Boober scoffs, shaking his head. He's very ready to gripe a bit about the frequency of birthday celebrations down at Fraggle Rock, and how it bothers him even more now that he has the concept of age as an exact number, not a general stage of life - because clearly the exact number is better, it's precise and that just makes his brain feel better about most anything--
Until Riz brings his focus back to the formula, and he's embarrassed to have gotten so distracted... Even if it's fair, generally speaking, to be distracted by frustrating nonsense! Still, you can't just do that when there's a baby around, which makes it very good thing this situation is temporary.
"Lukewarm?" Boober asks with a hint of a frown, though he does as he's instructed. It does seem like a safe temperature without being too cold, but... "Is there an exact temperature so we can be sure?"
He hadn't thought to ask for an exact temperature. He's as detail oriented as Boober, but 'Luke-warm against your wrist' had been exact enough for him. After all, he always had his wrists on him --barring very tragic incidents, but at that point, he probably shouldn't be in charge of a baby!-- but he didn't always have a thermometer on him.
(Or, well, there is probably a thermometer rattling around somewhere in his good ol' briefcase, but good luck finding it among all the detritus that had collected in it over the years.)
"She said that babies aren't very good at regulating their temperatures, so you need to have their formula be as close to their body temp as possible. Especially for something as small as her."
Just look at her! Even a small bottle of formula would be a pretty significant amount of food to her. Riz can certainly believe that would affect her body temperature as much as him devouring one of Basrar's family sized sundaes XXL.
(Which he has done and winning that bet had been worth all the stomach pain later)
Boober rubbed at his eye with the heel of his free hand, sighing. Alright, no specific rules wasn't his ideal here - it never was, really, he simply worked best with guidelines.
"Alright, well, let me check again." He's nervous, but another test from a drop on his wrist leaves him as certain as he can be... So of course, he's still nervous, but she has to eat. That's just the truth.
That said, as he holds the bottle out towards Riz, he can't help feel reluctant to hand over the job of feeding her. That's just... That's what he does for people!
"I'm sure if we check online, you'll be able to find an exact temp to work with." Few people would be soothed by nitpicking details like that -- many, frankly, would find them overwhelming-- but Riz knows Boober. And hey, if having a very exact temperature will make him feel better about this Whole Thing, then that feels like a very small trade off.
Riz notes the slight reluctance, but chalks it up to anxiety over the temperature. "Hey, I'm sure it's fine. Trust me, she has a way of letting you know when she's not okay with something."
Boober hasn't really experienced it yet, but Riz has lived through one full-blown meltdown cry and frankly, it's incredibly that something so small can produce so much noise!
"Here, lemme show you how to feed her. This part is actually kind of fun. She makes noises like a piglet."
Riz's offer to teach him has Boober brighten up, but he's still far from relaxed as he stands close at Riz's side to learn. Sure, he wants to be able to feed the baby, but he's scared to do it, as well.
But then, Boober can find a reason for being scared of most things if he thinks long enough, and his life sometimes feels like making decision after decision about if he wants to face down any given fear or not.
He doesn't want to be so tense, though. He doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, so as he leans right over Riz's shoulder, he notes, "You know, that's kind of what Wembley does when he's walking."
"Well, she definitely won't be walking any time soon."
When did babies do that anyway? One? Two? He'd have to ask his mom. Not that they'd be keeping her that long, of course! It'd just be background information. Perhaps a factoid to pass onto her family.
In any case, Riz makes himself reasonably comfortable on the couch, explaining his every action to Boober as he does so. "You should be holding her like this -- make sure to support her head cause her neck isn't strong yet. Not too high up, just enough that she is at a slight tilt."
The baby is too young to open her eyes yet, but whether it is the smell of the milk, or the way she is already starting to associate being held like this with getting fed, in any case she is starting to stir and make little, squeaking sounds.
"You should hold the bottle mostly flat -- like this, see." With a confidence that he doesn't fully feel --cause seriously, who left him in charge of a baby?-- Riz pops the end of the bottle into the baby's mouth, where she quickly begins to eat.
These instructions all make sense, which Boober of course appreciates. As scary as the idea was, it turns out to be easy enough to grasp-- In theory, at least. In practice, it's still nerve-wracking, just because of how much helps she requires and how fragile she is. That part stays scary, but it also does - once again - strike him as so endearing... Just how much she needs him and Riz.
Sure, it doesn't have to be them. And it won't always be! But that's not yet, and he just has to smile wide at her little squirms and her snuffling sounds. Even if it's just for now.
"Riz, have you ever--" Boober starts to ask, but cuts himself off as soon as he hears himself; realizes what he was about to ask. They should not be parents. Riz's job is too dangerous, and they're both still such... Scattered people when their thoughts get away with them. Boober himself, for that matter, doesn't even live here! He's just here a lot, sometimes, but he lives at Fraggle Rock.
