"Lauren, what are you doing?" Dinah laughed as she sat up in bed.

Lauren had just walked out of the shower and sat down on her side of the bed with a towel wrapped around her body and had made Camila, who had just woken up, sit in front of her with her mouth open.

"Shh, baby, not yet," Lauren said, holding Camila at arms length as she whined, trying to lean forwards to latch on to Lauren's breast for her morning milk. 

"Are you actually counting her teeth?" Dinah asked in realisation. "That's a whole new level of overprotective."

"Come here, Deej," Lauren sighed. "All her teeth are still baby teeth, and some of her baby molars don't even look like they've fully grown. Camz, have you never lost a tooth before?"

"Damn, you're right," Dinah said, craning her neck to see.

"Okay, okay," Lauren conceded when Camila started to cry from being deprived of her milk, letting Camila crawl into her lap. She pulled down her towel and leaned back against her pillow, cradling Camila in her arms. "How was the movie with Maddie last night?"

"It was good, but dropping her home sucked," Dinah sighed. "The house was clearly empty, all the lights were off, and she seemed so sad."

"I'm going to flag it up with safeguarding at school next week, there's definitely something going on," Lauren sighed. "Ow, Camila, don't bite me," Lauren inhaled sharply, pulling Camila off of her chest. 

The little girl started crying, making grabby arms and trying to wriggle out of Lauren's grasp.

"You can't bite me, angel," Lauren sighed, wincing in pain. 

"Camila!" Dinah scolded, making the little girl cry even harder.

"Shh, c'mere," Lauren sighed, letting Camila latch on again. "It's her teeth, I'm telling you, Dinah."

"Well it's not like we'll have any luck getting her to the dentist, I'll do some research when you take her to the daycare," Dinah said, stretching her arms out behind her. "Do you want me to take Camila for a change while you get dressed?" she asked, noticing the full diaper.

"Yes, please," Lauren nodded, handing Camila over to Dinah. "Wipe her down properly, D, I don't want another rash."

"Your Mama's so bossy, isn't she," Dinah teased playfully, carrying Camila to her room where her changing table was.

Camila babbled away quietly to the stuffed elephant Dinah gave her to play with, pulling it's trunk into her mouth every few minutes only for Dinah to pull it out again.

"Do you know what you want to wear today?" Dinah asked, walking over to Camila's wardrobe.

"Big girl panties," Camila said, pointing at the white training panties the girls had bought her a few months ago but quickly decided Camila wasn't ready for.

"Babe, I don't know if that's the best idea," Dinah said honestly. "What about a pull-up?"

"No," Camila whined, kicking her legs.

"Okay, if you sit on the training potty while you have breakfast then you can wear them, deal?" Dinah asked.

"Deal," Camila nodded triumphantly.  

Soon enough the three were downstairs at the kitchen table, Camila sat uncomfortably on the training potty while Dinah cleared up from breakfast and Lauren tapped away at her computer, trying to understand what could be wrong with Camila's teeth.

"Done now?" Camila asked impatiently.

"I don't know, Camzi, are you done?" Lauren asked, not drawing her eyes away from her screen. "Have you gone potty yet?" 

"Are you scared?" Dinah asked gently, sitting down next to Camila. "If you're embarrassed you know you can go use the big girl potty in the bathroom, right?"

"I can't do it," Camila whimpered, her bottom lip wobbling.

"Oh, but you can do anything," Dinah said convincingly. 

"D," Lauren said, cocking her head to the side. "Why don't you come to daycare with us?"

"Yes!" Camila cheered excitedly before stopping abruptly, her expression changing completely. "Mama, look! Mila go potty!" she said excitedly, wriggling in the seat.

"What a big girl you are!" Lauren exclaimed, closing her laptop and walking over. "Are you done?"

"I knew you could do it," Dinah smiled, giving Camila a high five as Lauren lifted her up. 

"Let's go get you wiped down," Lauren smiled, picking up the training potty and following Camila to the downstairs bathroom.

"DJ said I can wear my big girl panties," Camila said excitedly as Lauren helped her wash her hands.

"I can see that," Lauren nodded, pulling the training panties up and onto Camila's hips. "Can we have a little talk, Cammie?"

"Kay, Mama," Camila said, letting Lauren lift her onto her hip.

"We're going to daycare today, and it's been a while since you went out without a diaper," Lauren said carefully, walking out of the bathroom and sitting Camila down on the staircase. "I know you've been really good going potty this morning, so we need to carry on with that throughout the day."

"I can do it," Camila nodded confidently.

"I know you can, angel," Lauren said softly. "But if you do have an accident you need to stay calm and tell Becky what's happened, can you do that?"

"Mm hmm, but I won't, Mama," Camila said.

