then told they could leave. They were both excited at the prospect of bringing their daughter home.
Both sets of grandparents were elated at the news of Jaime’s arrival. Jaime was the first grandchild on Zoe’s side, and the first girl on Austin’s, so she was a star on both sides of the coin. They emailed photographs of her to everyone, and the entire family agreed that she was exquisite. She weighed over eight pounds and looked like a healthy, robust baby.
She was sleeping peacefully in a bassinet in Zoe’s room at the hospital the day after she was born, when Zoe moved into high gear, and asked to see the attending pediatrician. He had to sign the baby out anyway for them to leave, and looked startled when Zoe asked in detail about the various tests that had been administered as part of the routine after a birth. Zoe had read about all of them, knew how they were scored, and assured the doctor she knew what the results meant, which impressed Austin. She was thorough about everything she touched and took her responsibilities seriously, motherhood being the most important one of all, as far as she was concerned. She was satisfied with the test results the doctor shared with them. He gave them a few helpful tips for their first few days at home, how to manage the nursing, how long to nurse, what to do if she got cracked nipples, and what not to be alarmed by, since they were brand new parents and this was their first child. He assured them that they could get the baby on a schedule in the first few weeks, and Zoe looked at him in disapproval.
“Putting them on a nursing schedule can cause serious psychological damage later on. It amounts to withholding nourishment from them, and will make them feel as though you’re starving them. I’m not going to do that to my daughter,” Zoe said firmly. She was very intense about it, and definite in her ideas, as Austin and the doctor exchanged a look. Austin hadn’t realized until then that Zoe was opposed to schedules.
“If you don’t try to work out some kind of routine, your milk supply could become erratic and she might not get enough to eat, and you and your husband won’t get much sleep,” the doctor said gently, realizing how inexperienced they were. So far, Zoe had done all the reading, and she had all the theories and information. Austin was planning to leave that up to her. She had had stacks of baby books on her night table for months, and was annoyed when he didn’t have time to read them. She wanted them to be informed modern parents, on the cutting edge about the baby’s upbringing and health. She had gotten increasingly intense about it as the birth approached.
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Austin said calmly. “And my mother and sisters-in-law can help with advice.” Austin was eager to leave the hospital, take the baby home, and begin their life as parents of a beautiful baby girl.
“Good luck,” the doctor said warmly, after he signed the release form. Their own pediatrician had been in to check Jaime early that morning and she had stopped in to see Zoe. They were going to her office in five days. Zoe had already met her and interviewed her at length, when she was six months pregnant. Cathy Clark was a competent, well-recommended pediatrician, and Zoe liked the mix of serious, warm, modern, relaxed, but thorough medicine that she espoused. She was three years older than Zoe, had gone to medical school at Duke too, and was intrigued to hear that Zoe had completed two years of medical school, along with her master’s degree. She was very impressed with them as prospective parents, and also by the intelligent, meticulous questions Zoe had asked before and after the birth.
Zoe had shared with Dr. Clark some of the theories and methods she planned to use with Jaime, and also the fact that she was going to care for Jaime herself for four months until she went back to work. She didn’t want to miss a moment with her, and Cathy Clark could sense a super-mom in the making and was in favor of it. She enjoyed working with moms who were responsible, informed, and intelligent, and Zoe was all of those.
Cathy Clark wasn’t married and had no children of her own, but was a very