To Build A Home

Chapter 16- Figuring Things Out

   The clock read 3:07 am, making Keith just shy of 24 hours old. Between seven thirty and now, he had woken up in fits of tears a total of eight times. Only six of those occurred when his new, inexperienced and completely unprepared parents were asleep.
   Krolia was quick to react to the sounds of Keith's anxious and dismal cries. Hearing them once more at three in the morning was not an annoyance to her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and tossed the blankets from her body. "Mama has got you..." she whispered, scooping the fussing baby up and into a gentle, loving cradling. "You're okay..." she told him, placing a kiss on his forehead.
   Keith quieted down for a few moments before his cries escalated to their original, far louder volume.
   She picked up the lion from where Keith had left it in his crib, took her child into the adjacent room—the nursery—and proceeded to feed him.
   However, the infant refused her breast milk, something else was bothering him.
   "Not hungry this time...?"
   As the child continued to cry and whimper, Krolia brought him to the changing table. She gently placed him on the soft mattress and tapped the mobile in hopes that what Steven had said about them being calming for infants was in fact true. In case it didn't work, she made sure Keith had Little Blue to comfort him.
   Soft music played quietly, instantly capturing the child's attention. Though not entirely calmed, he wasn't crying as loud as he had been.
   Krolia placed a cautionary hand over her child's sensitivity eyes as she switched on the light, adjusting the brightness to one fit for a newborn. She carefully undid the tiny, white buttons on his red onesie,  sliding it up just above his hips, where his diaper was. As soon as she exposed the inner lining—and contents— of the diaper to the air, a sickening waft of smells met her nose. She took a step back, taking a breath of fresher air. "You really did a number in there, Keith... That smells awful..."
   Keith seemed a little happier now that he wasn't forced to lay in his own leavings, and the mobile definitely helped in continuing to keep him calm.
   Quickly, Krolia tossed the used diaper into the trash bin next to the changing table. It was apparently self sealing and trapped odors in, but it wasn't necessarily designed for an infant's used diapers. Regardless, she would use it as such. Grabbing a sanitary wipe from the shelf below where Keith lay on the mattresses, she began cleaning him, ridding him of the remnants and discomfort caused by using his diaper as many times as he had.
   As the music faded, Keith began to fuss again, forgetting he had not only his mother, but Little Blue with him.
   "Shh... You're alright. Mama is right here..." she placed the lion in his hands, stroking his cheeks affectionately. "And look, Little Blue is here too. There's no need to cry."
   His fussing was muffled by the stuffed lion's paw in his mouth, and he now had his eyes fixed on his mother. Although his vision was next to nonexistent, he could still make out the basics of his surroundings. 
   Krolia instantly felt a pair of eyes on her and beamed with joy when she and Keith made eye contact. "Hey, little one...!" Her tone was, as always, motherly and compassionate. "This must feel better than that stinky diaper. Doesn't it?"
   Keith only looked at her the same way he had been, curiosity and confusion were in his big, violet eyes.
   "You're so cute it's distracting." She held back laughter as she returned to her motherly duties. Once a clean diaper was fitted around his little waist, she pulled down his onesie and fastened the buttons to their rightful spot. "There we go... All clean...!"
   Keith gave the slightest smile, still keeping the plush lion's paw in his mouth.
   "Yes, it is a good thing. You should smile." Picking him up and immediately wrapped her arms comfortingly around him, she began her tedious, yet necessary, slowly and quiet laps around the room. Krolia talked to him in a calm whisper as she slowly rocked him to sleep.
   Once his eyes were shut, and his breathing was slowed to a snoozing type, she turned off the light, and brought him back to her room, laying him down in his crib. Covering him with his blanket, she kissed his cheek and headed to her own bed.
   Steven immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a tight, but comfortable hug. "You gotta stop gettin' up every time..." he muttered, half asleep. "Let his Daddy take care of 'im for once."
   "You wake up too slowly, and don't hear him as soon as I do..." she countered, interlocking their fingers. "I just have better senses."
   "Then wake me up. You're goin' to be exhausted if ya' don't sleep."
   "But Keith needs me to take care of him."
   "Keith needs both of us." Steven buried his face in her shoulder. "If you don't let me take care of him next time, I'm..."
   "You're goin to what...?" Krolia scoffed, knowing he had no argument.
   "Just promise me you'll let me take it from here on out....!"
   "Fine..."