"I know, but if you do then it's okay, and what's the special word you use to tell us you want to go potty?" Lauren asked, starting to strap Camila's shoes onto her feet for her.

"Butterfly," Camila smiled, standing up now that Lauren was done with her shoes. 

"D, let's go!" Lauren called.

 By the time they gotten to the daycare, Camila was restless and cranky and Dinah was an adult version of that.

"Why did I have to come?" Dinah sulked as they walked in, Camila having run ahead.

"She's got some difficult OT work to do today, and you got along with her so well this morning, I figured you'd want to," Lauren said, interlacing their hands.

"You're too cute for your own good," Dinah complained, pulling Lauren into a kiss.

"Mmm," Lauren murmured, pulling away at the sound of Camila calling out for her to hurry up.

"You don't give me enough sex anymore," Dinah pouted, trudging after Lauren.

"Well make an effort today and we'll see tonight," Lauren smirked, earning herself an eye-roll from Dinah.

"You're manipulative," Dinah said, playfully shoving Lauren.

"Becky!" Camila giggled, pointing at the familiar lady and running over for a cuddle, squealing with joy when the lady picked her up.

"Do you want to go put your things on your peg while I talk to your Mamas?" Becky asked as she put her down, taking Camila's coat off and handing it to her, knowing she couldn't do it herself.

"Kay," Camila nodded before skipping off.

"Hi," Becky walked over with a smile. "How's she been?"

"Good," Lauren nodded. "Dinah finally got her to use her training potty this morning, it took longer than we had thought it would."

"That's great!" Becky exclaimed, knowing how hard Lauren and Dinah had been trying to get Camila to at least engage in the potty training process. 

"She's insisted on wearing her big girl panties, though," Lauren added. "So her code word for needing the bathroom is butterfly, but I think there are still quite a few extra diapers in her cubby, worst case scenario."

"It's a good idea to try get her used to telling us when she needs the bathroom," Becky nodded in agreement. "Are you two going to stay?"

"We might go to the cafe upstairs," Lauren glanced at Dinah, who nodded in agreement.

"I definitely need some coffee," Dinah chuckled.

"No problem," Becky nodded, waving goodbye before heading back Camila. "Good job!" she said when she found Camila standing proudly by her coat peg.

"Up?" Camila asked, reaching for the woman.

"Not now, love, we're going to go play with some very special toys with a very special person," Becky smiled, offering Camila a hand.

"Who?" Camila asked, taking Becky's hand and following her across the playroom and to a smaller room with a glass door.

"This is Dr. Freeman," Becky said, knocking on the door before pushing it open. "You've seen her before, haven't you?"

"Hello, Camila," Dr. Freeman smiled. "Why don't you come on in?"

Camila shyly stuck by Becky, hiding behind her ever so slightly. 

"Becky's going to stay, don't worry," she reassured her. "And we've got some toys for you to play with," she added, gesturing to a series of plastic food items and a toy kitchen set.

"Playing mummies and daddies?" Camila asked, becoming more excited.

"We're playing a food game, actually," Dr. Freeman said, picking up a small plastic tray. "Where do you normally see this?"

Camila furrowed her eyebrows before casting her gaze over to some other toys in the corner, bored when she couldn't immediately answer the question.

"Baby," Camila said, pointing to a babydoll and tugging at Becky's sleeve.

"We can play with the baby in a little bit," Becky promised, taking the toy tray from Dr. Freeman. "

"Is this what the tray in school looks like at lunch time?" she prompted.

Camila slowly nodded, turning her attention back to the task at hand.

"Now, Camila, which of these foods do you like to eat?" Dr Freeman asked, walking over to the toy foods. "Do you like apples?"

Camila nodded.

"Can you put the apple on your tray?" Dr Freeman asked.

"It's mum-mum, isn't it?" Becky helped, using the term Camila often used for food to help explain it to her. "Which mum-mum does Mila want to eat?"

"Nana," Camila said, pointing at the banana.

"If you want the banana, can you put it on your tray?" Becky asked.

Camila looked hesitant, fidgeting with her top and swinging her foot against the floor. She eventually pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, reaching over for the banana and picking it up, putting it on her tray only for it to bounce off and fall onto the ground, after which Camila angrily threw the tray to the ground as well before running over to grab the doll and sitting down cross legged with it.

Becky glanced at Dr. Freeman to ask which one of them should deal with the little girl's strop.

"I've got Sophia at 12, but I'm free at 1 so why don't you take her out to play for a little while and then bring her back?" Dr Freeman said quietly to Becky.

"Okay," she nodded. "Camila, sweetheart, let's go play with dolly outside," Becky said, picking Camila up.

The smaller girl immediately nuzzled into her side, hiding her face from Dr Freeman while Becky carried her outside.

