Baby Genius



One week after Selena’s birth.....

Nick woke up to the sound of Selena crying on the baby monitor. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was only 3 a.m. and the sky outside his window was still quite dark. He got up to get out of bed and noticed that Rianna wasn’t in bed either. She must have already gone to check on the baby. Still, he felt like going to see how she was doing.

He went into her room and saw his wife changing her diaper. Still, she was crying. He came up behind Rianna and took the soiled diaper, throwing it into the diaper bin. When she finished securing the fresh diaper around Selena’s waist, she picked her up and held her.

“You can go back to bed, I’ve got it. She just wants to be fed.” Nick knew that this meant Rianna would be up for a while, being that both she and Marcy agreed to feed their babies naturally. He scratched his head, still half asleep. Then he took a seat next to Rianna’s nursing rocking chair. She had on the top half of a gray pajama set, of which Nick wore the bottom. She opened a few buttons and brought Selena’s mouth to her chest.

Nick just stroked his wife’s hair. Comforting her, knowing that the first few days of breast feeding would be rather painful for her. He then started to softly sing a song his mother used to sing to him.

Before Nick knew it, Rianna was patting Selena’s back. Both parents waited for her gentle belch, and once they heard it, Rianna placed her back into her crib. She turned on the soft night light and watched Selena drift back off to sleep. Nick made sure the baby monitor was still on, then left the room with his wife.

Rianna followed him back to their room and they both got back into bed lazily. She curled up into a fetal position, Nick in the same position, both spooning.

Six months later....

Nick came home after a long day of recording since dawn. It was about seven in the afternoon when he entered the house. Rianna was sitting next to Selena, who was in her high chair. As soon as she heard Nick enter the kitchen she jumped up and ran to him, grabbing his arms and pulling him toward Selena.

“Ok, sit down here....” Nick sat down as she instructed him to. Then she sat down across the table from him.

“Alright, now pick up Sel’s spoon and eat some of her food. It’s pears, it’s not nasty.” Nick looked at her as if she was crazy, but he did as he was told. He picked up Selena’s baby spoon, put a little bit of the pears into his mouth, then swallowed.

“Now put the spoon back into the bowl and wait.” Nick put the spoon back into the bowl. Then looked at his small daughter. She smiled, with glossy blue eyes shining at him. She picked up the spoon, got the same amount of pears on it, then put it into her mouth. Swallowing as well. Nick jumped up from his seat in amazement and shock. Selena just took the spoon back out of her mouth and back into the bowl, as Nick had done.

Nick pointed at her, stumbling over his words, not able to believe what he had just seen. His 6-month old daughter had just fed herself.

“W-wa-wait, wait wait! Can other babies her age do that? I mean, is that normal?” Nick shouted to Rianna, filled with excitement. Rianna smiled.

“No, it’s not normal. Some babies don’t even feed themselves without spilling food everywhere until they’re toddlers!” Nick put both of his hands on either side of his head. He started pacing, wondering how on earth his daughter fed herself so easily. Most babies her age just jammed their hands in their food and spread it across their faces. But Selena... she.... he just couldn’t swallow it.

“This is great! It’s more than great! It’s like one of those cases where you have to call Ripley’s or something!” Nick exclaimed, still pacing. Rianna went back to the chair in front of Selena and continued coaching her little girl into feeding herself.

“It’s not that big of a deal Nick. She’s just one of few children who can do things before her time.” Rianna tried to remain calm, even though she knew that what Selena was doing was extraordinary.

“What else can she do?” Nick said, turning around to face her with a sudden jerk. She thought about it for a second.

“Well, I only discovered that she could eat this way earlier at lunch time. I just tasted some of her food, just out of curiosity. And when I put the spoon back, she copied me. So every time I brought the spoon to my mouth, she would do the same. I don’t have to actually eat it every time.” Rianna stopped and thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, she does turn her night light on by herself.” Nick took a seat and listened in.

