Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 11:03:30 -0700 (PDT) From: "Griffin, LD" Subject: A Baby Story Chapter 5 A Baby Story (5/8) by: LD Griffin Disclaimer: COMPLETE FICTION. This has been completely concocted in the far-most corners of my mind. Pairing: JC/Justin Rating: G to some slight NC-17 Feedback: Please! This is a trial story, so I really need to know if you all like it or not. Sleepychick101@yahoo.com Author's Notes: This story is for Viv, and this chapter is dedicated to everyone who has sent me feedback. Your comments have kept me writing this story, and I hope you all are enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. All the products in this chapter are real baby stuff. I found them at www.babiesrus.com, www.gracobaby.com, www.gerber.com, www.johnsonsbaby.com, www.target.com, www.tiffanys.com, www.walmart.com, www.gap.com, and www.shermanwilliams.com. The price totals are all based on the different prices from each of the different locations. I do not know if they actually sell all the items I have listed that JC and Justin bought at Saks Fifth Avenue at Saks, though I do believe Saks has a very extensive baby department. Okay, now on with the story. Justin's POV: That first day with you will forever be engraved into the utmost depths of my heart. You slept in the bed with us that first night, since all we had for you was the change of clothes you had on, the baby carrier they gave us that Josh had worn before he carried you in his arms up the stairs to the apartment, and their makeshift diaper bag containing a can of formula, a bottle, and three diapers. You slept all through the night too, the one and only night you would do that until you were 17 months old. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josh awoke abruptly in the bed, the tender screams of a baby flooding his eardrum. "What, what is it Vivian?" Josh asked, turning towards her and bringing her up to his face. Vivian wailed, tears flowing out of her brown eyes. "Are you hungry?" Josh questioned, looking into her orbs. Justin looked up from his side of the bed as the screaming brought him from sleep also. "What's wrong? What time is it?" "It's time to get up. She's hungry, and we don't really have anything for her. I think we might have one bottle's amount left. Then we need to get an early start on the shopping." "Okay. Well, I'll go get the formula ready; you go get dressed." Justin stood up and quickly made his way to the kitchen. Seeing the open can of formula on the counter, he walked over and grabbed a new liner for the bottle. After pouring the drink into the container, he placed it into the microwave. The ding of the timer prompted him to open the door, screw on the nipple, and test it on his wrist. Satisfied, he grabbed a dish towel and walked back into the bedroom to find Vivian laying on her back on their bed and Josh rummaging through their closet for clothes. "Got it." Justin said, picking Vivian up and cradling her in his arms. "You hungry princess?" Justin asked, holding the bottle's nipple slightly away from her mouth. Vivian opened her mouth in response, prompting Justin to let her drink. Josh turned around in time to see the tiny child drinking the formula gently, the suction noise from her lips filling the room. Smiling at Justin, he finished pulling up his jeans and made his way towards the bed. "She was definitely hungry." Justin began, motioning with his eyes towards the almost completely empty bottle. "Yes, that she was." Vivian removed her mouth from the bottle, and let out a little yawn. "Here, I'll take her. You go get dressed." Josh stated, picking up the towel from Justin and throwing it over his shoulder and then leaning down and gathering Vivian against him. "Okay." Josh paced around the room, rubbing her back gently. Soon, she started to cry a little bit and Josh began to slightly pat on her back, eventually causing the child to let out a burp. The crying ceased and she curled up against Josh's shoulder. "I'm going to go get strapped into that carrier contraption thing. Meet me downstairs as soon as you're done." Josh said, trudging towards the door; Vivian wrapped in his arms. Placing Vivian down in her blanket on the counter, Josh hooked himself into the carrier, fastening the straps across his shoulder, then hoisted her in. Justin entered the room, and beamed at the sight. Josh stood against the island with the child bundled across his chest, his lips grazing her tender forehead. "Ready to go?" "Yep." "Do we have a bottle and some extra diapers?" "Yeah." Josh answered, as he handed the plastic bag to Justin. "Vamanos." Justin opened their front door and held it open for Josh, closing it behind him, and the three began to trudge down the stairs. "So where first?" "Well, let's start with the stuff that has to be delivered. Saks?" "Sounds good to me." Josh answered, leaning over and gently kissing Justin's cheek before repeating the process to Vivian. