The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,37
into the cheek. If you squirt it straight back, you risk it hitting her gag reflex or her choking on it.”
“I would have never known any of that,” he says, scrubbing a hand down his face.
“You’ll get there,” I remind him. “You have to remember that I’ve been babysitting for years. I’ve had a lot of time to learn all these things.”
“Yeah,” he half-heartedly agrees with me. “I’m guessing that with the fever, we’ll need to call the doctor in the morning?”
“Yeah, I’m still leaning toward the culprit being the teething, but she could have an ear infection, as well. Doesn’t hurt to get her checked out.”
“Okay. Is that something that you can take care of, or do I need to make the call?” he asks.
“I can call, but you’ll probably have to go with us, at least this first time. You should be able to give them permission to release her information to me. You’ll probably also have to add me to an approved list of adults that can seek medical attention for her. Since I’m not her mother, I don’t have any legal right to do so.”
“That’s understandable. If you can call in the morning, first thing, I can make sure to be available.”
“I’ll do that and then let you know when the appointment is. Once she’s down, I’ll look for that paperwork to see what office Erica was taking her to.”
“Thanks, Riley.”
“You're welcome, JJ,” I tell him as I offer Evie the bottle that I made for her. “I'll let you know as soon as I have an appointment scheduled for her. On second thought, does morning or afternoon work best, if I’m given a choice?”
“I can be flexible; Coach will let me out of practice for this tomorrow without any issues. He’s aware of what is going on, and I’ve been assured that I have the full support from the team and front office for whatever I need during this transition time.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll hopefully know first thing,” I tell him as Evie spits the nipple of the bottle out of her mouth. She starts to fuss, so I shift her until she's lying on my chest. I alternate between patting her back and rubbing it. I can tell she doesn’t feel right, and she didn’t drink much of the bottle, so I don’t really think it’s an air bubble trapped. She settles against my chest; I’m sure the sound of my heartbeat soothing to her little ears.
“How’d you do that?” JJ asks, pointing to Evie on my chest. The bewildered look on his face has me melting just a little bit more for him. He’s so out of his element with this cute little girl that it's almost comical at times.
“Babies are so used to hearing their mother's heartbeat while in utero that the sound is calming to them. It doesn’t have to just be the mom’s, that’s why you’ll see parents doing skin-to-skin with a baby on their chest. Not only does your body temperature help regulate hers, but the sound of your heart will soothe her, as well.”
“I would have never known that.”
“You can’t learn everything in one day, JJ. Just give it some time. I know this is all probably very overwhelming, but I promise that you’ll get through all of it.”
“If you say so,” he deadpans.
“I think I’m going to go put her down and see if I can find that paperwork, then get some sleep while I can. I have a feeling she might be up throughout the night tonight. What time do you plan to leave in the morning?” I ask a few minutes later.
“Not until around ten, unless we need to be at the doctor’s then.”
“Most offices open between seven thirty and eight, so we should definitely know by then what time we can take her in.”
“Sounds good. If you need anything during the night, don’t hesitate to come get me. I don’t expect you to do everything.”
“I know,” I tell him, flashing him a quick smile, hoping that I don’t reveal that I have no plans to wake him up for help.
I take Evie to my room and place her in the pack-n-play to sleep. I’d rather have her close by than in the nursery. Thankfully, I’m able to transfer her successfully without her waking up. She’s still warm to the touch, so hopefully, the medicine kicks in soon and helps take that fever down. I grab the thermometer and baby Tylenol and stash it in