Chương 13: What Now

"What do you mean, every couple of hours?" Celestia asked, disbelief sharpening her tone.

"Why can't I just feed her enough to keep her full until you get back?"

"Because she only has a small tummy," Seraphina said, rubbing the baby's belly playfully.

"Isn't that right, little one?" Her voice turned lilting, and the child seemed to relax at the sound.

"Okay, so feed it every couple of hours," Celestia said begrudgingly.

"What else?"

"Well, as a consequence of eating, she'll have some accidoodles in her diaper that will need to be changed," Seraphina said, looking down at the baby.

"And we all know how uncomfortable those accidoodles can be, don't we, Little Miss?" Celestia's jaw dropped.

"You mean I'm going to have to clean her bottom?" she asked, disgust thick in her voice.

"Yes, Celestia, you'll have to wash the child's bottom. We don't want her to get a rash," Seraphina directed.

"How often will I need to do that?" she asked, her nose wrinkling at the thought.

"As necessary. She goes. You change her. It's pretty straightforward," Seraphina answered, watching Celestia's baffled expression with a frown.

"Would you want to sit around in your own filth?"

"So, I will have to give her a bath every time she goes?" Celestia asked.

"That's a little much, don't you think?" she added, a tinge of sarcasm peppering her voice.

"No, Celestia, you don't need to give her a full bath. Just the diaper and diaper area need to be cleaned after an accidoodle. She would only require a full bath if she had a blowout accidoodle. Then she will need…"

"A blowout accidoodle? How will I know if she has one of those?" Celestia asked, her voice rife with confusion.

"Oh, trust me you'll know!" Seraphina exclaimed, trying not to laugh at Celestia's expression.

"Here is a good way to know. If it has poop on it then it needs to be washed. If it is in the diaper area, then just the diaper area gets cleaned. If it is running down her legs, up her back, in her hair, then you are better off giving her a bath." Celestia turned to her horrified. She turned to the baby, then back to Seraphina.

"How can enough poop come out of something that small? You're teasing me again, aren't you?" Celestia asked, a relieved smile coming to her lips.

"Celestia, I would never make a joke out of something like that. You need to be prepared. It would be wrong of me not to tell you it could happen. It doesn't mean it will, it just means it could. If it did happen, I wouldn't want you to panic thinking something was wrong. Like the baby was exploding or sick." The young fairy gulped hard before choking out a soft, "Okay."

"It'll all be fine, Celestia. You will figure it out as you go. I am sure she will need a change before I leave, especially after she eats," Seraphina said reassuringly.

"I will show you what to do and where everything is before I leave."

"That doesn't seem all that difficult," Celestia said, taking the bottle out of the pan and walking to the table.

"Fundamentally, you're right," Seraphina said, looking down at the baby who had dozed off.

"It's just demanding at times, not to mention exhausting," she added, giving Celestia a wry smile. Celestia looked at Seraphina, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, at your age, I can see how you could get exhausted far more easily," she said matter-of-factly.

"There is nothing about this that seems incredibly taxing. Gross, yes, but taxing, not so much." With that, Seraphina looked up to Celestia and cocked her head to the side.

"At my age?" she asked, annoyed at the girl's comments. She did not just call me old. This little imp has no clue, she thought, inhaling deeply before sighing loudly. Celestia looked at Seraphina blankly.

"Well, yes, I mean, don't get me wrong, you look great for a woman of your age."

"I mean no disrespect. It's just that the older you get the more difficult things become. I'm sure someone my age would have no problem mustering up the energy to change diapers and feed an infant." Oh, my dear sweet, clueless Celestia, Seraphina thought as she stood up. Indignation tightened her spine while she chewed on the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from saying something she could not take back. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

It's not worth it. Don't bite Seraphina. She will see firsthand. You cannot argue with stupidity or youth, and she is showing the best of both. Celestia, seeing Seraphina's obvious annoyance, did her best to backpedal, "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just pointing out…"

"I know, Celestia. Forget it. We have far more pressing matters to address than our age differences." She took in a deep cleansing breath, then turned to her and put on the best fake smile she could muster. Celestia looked at the bundle in Seraphina's arms, then at the bottle sitting in front of her on the table. She continued to look between the bottle and the baby as if it would magically do something. Seraphina looked at the seemingly clueless fairy, who continued to do absolutely nothing.

"Well?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, what?" Celestia replied, her tone flat, her face blank.

"Did you shake it up and then test the temperature?" Seraphina asked, shaking her head.

"No," she replied, picking up the bottle and giving it a vigorous shake.

"The bottle feels warm, so I think it's fine." Seraphina sat back down with a weary exhale, realizing that this was destined to take far longer than she anticipated or desired.