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "My god, look at this baby department." Josh stated, in awe. "Looks like we came to the right place. Now, Josh, I want you try to be good today. I know how frugal you are and well, shopping for a baby is not inexpensive. So, it might be a bit costly, and we need everything there is to possibly need for her." Justin said, staring at his husband sternly. "I know, I'll try not to say anything." "Okay, good." Justin answered, leaning over and pecking Josh on the lips. A woman clerk moved towards them, her navy skirt and scarf fluttering a bit in her movements. "What a gorgeous baby you have there. I'm Christine and if there's anything I can do for the two of you, please let me know." "Well, actually, we're new at baby shopping, and we need one of everything that a baby requires. I know that sounds strange, but we just got to bring our daughter Vivian home yesterday, and don`t have anything." Christine's eyes sparkled at Justin's comment, her lips pursing gleefully. "You definitely came to the right place, sir. Do you have a price range limit?" "Well, within reason, but we will pay for quality." Justin stated, looking over at Josh who held his tongue with slight hesitation. Christine's eyes enlarged even more at this statement. "That is good, quality does not come cheap. Well, is there a place you would like to begin?" "Could we start with the stroller?" "Of course, right this way." Christine answered, leading them to an area of the showroom covered in baby transportation devices. "Justin, look at all of those strollers." Josh said, adjusting the straps of the carrier. "I know." "Most of our customers have found that they have needed a very study stroller. Our travel systems are the best sellers. They come with the car seat for the newborns and their matching top of the line diaper bag, that has a portable changing pad included. The car seat fits right into the stroller, then when the child has gotten bigger does not have to be used. It's the easiest way to go from car to stroller without having to wake or move the child. The best one we have right now is the TravelMate LX by Graco which comes with the SnugRide infant car seat. It's very safe and the features it carries are never ending. Graco is also a very trusted company, and more than likely you all used Graco strollers when you were infants." "What do you think Justin? I do like the handling it has on it, and the move ability of the car seat sounds like a much needed convenience." "I think it sounds great. We'll take it." "Fabulous, the next nearest section is the nursery furniture." Christine stated, as she made a not on a pad, and directed them to the next station. "Great." Justin said, as he and Josh began to follow Christine towards the display of cribs. "Now, do you all have any idea what sort of look you want for your nursery?" "Um, well, we had been thinking white furniture, if that is possible." Josh stated, moving a stray strand of hair from his eyes. "Wonderful choice. Our best selling nursery furniture set is Jenny Lind. Everything coordinates, and especially the cribs and changing tables, are extremely safe for the baby. The Jenny Lind white crib is not only classy it's very sturdy and extremely safe. The side latches in three places from the outside, to make sure it does not come down and also can not be opened from the inside." "Ohh, Justin, I like that." "So do I. That works well." "The rest of the furniture matches the style, and coordinates with any room shape and most every type of decoration." Christine said, pointing at the matching changing table and dresser. "I like the look altogether Justin. I think this furniture suits the room perfectly." "Okay, honey. We'll take the whole set." "Good choice gentleman." Christine said, again noting something on her notepad. Josh stared at a display on the other side of the cribs. "Justin, honey, I like that rocker." "Which one?" Justin asked, turning towards his husband. "That one, with the ottoman. It looks so comfortable." Josh answered, pointing to the chair. "It is, go try it. That`s the best rocker we have." Christine said to the two. Josh walked haphazardly over to the rocker and sat down, putting his feet up on the footstool. "Baby, we are getting this. I have never sat in something so comfortable. It's all patted and definitely nice for feeding." "Okay baby. We'll take the rocker and ottoman too." "Great." Christine said, adding it to her list. "Now, as for the other things you all are going to need in the nursery. You will need a hamper and a diaper pail as far as big things go, along with a changing pad, the changing pad cover, the crib mattress, the crib mattress pad, and sheets of course. Those can be found over here." Justin looked in the direction she was pointing to see sets of crib mattresses set out all over the floor. "Let's start at the crib mattress. Our best selling mattress is the Sealy Baby Posturepedic Crown Jewel Crib Mattress. Now, keep in mind this is the best, and a lot of the time we get many people who wonder why a baby should need a posturepedic mattress. Well, they need them just as much as you do. This mattress is distinctly designed to comfort and support the baby, and in studies, has proven that babies who sleep on this mattress sleep more soundly than those who don't, with less night awakenings. Now, they won't completely disappear, but one or two less is still a blessing." "I don't know Justin, it's awfully pricey. And I mean, I sure didn't have a Sealy mattress at five months old and look how I turned out." "Well, I don't know if