Hazel POV:
A week has passed since West officially moved in. As per usual, him and Mila are at each other's throats. My precious pea turns into a little demon whenever West is around.
I don't know why, but they bring out the worst in each other. Mila has even started playing little pranks like hiding his phone, locking herself in his bedroom so he can't get in, and tearing up his clothes.
Theo and I are at our wits end. That girl has been in timeout more this week than any other week in her life. I'm pretty sure Theo's close to his breaking point.
Especially right now. We just walked in on Mila in West's room, tearing up a black shirt with a pair of safety scissors. She looks up with wide eyes when we enter and says, "Miwa diddin do et."
Says the child who's currently holding the pair of safety scissors with black scraps of fabric on the floor around her.
Timeout clearly isn't working and neither is taking her toys away. I'm a firm believer in gentle parenting, but Theo thinks she may need a gentle spanking to get it through to her that messing with West's stuff isn't acceptable.
"Come here, now." Theo grits out and points to the floor in front of him. Mila slowly stands and drags her feet across the carpet until she's standing in front of her dada.
He crouches down and waits until Mila's looking him in the eye before saying, "You're going to go over there, pick up the shirt scraps you ruined, then go to Mama and Daddy's room for a spanking."
My baby's hands automatically reach back to protect her butt while she shakes her head. "Miwa dun wanna pakin', Dada."
"You should've listened. You've been in almost twenty timeouts just this week, Mila. Daddy's heart is breaking because you don't want to listen."
And that's the straw that broke the camels back. Mila hates disappointing us and when she hears how Theo's heart is 'broken', she starts to wail while making grabby hands at Theo.
He lifts her up and cuddles her to his chest, letting her cry it out so we can get this discipline out of the way. We always follow through with discipline, even if she's crying. If we don't, then Mila will think she can cry to get out of her consequences.
"Daddy will hold you until you're done crying, ladybug. Then, you're still going to pick up the shirt you ruined and get your spanking."
Mila continues to cry for twenty more minutes. She finally stops after some reassuring words and her Nuk. I hate to give her the pacifier, but it's clear that she isn't giving it up anytime soon.
"Alright, ladybug. Go clean your mess up." Theo states as he places her down on the floor. Mila toddles over to her little art project, and proceeds to clean everything up. She throws the scraps away in the trash, then sniffles as she walks to Theo and I's bedroom.
"Do we really have to spank her? I know she's been naughty, but maybe this time she learned her lesson." I whisper to Theo while we watch Mila climb up onto the bed. She plops down dramatically and proceeds to play with her toes.
"Babe, you know Mila. It's just going to be a little tap to get our point across. She can't keep disturbing West's stuff. I mean, she hid his phone in the toilet bowl. That's intentional."
He's right, but I don't want Mila to be scared of us because we spanked her. Nevertheless, I say, "This is the one and only time you're spanking my baby. Never again after this. I don't care what the circumstances are. I don't believe in violence."
Theo nods and marches towards the bed. He stands Mila up, explains why she's getting a spanking, and then literally taps her butt the lightest he can. I truly doubt she even felt that underneath her diaper and pants.
But it's enough for her. She falls down onto her butt and starts crying bloody murder. I can't take the sight anymore. Standing up, I grab my baby and hold her close to my body.
"All done. No more spankings." I coo while rocking my body side to side.
"Nu mwore pankin' on Miwa bewty." She whines.
"No more spankings on your booty, but you do need to go and apologize to West. Be a big girl for me. Okay?"
"Otay, Mama." She wiggles to get out of my arms and I watch as she trots off towards Kai's room. Technically, West isn't allowed in Kai's room with the door closed, but my girl doesn't leave them alone for long. She's always barging in and trying to include herself. They don't want to get caught doing something risky with Mila around.
"Kai! Wet Miwa in der! I gots tew say sumthin tew West!" Mila demands while banging on the door. It's thrown open by my son and she happily trots in there, discipline nearly forgotten.
West is sitting on the edge of the bed and playing on the new phone we bought him. Ya know, since Mila destroyed his other one. She trots towards him and says, "Miwa sowwy for chur pone an chur shwirt."
"Thank you for the apology. Apology accepted." West's voice is full of warmth and understanding. No matter what Mila does, he still loves her like a sister at the end of the day. I can tell he's already super protective of her like Kai.
Those two may fight and bicker, but I'm pretty sure it's the equivalent of a sibling rivalry.
"Can I have a hug?" West asks with open arms. Mila nods and climbs her little self up into his lap, laying her head down on his shoulder.
"Dada gab me a pakin' on my bewty." She snitches. This girl, always telling people anything and everything.
"Well, you probably deserved it because you kept tearing up my stuff. Did you learn your lesson?"
"Yesth?" Mila states, but it sounds more like a question. I groan and palm my forehead. As much as I love my daughter, sometimes she is a pain in my butt. Her attitude is one of her biggest problems. Theo swears she gets it from me, but the only thing she gets from me is her sweetness.
"Maybe you need more spankings if you gotta question if you learned you lesson." West jokes.
Mila doesn't see it that way, though. She stands her chubby self up on his knees, puts her face right in front of his, and says, "Kai gib chu 'pakin NOW!"
Kai jumps onto the bed, grabs West by the shoulders, pulls him back, and proceeds to spank him. Mila jumps back from the action and laughs wildly when Kai's hand connects with West's butt.
"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!" Kai counts all the way to seventeen before finally letting West up.
"You're an ass..." He grumbles while rubbing his sore butt.
"Yesth, Kai! Chu an ass!" Mila repeats. She's like a sponge, she absorbs everything. That includes bad words and behaviors. One time, I had took Mila to the store with me and she dropped something she was carrying. Earlier that day, Theo had said 'fuck' when he dropped a dirty diaper on the floor.
Mila said the same word we she dropped her bag of gummy worms. The looks I got after that were horrible. I would prefer my toddler not to cuss, but there's worse things she could be doing.
"That's a bad word, Mila. We don't say stuff like that. You'll get soap in your mouth." I warn with a raise of my eyebrow.
She mirrors my position with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrow raises. Little miss attitude over here clearly didn't learn her lesson earlier. "Do you need a timeout, Mila?"
"Nu!" She gasps, throwing her arms up in the air. Mila doesn't need a timeout, she needs a nap.
"No timeout, but you are going to lay in your bed for a little while." I tell her before scooping her up in my arms. Walking into the nursery, I change Mila, then sit in the rocking chair with her.
"Do you want some milky before you lay down?" I question. Already knowing the answer is going to be yes, I lift my shirt and unlatch my nursing bra. Mila latches on and plays with my other breast while she drinks her fill.
Surprisingly, she doesn't fall asleep while nursing. Usually, some quiet and my boob is enough to get her to sleep. "Okay, pea. It's time to lay down in your bed." I tell Mila after unlatching her. She was just playing around at that point.
I put her in her crib, handing over her Nuk and favorite blanket. "I'll be back in later. Mama loves you." I tell her when she starts to whimper.
"Miwa wuv chu tew." She whispers back.