To Build A Home

Chapter 20- Problem Solving

   "Hey... Steven....!" Krolia called out from the nursery, hoping Steven would hear her call.
   A very faint "yeah?" came from their bedroom.
   "Could you come here....?!"
   Her question was accompanied with an infant's cries. Keith's cries.
   Steven entered the nursery in seconds. "What's wrong?!"
   "I... I don't know." She sounded worried. "He's not feeding... He's trying... I think... But..."
   "Wait.... He's not feeding? Or you're not producing any milk?"
   Krolia shook her head, "I don't know..." Her gaze was fixed on the crying child in her arms. "Shh... You're okay. Mama and Daddy just need to figure something out..."
   "Right... So... What's wrong?"
   For only a second, she took her eyes off of the boy. "I said I don't know! For some reason he's not getting anything!" Her violet eyes were fraught with worry and anxiety. "I've been here, with him, for almost ten minutes, and he hasn't swallowed anything! Not one ounce! I don't even know why!"
   "Okay... Calm down... We'll figure this out..." Steven cautiously took the infant into his arms. "Let's get him one of his bottles from the fridge..." He kept his calm composure, knowing Krolia needed him to be calm.
   Very slowly, Krolia nodded, following Steven to the kitchen. "I just.... I don't know what could be wrong..." Her eyes widened as she gasped, her mind filling with even more worry. "He's not sick, is he?"
   "Let's not jump to conclusions, alright?"
   "Yeah, of course..."
   Keith had started to hiccup from all of his crying. He was hungry and he wanted milk, but he hadn't gotten any. His cries escalated to shrieks and screams. Though he would be fine without his milk, Keith did not know this. If he asked to be fed, he was always fed. So why bot now? The lack of milk at his accessibility, scared the child, only forcing him to cry more and more.
   "I know, I know. I'm so sorry. We're both very sorry." Steven took a bottle from the fridge, quickly handing it to his son.
   Instantly, Keith grasped the bottle, holding tightly to it, drinking the contents like it was his last meal.
   "Well... The issue isn't him..."
   Krolia placed a hand to her mouth, "you mean..."
   "For some reason he wasn't able to get milk from you..."
   "This is bad... This is very bad..."
   "It's not the end of the world... We can use the formula packs. They do the same for the child as breastfeeding."
   "I know but—" Krolia cut herself off, noticing her child squirming in his father's arms.
   "He's alright, Krolia...." Steven promised quietly. "He's finished is all..."
   Eventually, things calmed down between the three of them. Keith was able to get his milk, and Steven and Krolia were able to rest easy, knowing they found their problem.
   Steven placed Keith down in his crib, covering him with his orange-red blanket. Just as he was about to get settled in his own bed, he heard whimpers. But they weren't from Keith. Not this time.
   They were from Krolia.
   "Hey... What's the matter...?" He asked in a low whisper, taking a seat next to her on their bed.
   "Nothing..."
   "Right... But you sound like you're crying..."
   "How long do human infants need milk?"
   "What...?"
   She asked again, sounding much more serious. "How long do human infants need milk...?!"
   "Six months is the earl it I've beard they stop needin' it. A year is probably the most... Why...?"
   "I've failed, haven't I...?"
   "Absolutely not. Why would ya' say you've failed...?!"
   "Because..." her voice shaking with emotion, she went on with her reasoning, "because Keith is just shy of four months and I already can no longer provide food for him..."
   "What? No...!" He quickly pulled her to her feet, taking her into the nursery, a place where they could talk more freely. "This is just a small complication... abut we already have a solution...!"
   "But I have failed!" She felt her eyes begin to sting with tears. "If I can no longer produce milk for him, then what next?!"
   "What next....? What do you mean, 'what next'...?"
   "What if I start loosing my grasp on motherhood?! What if I stop caring for Keith altogether?!"
   "This is still a fear of yours... isn't it? You're still scared you're not goin' to be a good enough mother, aren't ya'...?"
   She nodded ever so slightly.
   "Alright... Come here..." Steven took ahold of her hands and pulled her in for a tight hug. He quickly wrapped his hands around her back. "I can't stop you from thinking those thoughts, but what I can tell you, is that you are a good mother. This doesn't change anythin'."
   "I don't want to fail..."
   "And you won't. I can promise you, you won't ever fail."
   Krolia took a deep breath, resting her head on his shoulder.
   "It's getting late, though... So you might want to get some sleep. We can figure out this whole formula, situation, thing, in the morning."
   "Is he going to be alright until then...?"
   "We have two more full bottles in the fridge, plus the emergency packets I did buy before he was born."
   "So you did make a plan..."
   "Of course I did." Placing a kiss on her forehead, Steven interlocked their fingers and led her back to their bedroom.
   Krolia couldn't help but look at her son. She was his mother after all.
   "Mama is sorry for earlier, but she hopes you sleep well." Steven told the child, confirming his statement with Krolia by a simple glance and a nod.
   Keith fidgeted under his blankets, slowly placing his thumb in his mouth, falling back asleep within seconds of doing so.