they had these back then Josh. Plus, we don't want Vivian to have back trouble later in her life, what if this mattress could help prevent that?" "I just don't know..." "Please Josh, I think it seems really great." "Well, okay.." "Great. We'll take it." "Divine. Now, as for the mattress pad, the best one we have is the UltraSoft Quilted Crib Mattress Pad. It's very soft on the child, and fits this mattress perfectly." "Sounds great, we'll take that too." Justin added to her statement. "Great. Now, as far as the changing pad goes, I suggest the Simmons Contoured Changing pad. Its quite inexpensive actually for the quality you get, and it fits all types of changing tables." "That too please, don't you think Josh?" "Yeah, that works." Josh answered, shifting the sleeping Vivian in the carrier. "So, now I guess you all still need the hamper and the diaper pail. Over here we have the Wide Opening Diaper Genie. It is the most sanitary and oderless pail we have. It uses completely bio-degradable bags and is very easy to use." "Sure why not. And can we have some of the refills as well?" "Of course." Christine answered, jotting the items down on the pad. "As far as the hamper goes, Redmon makes a clothes hamper that fits extremely well with the Jenny Lind furniture. It's very basic." "I like it. Very simple." Josh commented, motioning to Justin. "Great, add that also." Justin finished, as they once again began to move to a different area of the store. . "Now, this is not something everyone gets but I highly suggest it. A nursery sanitizer comes in handy quite often. They're very affordable and can hold many things in them at once." Christine said, pointing to a machine sitting on a shelf. "Sound good Josh? You've always been a clean freak." "Yes, definitely add that." "This is the only other thing I highly suggest. A baby wipes warmer is very useful now a days. I know you all never had one, since they only came out in the last few years, but they are finding to be greatly affective in the process of diapering. It's not technically a necessity, but I personally find it to be one." "I heard about these. I think we should add that too." "Great. Well, the only last major thing you don't have yet is a high chair. And, from your previous selections, I think I have just the one for you." Christine said, walking towards a display of highchairs. "This one is perfect for you all. The Double-Tray Infant-to-Youth highchair. It is adjustable, so as your child gets over it can be used. It is also completely foldable and can easily be set out of the way. The design of the chair is easily adjusted to fit each different age child in the actual seat, and because of the slim design, fits tightly up against any table." "It looks great, what do you think Josh?" "Yeah, sure whatever." "Magnificent. Now, the next place I think I'll direct you is to our nursery design center." Christine started, picking up her feet again. Josh quirked his neck in a "come over" direction. "Can you give us just a second?" "Of course." Christine said, stopping, and beginning to add up some figures on the pad. "What is it Josh?" "She's handled the major stuff, I think we can take it from here." "You sure?" "Yeah. We're about to go into the play things, and I get a feeling she might try to convince us to buy things we really don't need." "Josh..." Justin began. "Justin, please. I think we can handle it from now on." "Okay." Justin answered, walking back over to Christine. "I think we're going to go look through the toys department now. You have been very helpful. Where should we meet you to purchase all the items once we're done?" "I'll be right over there at that counter, and be sure to call me if you do need my help." Christine retorted, slightly disturbed. "Of course, thank you so much for your help. We'll see you in a little while." Justin stated, then turned on his heels and headed with Josh and Vivian towards the play items. Spotting all the baby swings on the left, he stopped. "Josh, she needs a swing." "Good point. Well, what do the descriptions say?" "Well, the best priced on is by Graco." "Oh, I like the sound of that. What is it called?" "It's the Open Top Six Speed Swing. It has fifteen tunes, four rocking speeds for infants, a detachable snack tray with cup holders and attachable toys, and , I think my favorite feature listed, a volume control. I say we get this one!" "A volume control? You have my vote on that area, how does the safety look and comfort?" "Well, it's got a five-point harness and it's made of the nicest fabrics." "Okay, that sounds good. How much?" "Ninety-nine, ninety-nine." "That's sort of expensive isn't it?" "Well, it's the cheapest of the ones they have here." "I just don't know Justin, I mean everything is so expensive. I hadn't really planned on maxing out our credit cards." "Josh, we knew coming into this it wasn't going to be cheap. I know this is more money than you expected to spend, but we can afford the top of the line stuff, and I really don't want to settle for less." "Okay, fine. I give up." Josh said, chuckling. "The last big and expensive play item we need to get is a playpen." "That one looks nice." Josh answered, pointing to a brightly colored playard to the right. Justin walked over to it and read the description. "This