Baby Chronicles

by Judy Baer

  Friday, January 28

  My first surprise of the day arrived before breakfast, when Kim and Kurt walked into my room.

  “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in China?”

  “I didn’t want to tell you we’d be home today, because I wanted to surprise you,” Kim said. “But you went ahead and surprised me more.” She bent over the bassinet and stared at the baby who had—impossibly—grown more beautiful overnight. “She’s you all over again, Whitney. She’s amazing.”

  “Mitzi has a surprise for you, too.”

  “So I heard. Arch was at the coffee machine down the hall. He’s a happy man.” Kim’s brow furrowed. “But he looks awful.”

  “If you’d gone through labor and the delivery of three babies with Mitzi, how do you think you’d look?”

  Kurt shuddered. Kim and I both burst out laughing.

  “Where’s your baby?”

  “We’ve got Kurt’s sister and Wesley in the car with her. She’s perfect, Whit. Just perfect. In fact, her name is Jiao, which means ‘beautiful’ in Chinese.”

  Tears filled Kim’s eyes. “God kept his promise from Isaiah, Whitney. ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.’”

  God is good. He’s very good.

  “What does Wesley think of the new addition?”

  “He’s interested, but holding back his final judgment. He would probably have liked a puppy better.”

  Kim came to my bed and closed her arms around me, resting her cheek on the top of my head. “Can you believe it, Whit? All our prayers were answered, each in a different way.”

  I hugged her back. “Bryan’s, too. Even with a mild concussion, he’s feeling much better.”

  “Concussion?”

  “During labor.”

  “His or yours?”

  “Both, sort of.”

  Kim grinned and rubbed her hands through her already tousled hair. “It’s good to be home.”

  Saturday, January 31

  Mr. Tibble here.

  Now she’s gone and done it. She’s brought home a new kitten. At least I think it’s a kitten. It’s hairless except for some dark brown fuzz on top of its head. Big, too. It’s nearly my size already but not nearly as coordinated. It can’t even walk! The thing has a meow like a Siamese. Very grating on the nerves, I might add. Fortunately, they don’t let it cry long.

  She holds it like she used to hold me. Thankfully, her other pet Chase takes it away from her occasionally so she can play with me.

  I think I’ll have to bide my time and see how this new cat works out. Maybe she won’t like it and will give it away. That’s fine with me. More kibble for the rest of us.

  Mr. Tibble, signing off.

  My mother has completely forgotten about being my older sister and embraced being a grandmother. In fact, she’s embraced it so much that I’m having a hard time getting her to go home to my father.

  “What do you think the baby should call me? I went online and looked up all the names children call their grandmothers. Gamma, Nana, Mumsy, Gammie, Mee-Maw? Bamma, Mim, Gram?”

  “How about Grandma?” The baby isn’t tiring me out at all. My other relatives, however, are killing me.

  “I really like ‘Nana,’ don’t you?”

  “Okay, Nana it is.”

  “But Mumsy sounds very British, don’t you think?”

  “Very.”

  “You’re not helping much, dear.”

  If I were to pick out a name for Mom, I’d choose the Greek name for grandmother, Ya-Ya. As much as I expect my mother to spoil the baby, Miriam is never going to hear the words no-no anyway.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Friday, February 11

  Miriam and I went to the Innova offices today for a visit. Harry called to say that he was implementing a “brilliant” idea and he wanted Mitzi and me to see what he’d done.

  When I got to the office, Mitzi and crew were already there. Her triple stroller, piled high with blankets, toys and clothes was parked just outside the office. She’s changed since the babies came. Gone are the heavy makeup, the perfect hair and the designer suits. Her dark hair is usually in a ponytail, lip gloss is her full makeup regime, and jeans are her fashion statement. My kind of girl.

  Kim, who is holding down the fort along with Betty and Bryan, met me at the door.

  “You’re looking relaxed,” I told her. “Did you find someone you can trust to watch Jiao?”

  Kim smiled complacently. “You could say that.”

  Most of our conversations these days revolve around good child care and the stay-at-home/go-to-work debate. I’m surprised at how much I resist the idea of leaving the baby during the day, even though my mother is always offering to babysit and has remodeled her entire house to look like a preschool. I’m just beginning to realize the power of the mothering instinct and the deepness of my need to be with my baby. But what about Harry?

  “So what’s this new thing Harry has done?” I asked. “You’ve been keeping pretty mum about it.”