"Do you want to play outside?" Becky asked, waiting for Camila to nod before putting her down and ushering her towards the playground. 

The little girl excitedly ran around, playing on the plastic rocking toys, the space hoppers and the tricycle for half an hour until she returned to Becky, wanting cuddles.

"Hello," Becky smiled when Camila ran over, plopping down into her lap. "Did you have a good run around?" she asked as the little girl settled down, rubbing her cheek against the woman's breast, something she often did to indicate being ready for some milk. "Should we get you your bottle?"

Camila nodded, although whining slightly when she had to stand up.

"We can go sit on the beanbags, you like it there, don't you?" Becky said, trying to distract Camila while she made the bottle of formula to avoid a tantrum. "There we go," she said, shaking the powder and hot water together in her hand as she followed Camila over to the beanbags in the reading corner. "Are you going to sit in my lap?" she asked when Camila remained standing, waiting for becky to sit down. 

The small girl nodded, climbing into Becky's lap the moment she sat down.

"Do you want to hold your own baba?" Becky offered.

"No," Camila whined, lifting her legs up as if to prompt Becky to cradle her.

"Alright," Becky said gently, moving one of her arms under Camila's knees and one under her back to hold her securely. She tested the temperature on her wrist before easing the teat of the bottle into Camila's mouth.

"Is she a baby?" a little boy ran over to becky, waiting for an answer. "Is she a little baby?" he asked again, peering at Camila and stoking her forehead gently. He was only 6, and came to the play centre because of his dyslexia and autism.

"Yes, Ben, she is," Becky said after a moment's thought, trying to keep both children's needs in mind. While calling Camila a baby might be harmful to her progress in gaining independence, she was clearly tired and fixated on her bottle and she didn't want Ben to associate her behaviour with that of an older child.

"One, two, three, peekaboo!" Ben exclaimed, earning a giggle from Camila who shyly turned into Becky's chest.

Ben spent the next ten minutes trying to entertain Camila while she had her bottle, until eventually she finished and Becky sat her up to burp her.

"Can she come play with me?" Ben asked Becky curiously. 

"Mila, do you want to go play?" Becky asked.

"Wif you?" Camila asked, evidently nervous.

"I'll be right over here, you can come get me if you need me," Becky promised. "Here, let's clip this on," she said, attaching Camila's pacifier to her top. "There you go."

It was half an hour later when Becky took Camila back to Dr. Freeman's room, the small girl a lot more hesitant now that she knew what to expect.

"Don't wanna," Camila whined when she saw the tray again, trying to clamber up into Becky's arms.

"Just try your best, Camila," Dr. Freeman encouraged, putting a hand on Camila's back. 

Camila bit her lip nervously, edging towards the play food items.

"You can choose anything you like to put on your plate," Dr. Freeman said after a moment when Camila hadn't moved to take anything. "Try get something for a meal, like the sandwich, and something for dessert," she suggested.

Camila didn't respond, her grip on the tray tightening as her eyes scanned the plastic food. It was only seconds later when disaster struck.

"It's okay," Becky quickly intervened, taking the tray from Camila when she realised she'd had an accident. 

When the little girl realised what was happening, she immediately burst into loud tears.

"It's okay," Becky repeated, taking Camila's hand. "Let's go get you cleaned up," she said, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. 

"U-u-up," Camila choked out, reaching up for Becky.

"In a minute, sweetheart," she promised, leading Camila to the cloak room to grab a change of clothes. "We're going to go to the changing room to get you all nice and clean," she explained.

"Wan' mama," Camila sobbed.

The little girl eventually cooperated, following Becky into the changing room and letting her lift her onto the changing table. She fussed a little when the older girl changed her into a diaper, not wanting to take off her big girl panties, but given the situation was all in all rather cooperative. 

"I'm just putting your wet clothes into a bag," Becky explained, noticing that Camila, who was now sitting cross-legged on the changing table with tear-stained cheeks, was watching her intensely while suckling on two of her fingers.

"Mama," Camila said quietly.

"We can go look for her now, but she might now still be here," Becky said, not wanting to get Camila's hopes up. "If she isn't there I can give her a call, okay?"

Camila nodded, all of a sudden very quiet.

"Good girl, take nice big steps," Becky said as they walked out of the play centre and up the stairs that led to the cafe, the smaller girl not letting go of her hand for a second. "Look!" the older girl exclaimed, feeling some relief when she saw Lauren and Dinah sat at a table at the back, both staring at their laptop screens while tapping away.

"Hi?" Lauren said in confusion when she caught sight of the two, glancing at her watch which showed that Camila wasn't supposed to be picked up for a few more hours. "Hi, baby," she said when the little girl pattered over, climbing into her lap. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked as Camila nestled into her chest.