one's great Josh. It's called the Tot Block Pack `n Play made by Graco, just like everything else we seem to have gotten. It has toys built in and is portable." "Great, we'll take it." Justin dragged the playpen and the swing over to the counter where Christine said she would be. "Just dropping these off. There'll be more." "Okay, great." Christine smiled, adding in the items to the register. Walking back over to Josh, Justin spotted all of the toys. "Josh, come here. Look at these. We need a lot of these." Justin said, grabbing the Fisher-Price 1-2-3 Sparking Symphony Gym, Compose `n Play Orchestra, Kick `n Crawl Playhouse, and Magic Touch Easel. "Justin, don't you think that's going a bit overboard?" "No, we want our child to be smart don't we. Well, let's start training her brain now." "Okay...ooh, look at this." Josh said, holding up the Symphony Animal Mobile. "That's adorable, and will go perfectly with the crib." "I think so too." Josh placed the mobile under his left shoulder and continued to move through the toys, picking up a box of the Sassy Toy Gift Set and an Octotunes. "I think that does it for toys. All we need now are dishes, blankets, bottles, towels, hangers, and the room decor." "I'll go get the towels, blankets, and dishes, and hangers. You go start picking out the room decor." Justin stated, moving towards the section labeled "Kitchen and Bath for Baby". Josh made his way to the nursery design center and started looking through their complete package deals. Seeing a pattern that had moons and stars, he picked it up and read over what it included. `Includes nightlight, rug, decorative pillow, wood lamp, wall-hanging, wall shelf, diaper stacker, 5-piece crib set, valance, picture frame, and wall-border.' Justin came up behind Josh, with the items tucked in the baby bath he had also discovered. "I remembered we'd need a baby bath, so I picked that up along with the a bottle set, 4 different knit blankets, an 8-piece table wear set, the terry cloth baby towels, the washcloths, and the set of 40 different hangers for clothes." "Sounds great, what do you think of this? It's a complete room design kit, includes everything from the nightlight to the wall-border." "I like the pattern. It's very relaxing." "I thought so too. Great, we'll get that too. Can you read me the item number up there?" "Sure, it's 9865." "Thanks baby. Well, are you ready to check out?" "Yeah. Only two more stores to hit." Josh answered, taking Justin's hand in his. Walking with their items over to the counter, they smiled at each other. Shopping hadn't been too bad, tiring, but not too bad. It was still only 1:40 though, and they still had to hit the grocery store and Baby Gap. Justin placed his items down on the counter and told Christine the set they had picked out in the decor center. "Is there a way to get everything delivered?" "Of course, just sign here. It'll be delivered around 5:00 this evening, is that okay?" "Sure." Justin answered, looking over at Josh for approval and noticing the nodding head in agreement. Christine ran everything through the scanner and hit the equals button on her cash register. "And your total today comes to $4,314.29." Josh's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the floor with Vivian attached to his chest. Justin rushed to his side to see if they were alright. Vivian started to wail from the fall, her screams becoming higher pitched as Justin tried to get Josh to regain consciousness. "Josh, baby, come on. Wake up...come on." Justin spat as slapped his husband's cheeks. "Huh, what...?" Josh asked, groggily looking up at Justin, who was hunched over him. "You fainted, when you heard the total of the items." "I did?" "Yes, you did. Come on sweetie. Get up." Justin said, extending his hand to Josh. Josh awkwardly got to his feet, clutching Vivian to his chest with his left hand and gripping Justin`s hand with his right. "I'm sorry." Josh whispered. "It's okay, I'm just glad to see you both are alright. You gave me quite a scare there, with Vivian attached to your chest." Justin answered, then turned back around to Christine and handed her his credit card. She swiped it through the machine and handed it back to him. "Thanks very much for shopping with us. We truly appreciate your business, and please come back soon." "Thanks, we will probably be back in a month or two. We really appreciated it Christine." "Anytime." Justin put his hand on Josh's lower back and led him and Vivian out of the store. Once out on the street, he turned to Josh and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I think you should go home and rest for a little bit. I can handle getting the food and clothes by myself. I know what you like. Then, this evening, we can move the office upstairs and put up the border and assemble everything in the new nursery. Sound good?" "Yeah, I guess so. Vivian needs to be put down for a nap anyway. You be safe okay." "Of course I will. I love you." Justin smiled, beginning to hail a cab. "I love you too." Josh answered as a cab pulled up at the curb. "I'll see in you in a couple hours. Be careful." Justin said, pecking Josh on the lips before Josh opening the cab door. "Okay. Bye." Josh retorted, getting in, grasping Vivian tight to him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The