"You check it by dropping a few drops on your inner wrist, similar to what I did when I checked the bath water." Celestia shrugged, then did as instructed.

"I don't feel anything," she said, doing it again.

"You can stop," Seraphina said, doing her best to rein in her frustration.

"If you couldn't feel a temperature difference, that means it is body temperature and it's perfect." She smiled wearily at the girl.

"Okay, what now?" Celestia asked, placing the bottle on the table's edge, putting it close to Seraphina and the baby.

"Now she needs to eat," Seraphina replied, shaking her head.

"If she's hungry, she should take it," Celestia said, matter-of-factly, looking perplexed.

"I mean, it's right there." She rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Little Miss, it's right here." Celestia coaxed, picking the bottle up and placing it near the baby. Little Miss looked from the bottle to Seraphina, who seemed just as confused. Seraphina snatched the bottle and rubbed the nipple gently on the baby's lips.

"Celestia, she can't hold the bottle, you must hold it for her. You honestly didn't think she was going to just take it off the table now did you?"

"Well, yeah, I mean it's not like it's…" Seraphina sighed loudly, cutting Celestia off.

"Well now you know, you must do everything for an infant. She can't talk, she can't walk, she can't take a bottle off the table and feed herself. This is not lack of child experience so much as it is becoming a lack of common sense," she snapped. Celestia looked at Seraphina coldly.

"I'm sorry, but I am not a baby expert like you! I am trying…"

"I'm sorry, Celestia, that was uncalled for. I am just a little pressed for time and very overwhelmed at the moment. That was my frustration talking, you're doing fine. Everybody learns in their own way and in their own time, but I need you to be able to handle the basics before I leave her alone with you." Small drops of formula dripped out of the bottle, causing the baby's tongue to dart out of her mouth. Suddenly, instinct took over and the infant latched on to the bottle hungrily.

"There you go, little one. That's yummy for your tummy, now isn't it?" Seraphina asked, her voice soft and lilting. Celestia watched the infant hungrily devour the bottle. The baby's eyes began to flutter closed, but her mouth continued to move.

"Is she eating and sleeping at the same time?" she asked, her voice thick with wonder, her eyes wide with disbelief. Suddenly, the baby stopped sucking the bottle and began to whimper. Celestia's eyes sharply focused on Seraphina, before casting her eyes down at the baby. As if on cue, an ear-piercing wail burst forth. With that, Seraphina lifted the baby up onto her shoulder and began to pat the child's back. Celestia stood up from the chair, her face filled with horror. She lunged for the infant.

"Seraphina, stop beating that child! Give her to me. I know you're frustrated and that the noise it makes is terrible, but beating her like that won't make her stop!" Seraphina looked up at the girl, taken by complete surprise.

"Beating her?" she asked, confused.

"I'm not…" she began, as the infant let out a large belch then stopped crying. Seraphina grinned satisfactorily at the baby.

"I'm not beating her, I'm burping her." She took the baby off her shoulder and cradled her. The infant blinked in blissful satisfaction, the gas pain subsiding.

"That feels better now, doesn't it?" Seraphina cooed.

"Do you have any more bubbles in your tummy?" she asked, placing the baby on her shoulder and patting her back. Celestia sat back down, her face flushing with embarrassment at her overreaction.

"I'm sorry, I thought…" She broke off. Seraphina continued to rub the child's back, doing her best not to smirk at Celestia's obvious discomfort at the misunderstanding.

"Your protective streak is commendable, but I think you may need to gain a better sense of childcare before jumping to conclusions."

"I'm so sorry, Seraphina, I…"

"Celestia, I would rather have you intervene if you feel the child is in danger than simply ignore it." Seraphina waved her off, taking the soundly sleeping infant off her shoulder and cradling her in the crook of her arm.

"The matter is forgotten."

"Now that Little Miss is changed and fed, we have a number of things to go over before I head back to the office." Celestia, with dread in her eyes, asked, "Things like what? Hang on a second, do you have a pen and paper so I can write this down? I want to make sure I am prepared." Seraphina motioned to the counter.

"Perfect!" Celestia replied, picking up the pad and pen and flipping it to a fresh page. She rejoined Seraphina at the table, pen at the ready.

"Go ahead." She nodded and smiled. Seraphina spent the next hour going over the basics of infant care. Celestia took notes on how to handle each situation as it occurred. By the time Seraphina was finished, Celestia was looking quite confident in her ability to care for the infant in her absence. Seraphina looked at Celestia, who was now holding the sleeping baby. I hope I am doing the right thing here. Maybe I should call Amara to help her? She looked at the clock. No, no time for that.

Please Janus, don't let her do something stupid while I'm gone!