Lyndon was now a month old, and it was time for Robert to head back to work. He didn’t want to go, but diapers and wipes were expensive! Luckily, Lyndon loved Wendy’s breast milk, and she was producing tonnes of it. They had enough that he could bottle feed Lyndon to let her get a rest from time to time.

The month itself had been kind of surreal. With a little baby around, sleep is fleeting, and as they adapted to a new routine, their tired minds didn’t remember much. They fell back on old instincts and were eating tonnes of food. Sometimes they couldn’t remember when they ate, or what, sometimes having three dinners in one night!

At one point Robert even made a joke, neither were sure if it was real or part of a dream, but he’d commented that given how she was eating, and lactating, she reminded him of a cow. Of course, it was said with love, so she didn’t mind.

Before Robert headed off to work, Wendy wanted him to hop up on the scale: 251 pounds. They were both taken aback. How could he have gained that much weight? He was always sleeping or changing diapers, or buying diapers, did he have that time? Was the scale broken? She hopped up on it, she was 200 pounds even. The nurse had said she’d lose weight, not gain it. Oh well. They probably were still overeating a bit. It would settle down once things settled down around the house.

To Robert being back at work was a little weird. It was nice to have some quiet time, no crying, no diapers, and no bottles. On the other hand, it felt a little empty, going over technicalities on a client’s case was hardly as rewarding as having your son reflexively grab your finger. No doubt about it, his life had changed forever. Just then his stomach announced it was empty with a gurgle. Thinking back to the scale that morning, Robert wondered how much had changed forever.

Everyone at work was a little different towards him. They were all congratulating him, of course. They all commented on how sleepy he seemed, joked about getting him a caffeine injection. But he could tell, people were looking at him with subtle double takes.

For lunch he went down to the deli and got himself his usual ‘hungry man’ combo, a large sandwich, fries and a large Coke. He came back to the lunch room to hang out with his friends, like he used to.

“So you’re done with your sympathetic pregnancy right?” one of his friends asked.

“Yeah, sure. I’ve been too tired to really notice the difference though. But you’re right, all the pains and weirdness is gone. Replaced by TOTAL EXHAUSTION” Robert joked back.

“So when are you gonna stop lookin’ pregnant?” his friend joked back.

“Well, it takes time, I can’t just lose weight like that, but it’ll be gone in a few months. You’re welcome to have my fat suits if you want ‘em!”

It wasn’t long after lunch that the munchies hit Robert again. No big deal he thought, just need to adjust to a work day. Can’t always eat whenever I want like I could the last month. But I can’t work hungry either! So he went off the vending machine to get a chocolate bar. By the end of the afternoon he’d gone back three times.

Without Robert around to help out, Wendy found taking care of Lyndon was a lot more challenging. Not impossible, but it took a lot more out of her. Lyndon had mercifully settled into a predictable rhythm at least, so Wendy knew when she could nap, do a chore or eat a meal. She found that snacking throughout the day was much easier than actually preparing a big meal, so when lunch came, she wasn’t the least bit hungry.

When Robert came home from work, she did have a full dinner awaiting him. Since she had been snacking in the afternoon, she wasn’t all that hungry for dinner either. She just sort of picked at her plate, watching Robert wolf down his first, and second helpings. When he was done, he noticed that her plate still had food on it.

“Aren’t you hungry babe?”

“No, I’ve been having snacks while Lyndon was napping, or while we were cuddling. I guess I ate more than I’d thought. We can just wrap up the leftovers, I’ll have it for lunch tomorrow,” she replied.

Robert took care of his son over the course of the evening, giving Wendy a break. Even though she was ‘taking it easy’, her mothering instinct had taken over. She was more than happy to bring Robert a drink if he asked for it, a bowl of chips if he asked for it, some cookies. In fact, Wendy was surprised how much Robert was eating. Sure, she had a few chips, and a couple of cookies herself, but he had had a large dinner, and just kept on going!

When Wendy got up that night for her second turn with Lyndon, she noticed that the bowl of chips she had been munching on was empty. She had poured it when she was up with Lyndon earlier, it was a big bowl, and she’d only eaten a few chips. Robert must’ve finished them off. She thought about getting some more, but had gotten Lyndon to settle in nicely, so she decided against it. She’d be able to eat in a few hours anyway.

Robert got up early with Lyndon and decided to make breakfast for himself and Wendy. He was feeling hungry, so he did pancakes and bacon. It had been a while since he made pancakes, he made up a bigger batch than he’d expected to, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Wendy appreciated the breakfast, enjoying the warm pancakes and sweet syrup, along with the salty bacon. She understood Robert’s problem with the portions, it takes a good eye to measure out that pancake batter. Better to have too much than not enough. Much to her surprise, there were no leftovers when Robert was ready to head off to work!

Taking Lyndon out grocery shopping turned out to be easier than Wendy had anticipated. His carrier attached right to the cart, and he either slept or looked around in wide eyed amazement. On her rounds she deliberately skipped the chip and cookie aisles. She’d had so much of those the last 9 months she was just sick of them.

Most of what she did buy was in a pretty convenient format. She still wasn’t up to making grandiose feasts. A lot of pre-made dinners made their way into her cart. She was sure she’d eventually get sick of these and begin cooking real dinners again, but right now, the time savings were vitally important to her sanity.

After getting home, unloading the groceries and getting Lyndon fed and settled, she ate lunch: the leftovers from last night. They tasted fine, and there didn’t seem to be all that much, but she was full by the time she was finished. Had she been snacking and not noticing again?

Robert: Chapter 7 (Coming Soon)