Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 57
When Shen Yue’s mother arrived, it was 5 p.m. Gu Panpan was already nearly six months pregnant, and her round belly looked more like it belonged to an eight-month pregnancy.
Shen Yue’s mother anxiously asked her son, “Have you taken her to the hospital? Why is her belly so big?”
Shen Yue comforted her, “We’ve had it checked. The hospital says it’s twins.”
“You should have called me earlier so I could have come sooner,” Shen Yue’s mother said, then turned to Gu Panpan, “Panpan, is there anything you’d like to eat? I can make it for you.”
Gu Panpan quickly replied, “No need, Mom. I’m not hungry yet. You’ve just arrived, so please rest for a bit.”
Shen Yue’s mother, being older, was indeed tired after a long train ride. “Alright, I’ll go rest in the room for a while. Panpan, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me!”
Shen Yue’s mother’s arrival put Shen Yue’s mind at ease. With his wife’s belly so large and no one else at home, even though he had informed the neighbors, he still wasn’t completely reassured.
Now that Gu Panpan was having trouble moving around and needing to go to the bathroom more frequently due to the twins, it was a relief to have her mother-in-law here to help.
A good night’s rest followed.
The next morning, Shen Yue’s mother got up to prepare breakfast, tidy the house, and tend to the vegetable garden. She then took the money from the drawer to buy ingredients for lunch. After lunch, she would take her daughter-in-law for a walk to help her get some exercise. When they got tired, they would rest before continuing.
Shen Yue’s mother did this because she was worried that her daughter-in-law might not have enough strength when it was time to give birth. Gu Panpan understood her concern and endured it in silence, despite sweating from the March weather.
After two hours of exercise, Shen Yue’s mother would take Gu Panpan back for a nap. Shen Yue’s mother would use this time to wash clothes, prepare some egg custard, fruits, or snacks, and wait for her daughter-in-law to wake up and eat.
At six o’clock, Shen Yue’s mother would prepare dinner, and when Shen Yue came home, he would take over looking after his wife.
On June 5th, Gu Panpan gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. Shen Yue’s mother looked at the small babies with their rosy skin, and she could see traces of Shen Yue’s features in their faces.
The military base was far from the town, and it was inconvenient to buy supplies. Even more so for scarce items, which were simply unavailable there.
If it weren’t for her sister-in-law sending over baby bottles and formula, the twins would have gone hungry. Over the past three months, Shen Yue had made eight trips to the town, but still couldn’t find any formula. The supply store didn’t even have any bottles.
At the baby’s one-month celebration, Gu Panpan received a package from Xu Jing’an and Shen He. It contained brown sugar, formula, and beautiful floral fabric, all of which were considered precious gifts of the time. Especially the two baby strollers, which were truly impressive.
When Gu Panpan first saw them, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, “Mom, where did you buy these? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Shen Yue’s mother wiped the strollers with a cloth. “Where could we afford to buy these? Our neighbor made them for us. When I was watching Zhuang Zhuang, your father was worried I would tire myself out, so he came up with this idea. It took more than a month, with many revisions to the design, before we found someone to make them.”
“Dad really cares about you!” Gu Panpan sighed with relief upon hearing this and quickly made a note of the gifts received for the baby’s one-month celebration. She then calculated the gifts Shen Yue had given to Shen He, realizing they had actually given more than their share.
The main reason was that her family only had two children, while the second son’s family had three. After some thought, Gu Panpan decided to focus on getting her health back in shape. She planned to have another child when the twins were about one year old. That way, her mother-in-law wouldn’t keep bringing up the topic of leaving, and she could have a bit more peace of mind.
Before they knew it, the end of the year arrived, and on the day of the Spring Festival, the children were exactly eight months old.
“Oldest son, the New Year is almost here. I’m thinking of going back to see your father before the holiday,” Shen Yue’s mother said. It had been over a year since she last saw her husband, and she was feeling anxious.
“Alright, when are you leaving, Mom? I’ll book the tickets for you,” Shen Yue said, also concerned about his father.
Shen Yue’s mother replied, “In seven days.”
But seven days later, Shen Yue’s mother was unable to leave. Gu Panpan was pregnant again!
Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law dealing with morning sickness, Shen Yue’s mother had no choice but to stay and spend the New Year at the military base.
When Gu Panpan realized that Shen Yue’s mother had given up on going back, she felt a sense of relief. It seemed unlikely that her mother-in-law would return after this trip. Moreover, her mother-in-law’s age was increasing, and with family planning policies starting to apply, Gu Panpan knew she had to act quickly if she wanted to have more children.
After becoming pregnant, Gu Panpan’s already insufficient milk supply decreased even more, so she decided to stop breastfeeding. The first few months were unstable for the pregnancy, but once it stabilized, the twins were at the stage where they were learning to walk.
Not only did Shen Yue’s mother have to take care of two children, but she also had to find time to care for her daughter-in-law. The two pregnancies were so close together that Gu Panpan’s body still hadn’t fully recovered. This pregnancy was much harder than the last.
“Ugh—” “Wah—wah—” Every day, Shen Yue’s mother woke up to the sounds of vomiting and crying.
As soon as Gu Panpan woke up, she would start vomiting.
To be honest, this pregnancy was more difficult than she had imagined. She couldn’t eat anything, and even drinking water would make her vomit automatically. Now, she just felt weak all over, and she needed to hold onto the wall to get to the bathroom.
She couldn’t eat, and her legs felt as weak as noodles. Seeing her daughter-in-law like this, Shen Yue’s mother knew it couldn’t go on like this.
“Oldest son, take your wife to the hospital. The morning sickness is too severe. The doctors in the family compound aren’t specialists in gynecology. Panpan, don’t listen to all the old women’s advice around you; everyone is different.”
By now, Gu Panpan was so weak that she could barely get up and needed support to stand. Just lifting her head would make her feel dizzy. She didn’t refuse to go to the hospital anymore.
At first, she thought pregnancy sickness wasn’t a big deal. She thought it would pass in a few months, but who knew it would be this severe?
Her stomach had developed a reflex, and it was even harder to swallow now. Each time she vomited, her abdominal muscles would tighten and contract, and she clearly felt her lower abdomen becoming sore, bloated, and aching.
Shen Yue took leave from work, drove his wife to the hospital in the city. The doctor there didn’t have much to offer, but there were signs of a miscarriage, so she had to be hospitalized for bed rest and given glucose for nourishment.
Shen Yue’s mother felt a sense of relief when her daughter-in-law left. The two children had already kept her busy, and adding her daughter-in-law’s care made her feel stretched thin.
Watching Zhuang Zhuang and the other grandchildren grow up, she had never been this exhausted. Her body was tired, and there was a growing sense of frustration inside her. The continuous crying of the two children was making her anxious.
The one-year-old children drank formula, ate solid food, and if she didn’t attend to them right away, they would wet their pants. Not to mention that this was the stage when they were learning to walk, and Shen Yue’s mother’s back had never been so strained.
If it weren’t for the two small strollers sent by her younger daughter-in-law, Shen Yue’s mother felt she would have been completely exhausted.
In the past, the two children slept with their mother at night, but now, Shen Yue’s mother was the one taking care of them 24 hours a day. She didn’t even have time to catch her breath.
Shen Yue’s mother felt even more annoyed by her eldest daughter-in-law’s scheming ways. But no matter what, the eldest daughter-in-law was still doing her best to have children for her son, so she couldn’t say much. Moreover, she understood her eldest son’s difficulties and was willing to help as much as she could.