And even if they ever wanted that be parents - which they haven't, and they don't, he's thinking too emotionally in this sentimental moment of a new experience - that's something they will plan for, to be as prepared as possible. It was what they were comfortable with. Even just bringing the idea of a child someday so spontaneously was a horrible idea.
So, instead of finishing that thought, Boober shook his head and leaned back against the couch with a sigh.
"Never mind, sorry." It's comforting, here, how bad Riz is at picking up on certain things socially. Boober hopes he won't have to explain anything away on the spot. "Ohh, it's been a long afternoon."
It has been a long afternoon. And sure, Riz is always a little curious when anyone was obviously going to ask a question, but then decides to drop it, but he has also learned that folks don't actually enjoy it when you question them on it. And that often, the thing they were going to ask was something rhetorical anyway, that they didn't actually want an answer to.
If it is actually important, Boober will bring it up later, right? Maybe it's just a thought he needs to think a bit more on first.
"Yeah, again sorry for, you know, kinda springing this whole thing on you."
He is sorry. He also knows he wouldn't have done it any different --save, perhaps, for giving Boober an earlier heads' up-- so perhaps it isn't exactly regret he feels and rather sympathy for suddenly having your plans upended.
Boober makes a sound somewhere between a sigh and a high-pitch whine, resting his head lightly against Riz's shoulder where they're sitting.
"Well, yeah, I'm not good with surprises. Not at all, but... You know that. But if you'd done anything else, that-- No. It's good that you brought her here."
Riz tips his head, so he can press it against the top of Boober's head. And for a moment, there is silence, only broken by the soft grunting and sucking coming from the baby as she drinks.
There is a strange peace in feeding a baby, Riz has found. Well, maybe not when you have to do it at 3am. But during the day, it's just-- it's nice. Riz isn't really the kind of person who sits down and rests, but when feeding a baby, you kind of have to. It's given Riz a lot of time to study her features, her stubby little nose, the sparse hair. She is cute in a wrinkly potato kind of way. He could see why people would want to purposely have some of these. Not that he could ever have a baby; not with his job and not with his, well... they don't grow on trees, after all. Where would he even get one?
"Oh look. She is doing the ear thing."
And she is -- her tiny, as of yet underdeveloped, ears twitch every so slightly with each suck.
Boober had been so focused on watching the way that, though her eyes remained closed, there was a sort of flutter through her eyelids that suggested thought, or at least, some recognition of... Something. Just little things that really drove home that - somehow - this tiny being was a person.
But when Riz draws his attention to the twitching of her ears, that just grabs Boober's attention entirely. To him, that twitch of her ears reads as eager gusto, and it gets to him - emotionally - in a way he hadn't seen coming.
"Wow," he breathes out, a little croaky, "she really likes eating. I mean-- You know, we made that for her. And she's happy with it."
Boober usually scoffs at that phrase, as it's often used in connection to Riz eating things that, frankly, should never be eaten! But right now, he's too caught up in the softness of the moment, and at first instead of judge he nuzzles his head against Riz with a contented sigh.
But it's only at first, because the moment does pass-- And honestly, leaves Boober feeling foolish over the sentimentality. He's not really one to be embarrassed over his emotions, but this coziness isn't really theirs, is it? The three of them are acting as a family right now, but it's temporary. Getting too used to it is not only very silly, it's risky.
What tumbles out of Boober's mouth as a solution to his unshared problem is, "We should-- You should get a pet."
It's not the same thing, but it's... Something. Especially since they've never brought up all this family stuff. And Boober is sure he wouldn't truly want a child, so loud and messy and unpredictable...
Riz shares the very common Goblin sentiment that the only thing he shouldn't eat are things he can't eat. Meaning that anything else, anything that he can tear through with his teeth and swallow down is good eating, regardless of origin, age, or how long it has been on the ground. It's one of the few things he and Boober vehemently disagree on, but despite Boober's appalling pickiness --the sort that would make any goblin ashamed of themselves-- Riz loves him nevertheless.
"I-- what?"
Usually Riz is the one to ruminate and blurt something out without letting people in on the line of thinking that lead him there. It's killed many a conversation while other folks try and regroup and come to whatever very logical conclusion Riz had gotten to. But it is rare people do that to him.
He turns his head to stare at Boober, brows furrowed in confusion. Why this subject suddenly? Is it because they are taking care of the baby? After all, between Boober being a fraggle and Riz being an only child, the most experience they've had taken care of small, needy creatures was back when they both had pokemon. Is this situation somehow putting him in mind of that? Is it making him miss his old pokemon?
Boober does his best to disappear into his scarf, for all the good it does. The suggestion was rather nonsensical, and that's embarrassing in his book!
