed an army; we needed them if I'm able to anyway for when I pump, just not this many.

"How many babies are we having again?" he jokes, looking at the pile in amusement.

"We have enough bottles to last the night feeds without having to do dishes until late morning," I estimated it to be six bottles each.

The bottles we won't use if I can breastfeed will be donated; that way they won't be gathering dust, or taking up space and they can help a parent in need.

We've been in the nursery since we put the girls to bed almost two hours ago and it's starting to come together finally. The finished crib is against the left wall and the one Nathan is building will be on the right, so they're opposite each other. The babies' changing table will be between the cribs, separating the room in two.

We've not dedicated a side to the twins yet, nor do I think we will until they're here and much older. We decorated the room to be neutral for now, but we will gradually make changes once they're here. While they're newborns, it's not needed, especially since they won't be sleeping in here until they're six months old anyway.