  I walked into what had been Innova. It looked as though a bomb had gone off. The ceiling was open, Sheetrock was stacked against the walls, and all the wiring was hanging in loopy strings over our heads. “What happened?”

  “Harry leased the offices next to ours.” Kim pointed to floor plans spread across a desk. “Innova is expanding. When we’re done remodeling, we’ll each have our own office. They’ll run along three sides of the space, all facing an open area in the center. There will be a receptionist’s desk there, and space for temps as we need them. Harry says the business has grown so much that he has to expand.”

  “Then what’s going to be here?” I pointed to an undesignated room running the entire width of the space.

  “That’s the nursery.”

  “The what?”

  “Nursery. It’s going to be soundproof. We’ll be able to work and be available for our kids at the same time. The babies can come to work with us. Harry’s also decided that we can set our own hours. I can work 5:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. or noon until eight at night. He even agreed to job-sharing. Our babies never need to be without a parent on hand. Cool, huh?”

  At that moment, Mitzi, Betty and Bryan emerged from the back room, each carrying one of her babies.

  “Isn’t it great?” Mitzi burbled. “Harry says that a lot of companies provide day care, so he doesn’t see why he shouldn’t. He’s also setting up so that we can work at home when we can’t come in.”

  My relief was so great that it shocked me. It was the best of both worlds. I had the sudden urge to give my little boss a huge squeeze. “Where is he?”

  “He’ll be back in a minute,” Betty said. “I’ve got treats in the back room.”

  Betty had laid out a feast of our favorite foods—brownies, lemon bars, cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies. “Help yourself.”

  “I’ll have a lemon bar, please,” Mitzi said.

  “No brownies?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Ever since I had the babies, I haven’t had a taste for chocolate. It’s kind of gross, really. I can’t imagine why I ever liked it. Hormones, maybe.”

  “Well, I still like it.” I chewed on a brownie and looked around. “I can’t believe Harry did this. He’s made this into a perfect working environment for young moms. I had no idea he was so full of surprises.”

  Bryan snickered, and Betty put her hand to her mouth. “You haven’t seen all of them yet.”

  The main door to the office opened and closed, and I recognized Harry’s footsteps on the tile. He made a dramatic entrance and stood in the doorway, framed like a postcard, his hair swirling from his head in a curly cloud.

  Huh?

  He walked in, jaunty pride in his step, and I stared at the bush of curls on the top of his suddenly hirsute head. He wore a glorious curly mop that put all his previous Chia Pet looks to shame. A wig! Harry is hairy again!

  I’m on t
he last page of this journal. It’s full now, and I’ll have to buy a new one. There’s going to be lots to tell as Miriam, Jiao, Ethan, Andrew and Oliver grow. And there will always be things I want to say about Chase—how much I love him and how much I feel loved by him.

  Mr. Tibble is crazy about my journals, too. He lies on them when I’m not around, as if he can actually think his own entries onto the pages. But the most important things I want to write about are God and His faithfulness. Miriam may read my journals one day. If she does, I want her to know about my faith in God and my love for her and for her father. That, after all, is what it’s all about.

  Whitney, signing off.

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Whitney manages to maintain friendships with sometimes-difficult people. Do you have them in your life? How do you handle them? What’s Whitney’s secret?

  It is said that in order to have friends, you must be a friend. Do you have friends as close to you as Kim and Mitzi are to Whitney? What is the most precious thing about them? How do you make and keep such friends?

  When Chase is in the hospital, Whitney says that she can’t find God. She even wonders if He really exists. Have you experienced this dark night of the soul? If so, what was it that brought you through it? What did you learn about God in the process? What did you learn about yourself?

  Has one of your loved ones ever faced a serious illness? How did you cope?

  There is a currently significant debate about stay-at-home mothers vs. working mothers. What are your feelings about this topic? Is Harry’s solution for his employees a good one?

  If you have ever been pregnant, what is the funniest thing that happened to you during this time?

  How would you feel about having a birthing coach?

  Whitney delights in her relationship with God, and many of her prayers are much like conversing with an old friend. She consults him and talks with Him all day long. How do you relate to Whitney’s connection with God? What is yours?

  Would you ever consider an overseas adoption as Kim did? Why or why not?

  Mitzi will have her hands full raising triplet boys. What advice would you give her?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-0612-4

  THE BABY CHRONICLES

  Copyright © 2007 by Judy Duenow

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