"Iiii- I just thought... I'd like to take care of a pet you had, while you were working, and help you with it the rest of the time." He shrugs. "But that's- That's not a very good reason for you to get a pet, that wouldn't be responsible at all."
He looked down at the little baby. She didn't know one bit how foolish he'd just been, and there was a bit of comfort in that. Just a bit, though, and he sighed as he looked back up at Riz.
"Couldn't you get a pet yourself and keep it at The Rock? You could bring it with you when you stay with me."
That makes more sense to Riz. Even if he is still trying to figure out how they got on this subject at all.
With about half of the milk still left in the bottle, Riz temporarily sets it down to make sure she's getting proper air, and so he can wipe away the milk that has dribbled out of the corners of his mouth with his thumb. "Do you wanna try giving her the rest?"
"That- That's a better idea. Yeah, I think that would be the best thing," Boober mumbles, embarrassed. He should probably just be relieved that Riz, unsurprisingly, didn't follow the silly train of thought his mind had gone down, but he feels flustered anyway.
But the chance to feed the baby goblin distracts him from his emotional funk. He straightens his back, sitting up. "I would like that a lot, yes."
The teeny tiny goblin baby is starting to make squeaky, screechy sounds, clearly demanding to know why her milk is gone when she was not yet done eating. She might not even be able to see yet, but clearly she cares about the important things.
"Okay." Riz lightly pats the baby, trying to get her to settle for just a moment more, before he carefully places her in Boober's arms again. "Hold her like you did before. Maybe slightly more upright. Make sure to support her head."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Until Riz brings his focus back to the formula, and he's embarrassed to have gotten so distracted... Even if it's fair, generally speaking, to be distracted by frustrating nonsense! Still, you can't just do that when there's a baby around, which makes it very good thing this situation is temporary.
"Lukewarm?" Boober asks with a hint of a frown, though he does as he's instructed. It does seem like a safe temperature without being too cold, but... "Is there an exact temperature so we can be sure?"
no subject
He hadn't thought to ask for an exact temperature. He's as detail oriented as Boober, but 'Luke-warm against your wrist' had been exact enough for him. After all, he always had his wrists on him --barring very tragic incidents, but at that point, he probably shouldn't be in charge of a baby!-- but he didn't always have a thermometer on him.
(Or, well, there is probably a thermometer rattling around somewhere in his good ol' briefcase, but good luck finding it among all the detritus that had collected in it over the years.)
"She said that babies aren't very good at regulating their temperatures, so you need to have their formula be as close to their body temp as possible. Especially for something as small as her."
Just look at her! Even a small bottle of formula would be a pretty significant amount of food to her. Riz can certainly believe that would affect her body temperature as much as him devouring one of Basrar's family sized sundaes XXL.
(Which he has done and winning that bet had been worth all the stomach pain later)
no subject
"Alright, well, let me check again." He's nervous, but another test from a drop on his wrist leaves him as certain as he can be... So of course, he's still nervous, but she has to eat. That's just the truth.
That said, as he holds the bottle out towards Riz, he can't help feel reluctant to hand over the job of feeding her. That's just... That's what he does for people!
no subject
Riz notes the slight reluctance, but chalks it up to anxiety over the temperature. "Hey, I'm sure it's fine. Trust me, she has a way of letting you know when she's not okay with something."
Boober hasn't really experienced it yet, but Riz has lived through one full-blown meltdown cry and frankly, it's incredibly that something so small can produce so much noise!
"Here, lemme show you how to feed her. This part is actually kind of fun. She makes noises like a piglet."
no subject
But then, Boober can find a reason for being scared of most things if he thinks long enough, and his life sometimes feels like making decision after decision about if he wants to face down any given fear or not.
He doesn't want to be so tense, though. He doesn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, so as he leans right over Riz's shoulder, he notes, "You know, that's kind of what Wembley does when he's walking."
no subject
When did babies do that anyway? One? Two? He'd have to ask his mom. Not that they'd be keeping her that long, of course! It'd just be background information. Perhaps a factoid to pass onto her family.
In any case, Riz makes himself reasonably comfortable on the couch, explaining his every action to Boober as he does so. "You should be holding her like this -- make sure to support her head cause her neck isn't strong yet. Not too high up, just enough that she is at a slight tilt."
The baby is too young to open her eyes yet, but whether it is the smell of the milk, or the way she is already starting to associate being held like this with getting fed, in any case she is starting to stir and make little, squeaking sounds.
"You should hold the bottle mostly flat -- like this, see." With a confidence that he doesn't fully feel --cause seriously, who left him in charge of a baby?-- Riz pops the end of the bottle into the baby's mouth, where she quickly begins to eat.
no subject
Sure, it doesn't have to be them. And it won't always be! But that's not yet, and he just has to smile wide at her little squirms and her snuffling sounds. Even if it's just for now.
