audrey (bidabble) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-05-02 20:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, emma swan |
Who: Emma Swan and Audrey Baxter
When: Recently
Where: Baxter Bakery
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Thankfully, the morning sickness phase of the pregnancy was passing, but now (earlier than the first time, in fact) Audrey was slipping into the maternity wear phase of the pregnancy. As much as she hated it, she knew this would be her selection of clothes through the arrival of baby #2. At least she’d reached the point where she could eat again! And she had the excuse that she was “eating for two” and could eat whatever she wanted!
She had enough energy to continue coming to work, though Audrey knew that her afternoon naps were going to become longer and longer, and she’d probably have to start adjusting her hours. But as it was, she was standing behind the counter at the register, serving customers with a smile on her face.
Now, Emma was fairly heavily pregnant. She’d hit her third trimester, carrying almost all of her weight to the front, which apparently was fairly normal for boys. She was less than thrilled about the changes that brought too; constant discomfort, the sore back, the sore boobs, the sore feet. Everything hurt right then and sleep was almost a foreign concept. Not only because of the pregnancy either.
Having quit coffee just meant that Emma was living on hot chocolate and as many sweets as possible, and having dropped Henry off for watch soccer with his school team playing, Emma had opted to wait out the game at Baxters with the biggest brownie she could stomach.
Audrey wasn’t quite to the waddling stage. Still in the first half of her pregnancy, Audrey was just barely in maternity wear. Though, she felt a lot bigger than she was--maybe because she was on her second pregnancy. Her muscles were a little looser, her body reacting to the pregnancy in a different way this time through.
After dealing with the long line and leaving the register in the hands of one of her baristas, Audrey grabbed herself a snack and headed over to Emma’s table to say hi. She carried her plate with her, warmed croissant resting on top. “Hi, Emma!” She beamed. “Can I sit with you?”
“Of course,” Emma just pushed the empty seat out, grinning at the other woman as she squared some space at the table, “I heard the news, congrats.” One pregnant lady to another, they could probably relate a little. Emma felt that this pregnancy was a hell of a lot different than her first one, but maybe it was just because Henry was born while she was so young, and that it was longer ago.
“I’ll bet you’re just so exhausted.” Considering the bundle of energy her toddler was, and a new baby on the way. Emma did not envy Audrey that at all.
“Why, thank you!” Audrey said, beaming brightly. Now that she was in her second trimester, and since this was her second child in under a few years, she was ballooning out. (Audrey was fairly plump to begin with, but pregnancy seemed to agree with her. She got even more pleasantly round.) “I’m just so hungry all the time!” Audrey laughed. “Thank god the morning sickness is over and I can actually eat again.”
“Oh, I hated that.” It was bad because she had the cravings, and she felt hungry, but she knew it was just going to end in tears, a sore throat and a comforting Neal rubbing her back. “When that passed I was so glad for the food again.” All kinds of food, and just how willing her partner and kid were to go out and get the most random of things for her.
“When are you due?”
“It’s the worst. The nausea? Not even ginger helps.” Audrey said knowingly. Though she’d been able to find some relief in some different methods, but it was still really miserable. “Mid-September.” Audrey answered, smiling warmly. “And you? Your date is coming up quickly, isn’t it?”
“Late June, yeah. I’m just about ready for it all to be over.” Not that Emma was complaining about the pregnancy. She’d mostly enjoyed it, even the less than fun parts. She had Neal and Henry around, enjoying the whole thing with her, considering she had memories of three different pregnancies with Henry, it was good to be able to enjoy one, knowing that she’d be able to plan her life with this baby in it. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s been one hell of an adventure, but I just want to snuggle my little bundle already.”
“Oh, I remember that feeling!” Audrey grinned. Toward the end she wanted nothing more than for Ben to be born, but at the same time she knew it was healthiest and safest for both of them if he stayed in the prescribed amount of time. It was a dichotomy between wanting him OUT and wanting him IN. “I know what you mean. How’s Henry taking it all?” Audrey had talked with the kid a few times, and he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.
