WELCOME TO MOTHERHOOD
1766 Words
“Are you sure you and Ritsu will be fine?”
“Of course. No worries. You are only next door.”
“Still, Reina. I don’t think you are in good condition to care for the baby right now. You’ve only rest for three days. If you call that rest when you need to breastfeed him from time to time.”
“Mitsuei. Nothing is going to happen here. And I have rested enough. I swear.”
“I should probably take another day off. Kiyoko can manage ---,”
“Mitsuei. You know how they badly needed help in the lodge. Please, take care of the business. And if something is wrong, I will tell you right away.”
Mitsuei lets out a sigh. He didn't want to leave the house as much as he wanted to. He doesn't think it's a good idea to leave Reina alone with the infant.
Not only does she still look frail, but she lacks sleep. She barely has enough time to have a good night's sleep. Whenever Ritsu is awake, she also stays up even if he volunteers to look after the baby. It was like she would feel restless unless she personally takes care of the baby.
That is what he is concerned about. He would appreciate it if she would remember to take care of herself as well.
“Alright. Alright. I get it,” Mitsuei raises his hands in surrender. He didn't want to get into a conflict with Reina, and he knew she won't back down easily.
“Good. Because Hanneau needs you, too.”
“But as soon as you need help, you better let me know. Is that clear?”
“Yes, yes. I know. I am not a child, Mitsuei.”
“I know but you tend to be so stubborn at times.”
“Urgh! Enough about that and go now. The lodge is erupting with guests so you better hurry.”
“Fine. I’m going now.”
“Alright, take care.”
Reina heaves a sigh when Mitsuei finally left. Since yesterday, Hanneau has received countless guests wanting to bathe in the hot spring. When the weather finally cleared, several citizens were already asking when they will re-open.
Unfortunately, it took everyone for two whole days to clean up the lodge, especially the main attraction, which is their hot spring. It would be a shame not to let Mitsuei continue his business only because she had a baby. It would be terrible to let the lodge close any more than necessary. Worse that could happen is that they could lose clients.
After sending Mitsuei off for work, Reina resumes her duties back to her son.
Ritsu had fallen asleep around three o'clock in the morning and hadn't been able to get up in a while. Reina could at least have a few moments of calm from this, which is actually a good thing for Reina.
She barely had sleep or food. She didn’t have any appetite for anything. All she could think about was the baby and how to handle him.
“Oh, how peaceful you look. I never expected such an angle would turn into a beast when hungry or uneasy,” Reina chuckles as she runs the tip of her finger against Ritsu’s cheeks.
Ritsu has been giving her challenges throughout the pregnancy until birth. And he probably would still give her headaches even until he becomes an adult.
“But you seem to love Mitsuei more than you do to me.”
Reina yawns as she whispers those words to her baby. Ritsu seems to favor Mitsuei more over her. He always appears calm whenever Mitsuei carries him around. Or whenever Ritsu cries, as soon as Mitsuei picks him up, he would gradually become silent.
Unlike in her presence, Ritsu is constantly uneasy. The whole time, he would wail. Even if she's feeding him, he'll whine. The man wouldn't let her go to bed. Take a break if you can. She cannot sleep or eat when it is finally time for her to relax. She only wants to sit in one area and think about what she's doing.
Seeing herself right now makes her think that motherhood doesn’t fit her. She is failing miserably.
And she thought she had the slight advantage because she took care of Miki on a few occasions when she was a baby. But look where that confidence and little knowledge got her.
Nothing.
“Mama is pretty tired right now, Ritsu. You won’t mind me having a short nap, do you?”
Reina rests her head against the wall next to the crib. The crib which Mitsuei personally made from scratch. He was excited to use it, and thank goodness it fitted right into his room.
She cannot return yet to her room, considering her mother still prefers to stay with her until she settles. Helen left shortly to help in Haran. The snowstorm did quite a damage, and people in Haran gathered up to help one another.
After ensuring that everything was fine at home, Helen promised to return by tomorrow. She didn't want to leave Reina for a long period of time because she needed to rest and eat well after giving birth.