"Riz, have you ever--" Boober starts to ask, but cuts himself off as soon as he hears himself; realizes what he was about to ask. They should not be parents. Riz's job is too dangerous, and they're both still such... Scattered people when their thoughts get away with them. Boober himself, for that matter, doesn't even live here! He's just here a lot, sometimes, but he lives at Fraggle Rock.
And even if they ever wanted that be parents - which they haven't, and they don't, he's thinking too emotionally in this sentimental moment of a new experience - that's something they will plan for, to be as prepared as possible. It was what they were comfortable with. Even just bringing the idea of a child someday so spontaneously was a horrible idea.
So, instead of finishing that thought, Boober shook his head and leaned back against the couch with a sigh.
"Never mind, sorry." It's comforting, here, how bad Riz is at picking up on certain things socially. Boober hopes he won't have to explain anything away on the spot. "Ohh, it's been a long afternoon."
no subject
If it is actually important, Boober will bring it up later, right? Maybe it's just a thought he needs to think a bit more on first.
"Yeah, again sorry for, you know, kinda springing this whole thing on you."
He is sorry. He also knows he wouldn't have done it any different --save, perhaps, for giving Boober an earlier heads' up-- so perhaps it isn't exactly regret he feels and rather sympathy for suddenly having your plans upended.
no subject
"Well, yeah, I'm not good with surprises. Not at all, but... You know that. But if you'd done anything else, that-- No. It's good that you brought her here."
no subject
There is a strange peace in feeding a baby, Riz has found. Well, maybe not when you have to do it at 3am. But during the day, it's just-- it's nice. Riz isn't really the kind of person who sits down and rests, but when feeding a baby, you kind of have to. It's given Riz a lot of time to study her features, her stubby little nose, the sparse hair. She is cute in a wrinkly potato kind of way. He could see why people would want to purposely have some of these. Not that he could ever have a baby; not with his job and not with his, well... they don't grow on trees, after all. Where would he even get one?
"Oh look. She is doing the ear thing."
And she is -- her tiny, as of yet underdeveloped, ears twitch every so slightly with each suck.
no subject
But when Riz draws his attention to the twitching of her ears, that just grabs Boober's attention entirely. To him, that twitch of her ears reads as eager gusto, and it gets to him - emotionally - in a way he hadn't seen coming.
"Wow," he breathes out, a little croaky, "she really likes eating. I mean-- You know, we made that for her. And she's happy with it."
no subject
"Well, she is a goblin, after all. We are good eaters."
no subject
But it's only at first, because the moment does pass-- And honestly, leaves Boober feeling foolish over the sentimentality. He's not really one to be embarrassed over his emotions, but this coziness isn't really theirs, is it? The three of them are acting as a family right now, but it's temporary. Getting too used to it is not only very silly, it's risky.
What tumbles out of Boober's mouth as a solution to his unshared problem is, "We should-- You should get a pet."
It's not the same thing, but it's... Something. Especially since they've never brought up all this family stuff. And Boober is sure he wouldn't truly want a child, so loud and messy and unpredictable...
no subject
"I-- what?"
Usually Riz is the one to ruminate and blurt something out without letting people in on the line of thinking that lead him there. It's killed many a conversation while other folks try and regroup and come to whatever very logical conclusion Riz had gotten to. But it is rare people do that to him.
He turns his head to stare at Boober, brows furrowed in confusion. Why this subject suddenly? Is it because they are taking care of the baby? After all, between Boober being a fraggle and Riz being an only child, the most experience they've had taken care of small, needy creatures was back when they both had pokemon. Is this situation somehow putting him in mind of that? Is it making him miss his old pokemon?
no subject
"Iiii- I just thought... I'd like to take care of a pet you had, while you were working, and help you with it the rest of the time." He shrugs. "But that's- That's not a very good reason for you to get a pet, that wouldn't be responsible at all."
He looked down at the little baby. She didn't know one bit how foolish he'd just been, and there was a bit of comfort in that. Just a bit, though, and he sighed as he looked back up at Riz.
"This is just nice, that's all."
no subject
That makes more sense to Riz. Even if he is still trying to figure out how they got on this subject at all.
With about half of the milk still left in the bottle, Riz temporarily sets it down to make sure she's getting proper air, and so he can wipe away the milk that has dribbled out of the corners of his mouth with his thumb. "Do you wanna try giving her the rest?"
no subject
But the chance to feed the baby goblin distracts him from his emotional funk. He straightens his back, sitting up. "I would like that a lot, yes."
no subject
"Okay." Riz lightly pats the baby, trying to get her to settle for just a moment more, before he carefully places her in Boober's arms again. "Hold her like you did before. Maybe slightly more upright. Make sure to support her head."