sound of the door opening and the rustling of shopping bags caused JC to look up. "Hey you." Justin started, coming into the den. "Hi, baby. You just missed the delivery.. Everything's in a huddle in our bedroom and upstairs already. I had them help me move the office desk and everything, so the office room is clear." Josh answered, staring up at Justin from his prostrate position on the couch. "Wow. Well, that makes the job easier. What'd you have them put upstairs?" "I had them put the playpen, swing, and the 2 of the 4 toys up there. Since that's the television room, I thought it would make sense to have some of that up there." "I agree. Well, you wanna see what I got?" "Yes, of course." Josh answered, sitting up. Justin sat down next to him with four shopping bags. "I went to Baby Gap first. I found cute bodysuits, overalls, pants, jeans, T-shirts, cardigans, a cute jean jacket, sneakers, pants, two dresses, socks, caps, and got a few free teddy bears since I purchased so much." "Sounds good. What'd you get at the grocers?" "I got a set of teethers, a set of soothers, some pacifiers, six packs of diapers, wipes, Desitin cream, and an assortment of Gerber cereals, juices, infant mushed fruit and veggies, formula, Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo, lotion, powder cause that`s the best. I also bought some bibs, six stuffed animals, two rattles, and a baby monitor set with two handsets. "I'd say you covered it and did well. I don't think you left out a thing." Josh answered, kissing Justin softly. "Well, I hope you think the same thing when we get the credit card bill." Justin said cautiously, after pulling back. "I will have to deal. I missed you today." Josh responded, smirking. "I missed you too." It was pretty lonely here with just Vivian." "Where is Vivian by the way?" "She's asleep in the bedroom, I put her down about 20 minutes ago, and she hasn't made a peep." "Well, should we get started on the nursery?" "Sure. Oh all while you were still out, three Fed-Ex packages arrived. Our families sent things for Vivian. I was impressed, considering we just got her yesterday and only told them about two hours later after bringing her home." Josh laughed, as he explained. "What did they send?" "That was the most amazing thing. It's all sterling silver baby items from Tiffany's. I think our parents talked. Your dad, Lisa, and the boys sent Vivian a sterling silver Teddy Bear bank. Your mom and Paul sent a beautiful silver baby braclet. My family sent a gorgeous sterling silver baby brush from my parents, my brother and Kathy sent a beautiful loop spoon and fork set, and Heather sent a nice silver rattle. The only thing she doesn't have is a baby cup, so I thought maybe sometime soon we could go get the matching cup." "Wow, that's a lot of silver. I feel bad, those are expensive." "I know I did too, but according to the notes, they wanted her to have the traditional baby gifts." "Hmm, that's weird. But, hey, let's get started. I'd like to have the room done by tonight." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Justin, it looks beautiful." Josh said, stepping back and admiring the nursery. It had only taken two hours to put together. The wall-border had been self-adhesive, so after they had only really had to assemble the crib which was very easy to do. They had then tackled putting up the wall-hangings, the valance, and the wall-shelf. Halfway through, Justin remembered some old framed Peter Rabbit prints he had in the attic from when he was little. Everything worked perfectly. The crib was in the right corner, with the changing table against the opposite wall. The dresser was standing next to the changing table with the lamp on it, under the window. The rug lay on the floor in front of the crib, which was decorated in all of the beddings. The rocking chair sat on the opposite end of the room near the bookshelf that was already attached to the wall. "We did it Josh. We have a nursery." "Yes, and I'll go get our sleeping beauty to put in it." Josh said, backing out of the room only to come back seconds later with Vivian cradled in his arms. Making his way over to the crib, he set her down in it gently, and pulled the covers up over her. After turning the baby monitor on, he grabbed Justin's hand in his and led both of them out of the nursery into their own bedroom. "I love you." Justin said as soon as they had both entered the room, and he'd sat down on the foot of the bed. "I love you too. Can you actually believe were parents?" "No, it's a bit scary isn't it?" "No, not really. There's no one else I'd want to start a family with." "I would hope not. I don't want to have to share my Josh with anyone. I want to have him all to myself." Justin stated, pulling Josh on top of him and kissing him full on the lips. "This is one thing I've wanted to do all day. You were so cute looking through all those supplies." "I wanted to kiss you too." Suddenly, a scream sounded through the baby monitor receiver sitting on their nightstand. Josh pulled back, and sat up. "I'll get her." he said, as he got up and walked out of the room towards the nursery. "I guess this is the beginning of a trend." Justin finished, closing his eyes and falling back onto their bed. ~~LD Griffin~~