Sophie finally fell asleep with the soother in her mouth and began to suck on it vigorously, dreaming it was a real woman's nipple. The nipple of the woman who had held her while she had fallen asleep. Brooke's breasts expanded slightly with milk and her bra turned into a nursing bra. Sophie's facial features changed slightly, giving her a certain resemblance to Brooke and Connor, her ex-boyfriend. She had Brooke's green eyes and Connor's blonde hair. Brooke gained about ten pounds of weight around her belly, a remnant from the pregnancy during her senior year of high school.
She had been dating Connor for almost a year when she missed her period. They had figured out a condom must have broken without them noticing. Brooke had always known she wanted to be a mother at some point. Her due date was a month after her high school graduation, so she wouldn't have to drop out. She'd immediately decided to keep the baby. Connor hadn't felt ready for parenthood at all. He'd called her irresponsible and begged her not to ruin their lives. Brooke had broken up with him and told him she didn't expect any assistance from him, more determined than ever to have and raise that baby and prove him wrong. Her parents had not exactly been overjoyed, but they respected her decision. They couldn't fully support Brooke and the baby financially though. Looking for a way to make money while also taking care of Sophie, Brooke's obvious choice was to use her experience in baby-sitting and set up her own tiny daycare operation. The other moms paid her quite well and Sophie had the chance to grow up with other children despite being an only child.
Brooke looked down at her finally sleeping daughter and sighed. In recent days, she'd noticed Sophie seemed a lot fussier than the other two one-year-olds. She hoped it was just a growth phase or maybe another tooth - she made a mental note to check Sophie's gums after the nap - but still a certain doubt nagged her. Were the other, older moms who had experience from raising their daughters' older siblings doing something better than her? Was the long-term breastfeeding not such a good idea after all? On the other hand, she didn't want to miss the strong bond it created, she loved holding Sophie in her lap while she suckled. And the other girls seemed to want some too. Sometimes Zossie looked on when Sophie got her "na-na" and seemed a bit jealous. She'd tried to climb on Brooke's lap and grab her breasts several times, but of course Brooke always gently told her off.