Despite Mitsuei being too supportive, Helen couldn’t trust a man to know the right thing to do when talking about a woman and a mother. So to appease her own restlessness, she decided to stay longer in the Sou estate.
Reina finally falls asleep after just a few minutes of closing her eyes and finding some calm.
However, it didn’t take long for Ritsu to finally wake up. And as soon as he opens his dark brown eyes, he starts crying again.
Reina leaps out of her seat in a reflexive move. However, her head started spinning and aching as soon as she did. When she wakes up from a slumber, she tends to be like this. And it wasn't until Ritsu was born that it began to happen.
“Okay, okay. I’m up. I’m up.”
As she struggles to retrieve her wits, Reina leans against the wall. When she quickly stood up, she felt she was about to tumble to the ground. It's a good thing she's not far from the wall. She had something to grasp onto at the very least.
“What seems to be the problem now, my little one?” Reina chants as she slowly carries Ritsu off his crib.
She holds him close to her chest and dances around to a soft hum. She wants to distract the boy because he has done nothing but bend his body backward. She is afraid that whatever he is doing might eventually hurt him.
“No, Ritsu. Stop that or you might hurt yourself.”
Reina puts her left hand under Ritsu’s neck while the other surrounds him tightly, preventing him from falling.
“Are you hungry, little one?” Reina mutters, talking like a baby towards her newborn son.
She walks on the corner of the bed, hopefully, to settle Ritsu so she can feed him.
However, Ritsu proves to be tough to handle. He continuously moves around even when Reina does her best in comforting him.
“Come on, Ritsu. Enough with the tears, sweetheart,” Reina whispers as she readies herself to feed her baby.
Despite her efforts, Ritsu only takes a few sips, but he eventually spits the milk. Reina immediately puts him in a sitting position to avoid further damage to his nose or lungs.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Ritsu.”
Reina panics as Ritsu coughs up the milk that he had drunk. She places him against her shoulders, caressing his back, hoping that this would ease the pain and discomfort.
“I’m sorry, Ritsu. Please don’t cry,” Reina pleads repeatedly.
She doesn’t know what to do. Her mind is clouded by all her worries plus the stress and exhaustion that has been eating her alive. She badly needed a rest. Yet it comes rarely for her in the past few days. No, months actually since her belly got more evident.
“Mrs. Sou? Are you alright?”
Reina flinches, turning her head to the person who decided to invite them in.
“Rio?”
“Mr. Sou told me to come. If you need some help, I’ll be glad to oblige.”
Rio reluctantly peeks through the open bedroom door. The missus seems too startled to react right away. Or perhaps she was too tired to respond?
Or is she relieved?
“Rio.” Reina chuckles when she regained her composure. She continues to swing Ritsu to pacify him. “I almost didn’t notice you there.”
“Yes, I’m sorry if I startled you,” Rio mumbles as she slowly walks into the bedroom. “Are you alright, Mrs. Sou?”
“I apologize, Rio. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.”
Reina bits her lip while looking at Rio. She looks troubled and confused. As if she was trying to figure out her course of action.
“It is alright, Mrs. Sou. Do you need me to get you anything? Water perhaps? I also brought some food that Akari prepared for you.”
“Umm…. I think that has to wait. Ritsu has been uneasy since he woke up a while ago.”
“I see.” Rio approaches Reina, trying to see how she can help. “Is something wrong with him?”
“I don’t know. I already fed him, but I guess he was already full.”
Rio examines the baby, looking for what could be a bruise or scratch. Along the way, she also whispers soothing words to help the baby calm down. Then she notices something.
Rio sniffs the surrounding air and picks on something odd.
“Perhaps you need to change his nappy, Mrs. Sou. I kind of smells bad,” Rio suggests, squinting her nose as she smells the baby’s bum.
“Really? I didn’t notice that,” Reina answers with visible frustration.
“Once we change his nappy, then he would probably stop crying.”
Rio takes Ritsu from Reina and lays him flat on the bed. Reina takes the extra cloth on the drawers, hands it to Rio to clean the baby.
Rio seems right, considering the smell that had enveloped them the moment she opens the nappy.
Reina only keeps watching as he follows Rio’s every movement. She feels disappointed in herself.
Why did she not think of that?
- Writer