“God, he’s loving it.” Emma had been worried at first. The complexity within her relationship with Henry made her worry about how he’d adapt to suddenly having a sibling, and that sibling getting the life that he never did. Being adopted herself, Emma knew that there was a risky balance in bringing a new kid into the family when theirs was still building those connections.
She needn’t have worried of course, Henry’s heart was so big that he loved everything, and he was wise beyond his years, so astute in just what the circumstances were with their family. She and Neal loved him, he knew that. This wasn’t about replacing him or trying over, this was just adding to the family they were now. The fact that the kid, who was barely a teenager, understood that Emma couldn’t keep him when he was born, regardless of how much she’d wanted to, she really couldn’t have asked for more. “He’s so good, he’s there with snacks when I really need them, snuggles all the time, he felt the baby kick for the first time a few weeks ago, and god, you’d think we’d just bought him even computer console ever how happy he was.”
Henry was going to be an amazing big brother.
“That’s so sweet!” Audrey grinned warmly at the thought. Ben and his little brother or sister (Audrey was leaning toward brother, though she didn’t know why) were going to be much closer in age than Henry and his new little brother or sister. So Ben wasn’t able to do some of those things--bring snacks, help out around the house, things like that. But Audrey was in love with her little family and didn’t think twice about it.
“I love hearing stories like that. I worry that we’ll bring the baby home, and Ben will try to send him back to the hospital! ‘It’s been fun, but when does the baby go away?’” Audrey made light of it, but she was genuinely a little concerned.
“I think some second timers feel that way, especially when they’re close in age like yours.” Emma was lucky that Henry could understand it all, he was old enough to be reasoned with. Little Ben was still in the toddler stage where he craved mommy’s attention just for him. Or daddy’s. Being an only child, Emma never had to learn how to share, but Ben was going to need to.
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine, little jitters at first but he’ll adapt.” Ben seemed like a bright and fun kid too, he’d probably blossom with a little brother or sister to play with. “The good thing is when they get to the playing stage, it’ll be nice for him to have a sibling around his age to play with.” Less likely to spend days lonely or worry about making friends, right?
“All the parenting books say to give the first just as much attention as before, to prevent them from resenting the baby. And the second child won’t know the difference. That feels a little strange, but I can understand the sentiment. You know?” Audrey said.
“That’s very true! I want them to be friends with one another, and they can share friends together. It’s important for them to be interested in similar things. Sesame Street needs to still be cool for both kids.” Audrey beamed. “Because I like watching it.”
“Sesame Street is always cool.” Really, Emma wouldn’t know, she’d never really done the kids tv thing, Henry was into slightly different TV shows now, but she was half looking forward to watching dumb cartoons eventually.
“But I think you’ll know Ben, he’ll give you the cues you need and you’ll be able to gauge what’s going on with him.” Mother’s just knew, right? Emma was pretty sure that bestowing attention on Ben wouldn’t be hard.
“And I’ve got Merlin and Nina and Izzy and a bunch of other people to help me out when it comes to gauging where he’s at.” Audrey was fairly confident that she could handle it. It was scary, but she had a lot of back up.
“I should probably get back to work,” Audrey said, sighing deeply. She didn’t really want to today, she was exhausted, but she did love her job… so.
“Hey, you just remember not to over do it, if you work the way through this, you won’t get the joy out of it. And I’m sure Ben’ll enjoy the journey too. I know there’s an age difference, but there’s nothing better than seeing Henry’s face like up when he feels the baby moving around.” Besides maybe Neal’s face, the wonder and awe at feeling that and understanding it. Maybe Ben wouldn’t understand it, but he could still enjoy it, surely?
“And if you need a gab, just gimme a shout or a call, having pregnant friends has been awesome for me through this.” Complaining about the shared symptoms with Lina had been very soothing at times.
“You’re right. I should try getting his hands on my tummy as soon as I can. I want him to be involved.” Audrey hoisted herself up to her feet with a little sigh, then broke into a bright grin at the offer. “I absolutely will, Emma! And you should definitely do the same. If you need anything at all--even a salty-sweet midnight snack--you call me. Okay?”
“That sounds like a plan.” It was always good with friends that were good at and enjoyed baking. Emma felt like she won the lottery there.