Chapter 46 Confinement

Moreover, after the baby had its clean diaper changed, it seemed more comfortable and immediately stopped crying. After a few little murmurs, it fell asleep again.

Jiang Cuihua covered the baby with a blanket and whispered to the young couple, “Such a small baby only cries when it’s uncomfortable. It’s usually either because it’s hungry or needs to poop. You still have a lot to learn.”

Taking care of a baby is not as simple as feeding it. There are a lot of nuances to it.

It was normal that the young couple didn’t know much since it was their first time being parents.

Liu Yinyin sighed, “Mom, this house really can’t function without you.”

Although the original owner had taken care of a few nephews and nieces, they were a bit older when she looked after them. She had never taken care of a newborn before.

As for Gu Cheng, he had been out serving in the army since he was in his teens, and had never even held a baby before.

Jiang Cuihua smiled and agreed, “That’s right, you’re both beginners. Without an elder here to teach you, it really would be difficult.”

While saying this, Jiang Cuihua thought about the Gu family. Her daughter-in-law and son-in-law hadn’t even been informed that Liu Yinyin had given birth. She glanced at her son-in-law and quietly said, “Gu Cheng, you should let your parents know about this.”

No matter the feelings of the Gu family, giving birth was such an important matter that they needed to be informed. Whether they came to see the baby or not was up to them, but not telling them at all would make it seem like the daughter-in-law didn’t know how to behave properly.

Gu Cheng paused for a moment and then said, “Alright, I’ll go back tomorrow.”

With someone watching over the baby, Liu Yinyin ate her millet porridge, freshened up, and then went back to sleep.

At that time, there weren’t many people giving birth at the hospital, and there was still an empty bed in the ward. After a brief chat with the nurse, Jiang Cuihua decided to lie down and rest for a while.

As for Gu Cheng, he sat beside mother and child, occasionally resting when he felt tired.

In the middle of the night, the baby started crying again, this time with loud, miserable cries. Everyone was startled awake.

Jiang Cuihua checked the baby’s bottom, then said to her daughter, “It’s hungry. You need to breastfeed, Yinyin. Quick, give him some milk.”

Newborns can’t stand being hungry. If they can’t get milk, they can cry until they’re out of breath.

Liu Yinyin was startled. “…”

Breastfeeding!!!

She wasn’t sure if she had milk yet.

However, she did feel a bit of swelling in that area.

Jiang Cuihua urged her, “Hurry up, haven’t you heard how loudly he’s crying?”

Liu Yinyin felt sorry for the baby and hesitantly said, “Mom, could you please step outside for a moment?”

Jiang Cuihua: “…”

Oh my goodness, how difficult could it be to breastfeed?

Step outside?

There’s no one else in the room, what’s there to be shy about?

Not bothering to waste time, Jiang Cuihua directly lifted her daughter’s top and placed the baby in her arms…

Liu Yinyin’s face turned so red she could have bled from embarrassment!

She awkwardly held the baby and tried breastfeeding. The little one moved around her chest a few times, but it seemed like it wasn’t getting any milk, and after a moment, started crying again.

Liu Yinyin was so desperate she felt like crying too. “Mom, do you think I don’t have any milk?”

Jiang Cuihua, calm as ever, said, “It’s normal for first-time mothers to have trouble with milk flow. Let him try a few more times. If it doesn’t work, we can let your husband try.”

Liu Yinyin: “…”

Good heavens, after giving birth, women really have no privacy left.

Thankfully, after a few tries, the baby finally got some milk and stopped crying.

Jiang Cuihua couldn’t help but laugh. “I told you, you’re not small. There’s no way you don’t have milk.”

Liu Yinyin felt her face go black from embarrassment. “Mom, please stop talking.”

Liu Yinyin had just given birth, so she didn’t have much milk, but newborns don’t need much, and after sucking a few times, the baby stopped eating.

Jiang Cuihua took the baby from her, soothing it. After being fed, the baby fell sweetly asleep.

Liu Yinyin had a smooth delivery, and after staying in the hospital for one night, the doctor gave her the all-clear and said she could go home.

The next day, after breakfast, Liu Mingyuan came with the cart to pick them up. The cart was covered with dry straw and soft blankets, so there was no concern about the baby getting uncomfortable.

Liu Yinyin’s baby was born on the fifth day of the eleventh month in the lunar calendar, and today was the sixth. The weather in this month was already very cold.

Although it hadn’t started snowing yet, the temperature had dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

To avoid the wind, both mother and child were bundled up tightly and sat in the cart.

Gu Cheng pulled the cart, while Liu Mingyuan pushed his bicycle. The group slowly made their way back to the village.

Once home, Gu Cheng carried Liu Yinyin into the house, and Jiang Cuihua followed behind, carrying the baby.

After putting the baby down, Jiang Cuihua immediately went around closing all the doors and windows, warning, “A woman in her confinement period can’t be exposed to the wind, and now that it’s cold, you both need to be careful. If you catch a chill during your confinement, it could lead to health problems later on.”

This was an important matter for her daughter, so she couldn’t be careless.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cuihua started lecturing about all the things a woman should pay attention to during her confinement. She kept talking for a while before finally stopping.

Liu Yinyin was breastfeeding the baby. Since the baby drank a little but got hungry quickly, she would need to feed him every two to three hours.

“Mom, I’ll go kill a chicken and make soup,” Gu Cheng said.

“Alright, just kill the chicken. I’ll make the soup later,” Jiang Cuihua replied.

After taking a sip of hot water, Jiang Cuihua looked at her grandson, who was sucking so hard that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. She smiled and said, “My grandson looks strong and healthy. He’s got quite the appetite. You need to eat more things that help with milk production, or he won’t have enough to eat later.”

People of Jiang Cuihua’s age spoke freely and didn’t care much about food preferences, whether it was meat or vegetables. Liu Yinyin had already become accustomed to it, and hearing it now didn’t seem so awkward.

At such a young age, the baby did little else but eat, drink, and sleep, so it wasn’t too difficult to take care of him.

Not long after, Liu Yinyin’s sister-in-law, Liu Dajie, came to visit.

She brought a basket of eggs, a hen, a bag of brown sugar, and a sack of yellow millet.

The gift was quite heavy…

Since the Liu family hadn’t split up, Liu Dajie had probably been instructed by her mother-in-law to bring so many good things to see her.

Liu Yinyin pressed her forehead and said, “Sister-in-law, we have several chickens at home, and we can’t eat them all. Please take the hen back with you to lay eggs.”

Liu Dajie glanced at the baby, smiled, and said, “We can’t raise it back at home. When we were raising the chicks, I specifically took in an extra hen just to leave it here for you to eat during your confinement.”

Hearing this, Liu Yinyin stopped insisting.

Liu Dajie looked around the room and noticed that it felt really warm inside.

It was cold outside, and with a newborn and a woman in confinement in the house, Gu Cheng had just put two pieces of firewood in the stove to keep the room warm.

As the room gradually warmed up, Liu Yinyin untied the baby’s swaddling cloth and let him rest more comfortably.

Liu Dajie looked at the swaddle with a bit of envy, saying, “This thing is really great. You won’t have to worry about the cold inside. You’re really having a comfortable confinement period.”