"It's been a bit of a hard afternoon," Becky explained, sitting down at a chair. "Camila, do you want to tell your Mummies what's upsetting you?"

The little girl remained quiet, fiddling with a strand of Lauren's hair.

"I think lunch time is a bigger source of anxiety than we had realised," Becky explained when Camila failed to reply. "We had a little accident but I've got her wet clothes here, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick change, but I don't think Camila's ready to come here without her diapers yet."

"Aw, angel, you've had a hard day, hmm?" Lauren soothed, rubbing Camila's back.

"She's just had a bottle not too long ago but we haven't had an N-A-P," Becky spelt out, standing up. "You did a good job today, Camila, it's all about trying your best," she reassured her, standing up.

"Munchkin, I'm a bit hungry, do you want to come help me choose a snack?" Dinah asked, trying to distract the upset little girl with a sugary treat.

Camila nodded slowly, glancing at Lauren for reassurance before taking Dinah's hand and walking over to the counter.

"Mommy, up?"

"There you go," Dinah said, lifting Camila onto her hip. "What do you want? Ooh, that one looks good, hmm," she said, pointing to a large chocolate eclair. "Or how about the victoria sponge?"

"Dunno," Camila whispered, burying her face into the older girl's chest.

"Deej, get it to go, let's just take her home," Lauren walked over with their stuff.

"Mama," Camila whined, reaching over for Lauren.

"Hi, baby," Lauren smiled, patting Camila's bottom. 

"Mama," Camila repeated sulkily, patting Lauren's breast.

"Do you want a baba?" Lauren asked, adjusting her handbag on her shoulder. "Angel, I need you to use your words," she said gently when Camila kicked in frustration at being misunderstood.

"Mama give Mila paci," Camila shouted.

"Someone needs a nap," Dinah muttered under her breath.

Lauren decided not to reprimand Camila's behaviour, instead silently pushing the pacifier, which was already clipped onto the little girl's top, into her mouth to quieten her.

"No caww'eat," Camila complained as Lauren tried to strap her in.

"It's not safe for little girl to be in a car without a carseat," Lauren explained calmly. "You either let Mama buckle up your carseat or we can stay here until you're ready to cooperate."

"Sweetie, what if I sit in the back with you?" Dinah offered.

"Lap?"

"No, babe, DJ will be right next to you," Lauren promised. "Can you help me with the buckle?" she asked, trying to engage the little girl. "Good girl, put your arm through here for me."

"Mama no, Mila do it," Camila giggled, taking the buckle from Lauren and pulling all three straps together in front of her diaper.

"Good job, angel!" Lauren praised, despite the fact that Camila wasn't actually able to snap the buckles together herself. 

By the time they got home, Camila had retreated into a sleepy silence in her carseat and was tightly gripping Dinah's hand which was resting in her lap.

"Hi, honey," Lauren said softly once she had opened the door to the backseat. "I need you to listen super closely for me," she continued, bending down by Camila who sleepily turned her head to face the older girl. "I know you've had a touch day at daycare, and we can talk about that later but for now it's nap time, and I have some really good news for you."

"Mm?" Camila murmured around her pacifier.

"I think your nap is going to make you feel a lot better, especially if we can get you down without a tantrum," Lauren said, rubbing Camila's knee. "So this is the plan, I'm going to take you out of your carseat and we're going to go straight up to your room. We're not having any playtime before your nap, but if you want a baba I can make you one, okay?"

Camila nodded, leaning towards Lauren and reaching out for her.

"Hang on, baby, lemme unbuckle you," Lauren said. "There we go," she said, tossing the car keys to Dinah so she could lock the car. 

The little girl lay limp in her arms, evidently exhausted, and Lauren made sure to turn off the main lights in the little girl's room as soon as they got there, only leaving on a soft lamp. 

Lauren hummed softly to herself as she put Camila down on the changing table, taking off her clothes and quickly checking her diaper.

"Do you wanna sleep in your diaper or should I get a onesie out?" Lauren asked.

"Cuddwes, pwease," Camila replied, sleepily rubbing her eye.

"Okay, let's have some cuddles," Lauren smiled, lifting Camila onto her hip and carrying her over to the rocking chair. 

She unbuttoned her blouse and undid the top of the nursing bra, simultaneously reaching for one of Camila's favourite story books from the bookshelf. 

"It's time to get comfy and settle down, doll," Lauren hummed, smiling fondly at the little girl who was now nursing quietly, having relinquished her pacifier, ans was looking up at her Mama with wide eyes. "Once upon a time, in a magical land far away, lived a little bear..."

After only five minutes of reading in a hushed tone, Lauren was sure that Camila was fast asleep in her arms and put down the book. She spent a few more minutes just holding the small girl to her chest, rubbing her back softly, before standing up and placing her into her crib.