“She what?”

“You know that mobile thing Jane bought for her. Well, it has a little switch on the outside of the crib. And when I sit with her on the rocking chair, she reaches over and flips the switch. And it’s not like she does it just because she knows it will turn the light on. She only does it when the room gets dark. That’s kind of odd.” Nick got up from the chair and picked Selena up from her high chair. He carried her to the nursery and sat down in Rianna’s rocker.

The lights were on and Selena didn’t touch the mobile switch. Nick got up again and turned the lights off. When he sat back down, she reached over and hit the switch. Rianna had just made it to the room when the mobile lit up.

“See, told ya.” Nick held Selena up and looked at her. She just giggled and made typical baby jargon. Rianna approached her hyperactive husband and held her arms out for the baby.

“Let me have her, she needs to be bathed.” Rianna said. Nick didn’t give her up.

“No, not yet. I wanna see what else she can do.” He protested, like a selfish child who wouldn’t part with his favorite toy. Rianna rolled her eyes and turned around.

“Alright, but you better give her a bath tonight or you won’t be making any more baby geniuses with me.” She mumbled, leaving the room and going back down the stairs. Baby genius... Nick liked the sound of that.

Selena and Angelina’s second birthday party.....

Nick had his hand-held camera out, shooting footage of Selena on AJ’s knee. She was hitting the table, probably enjoying the sound and feel of her hand smacking up against glass. He kept getting different angles of her. Making funny faces at her to get her to laugh and smile.

“AJ, turn her this way some.” Nick said.

“AJ, turn her this way some.” Selena repeated. AJ raised his eyebrows and looked at his niece over his glasses. He knew Nick had mentioned how advanced she was. But he never knew she could speak so clearly.

“Hey Marcy... did you hear her?” Marcy had just come from taking Angelina to the bathroom. So she didn’t hear Selena at all.

“Hear what, babe?” Marcy asked.

“Sel... she just repeated what Nick said to me, clear as crystal.” AJ informed his wife. Then he and Nick tried to see what else they could get out of Selena.

“Hey Sel... look into the camera sweetie. Daddy’s sending this tape to Grandma, Grandpa B, Abuela, and Abuelo. You wanna say something to them?” He coaxed her. She put her cup down on the table and wiped her mouth with her forearm.

“Hi Grama. Hi Grampa...” She took a second to remember who else he had listed. “Hi Abuela. Hi Abuelo. I love you! I miss you.” She said. Then she just stared at the camera with a grin and a juice mustache over her top lip. She started to get a little shy when Nick didn’t turn the camera off. So she buried her face into AJ’s shirt.

He then turned the camera to Angelina. She was standing near her mother, eating cotton candy.

“Hey Lina...” Nick said, catching her attention. Angelina loved attention, just like her father. So she started to dance all around and smile. When she was finished, she went into a laughing fit. Nick saw a pair of long brown legs appear in his viewfinder, so he took his head away and looked up.

“Nick, are you going to start the grill anytime soon?” Rianna questioned. Nick nodded, looking back into the viewfinder making sure he had a good view of Rianna’s legs.

“Shake it, Momma, shake it!” He said to her, reaching out and smacking her thigh. She reached down to where Nick was kneeling and snatched the camera from his hand, playfully.

“Grill... now!” She insisted. Turning the camera off and putting it on the table. Jimmy came out onto the deck with a plate full of raw hamburgers. He had just patted them out and was surprised to see that the grill was still stone cold.

Several other children joined the party later, once the food was prepared. As Nick watched them play in the pool, he compared his daughter to the rest. The way she swam, kicking and paddling with such ease. The way she talked to them, explaining how certain toys worked and how to use them. He thought about how gifted she really was, and how proud he was of her. So little, yet so intelligent.

His life was finally stabilizing. He had the perfect wife. A perfect daughter. The perfect family, including his in-laws. His heart felt so full. Nothing could take away his happiness. Or so he thought...


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