“Welcome home,” I heard someone say. I was so overwhelmed to see a welcome home party that I couldn’t recognize the voice. Though my parents and in-laws were at the hospital the day of Conner’s birth, it was nice to see them again. After we had lunch, we gathered in the family room.

“Becky, I would have understood if you couldn’t come,” I said. It had been a month since she gave birth.

“We only drove a few blocks. And plus, I had to come see you and Conner. He’s such a great looking baby.”

“Of course he is,” Max said proudly with a curve of his lips. “He’s got mine and Jenna’s genes.”

Everyone laughed at his humor. “I’m glad you’re here. And Addison looks a little bit bigger.” Addison was dressed in an adorable pink dress with a pink bow in her hair. I couldn’t help but stare at her delicate facial features. Her tiny fingers were wrapped around Becky’s pinky. It was the sweetest thing to see. It was difficult to tell who she looked like, but for sure she had the same color eyes as Matthew’s.

“She grew an inch in one month,” Matthew informed us proudly.

“They grow up so fast, especially the first year,” Ellen said, admiring Addison. “Anyway, want some coffee or tea?”

“I’ll help you,” my mom insisted. After they took orders, they left the room.

“Ellen is right. They do grow up too fast,” Kate said, gazing at her daughter. Kristen had turned three recently. What a difference a year made. Her hair was longer and she acted a little bit more mature than the last time I had seen her. She sat quietly between Kate and her dad with an IPad.

“Not only that, they are technologically advanced, too,” Robert commented, observing Kristen.

“They are learning things a lot faster these days,” Dad added. “I see junior high school kids with cell phones. Jenna didn’t have one until she was in college.”

“I’m sure there are other things kids these day are advanced from. I don’t even want to think about it,” Robert added.

Nicole leaned over my shoulder. “Connor is so adorable. Look at that face. He’s going to break some hearts. It will be cool if I have a boy. Then at least when we have a play date, one won’t get left out.”

“Well, even if you don’t there might be another chance,” Kate threw in.

All eyes flew to her. “Are you?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m pregnant with our second.” Kate’s lips pulled back so big that I could see so much happiness in her smile. “I didn’t tell you, but we had been trying for a year. And it finally happened.”

“Congratulations,” we all said.

Conner started turning his head while his lips were searching to latch onto something. “It’s feeding time,” I announced. I was saying it more for me, but the men started to clear out as if the room was on fire. I had to laugh at that. Max left and came back with the nursing pillow that helped support Conner during feeding. He also placed a cushion behind my back, then left.

As I unbuttoned my shirt, I could feel Conner squirming under my arms. His little mouth started to tremble and his facial muscles twitched. A hungry cry was soon heard.

I pushed my nipple into his mouth just as it opened. “There you go.” Milk gushed not only from where he drank, but from the other breast as well. A sensation shot through me and I could feel it dripping. Thank God for my pad, which would stop it from leaking out.

“Will you look at that?” Becky said. “He’s a great drinker. Addison was a bit stubborn at the beginning.”

“Hmm, I wonder who she takes after,” Nicole teased.

“What?” Becky exclaimed, laughing. “I’m not stubborn...sometimes.”

“Both of you are lucky. I had a difficult time feeding Kristen. She had a hard time latching on. It also took me some time to produce milk. Wait till your ni**les get sore. I hated that part.”

“My ni**les are already sore,” Becky sighed.

I had read about the possible difficulties of producing milk and babies having a hard time latching onto the nipple. Little things like that made me feel so grateful. Suddenly, a loud sound erupted.

“Oh my God,” Nicole squealed. “Was that from Connor or from you, Jenna?”

The four of us started to laugh. “It’s not me.” I couldn’t stop laughing, but I had to remain still. Conner was still drinking. When he drained one side, I patted him on the back, then switched him over to the other breast. The bulge from his diaper indicated he’d let out a big dump.

“Well, he’s a boy for sure,” Becky murmured, sniffing Addison. “I think I need to change her diaper, too.”

“Jenna must have eaten a lot of beans. Connor sure smells like it,” Kate joked, placing Kristen on her lap.

“Great, this is what I have to look forward to,” Nicole laughed, laying the diaper mat for Becky.

Becky started to change Addison’s diaper when she looked up. “This is silly, but did you think the same as me? I thought when I delivered Addison that I would get my body back. I mean, I knew it wouldn’t be back to the way it was right after I delivered her, but what the hell...I still looked pregnant.”

“I did, Becky,” Kate said. “I delivered naturally. You think all that stuff would come out of your body after you deliver and your stomach would be flat.”

“Let me help you. This is good practice for me.” Nicole pushed Becky aside and finished changing Addison’s diaper. “It’s God’s way of making sure you don’t get pregnant right away. I mean, let’s face it. I sure wouldn’t want sex if I still had the muffin tops. I’m going to assume you haven’t in months.”