my stela

The night was staged with perfect sleeping conditions. The temperature of the room was excellent, not too hot, not too cold. Just right. The tip of your nose is a little bit cold, but you snuggle deep in the blankets and the world is a cozy cave. The bed was superbly comfortable. The pillows fluffed just so, the blankets were wrapped loosely, hanging comfortably. One of those nights when you lie in bed and sigh, thinking, ‘is there anything better?’ 

Then through the monitor you hear a little person…squawking. It begins quietly at first and you think in your deep, comfortable slumber, ‘is it morning already?’ You hear more groans and whines and your eyes open, slightly. 

Really? Morning isn’t usually this dark. 

You wonder what’s wrong with the baby.

Now her whimpers have turned to full blown cries and yelps, demanding attention.

You take a moment to enjoy the cave of your bedroom. The coziness of the blankets and the stillness of the house by turning the monitor off. 

Maybe she’ll just go back to bed.

Five minutes later you turn up the volume to hear a little voice roaring for a response.

Alright. You win.

You go downstairs and check on the angry tyrant. There she is. Huddled in her crib, sobbing and whining. She grabs her favorite pink snuggly blanket and clings to you. You rock her, soothe her, kiss her. Instantly she quiets. She cuddles into your chest like a baby koala. And there she intends to stay. Because, apparently, she is in need of a 4 am snuggle.

So you stumble up to your once cozy bed and lay the baby between you and the dad. There she snuggles right up next to you, pretty much on top of you. She holds her positions for seconds at a time, trying out each comfortable spot. She intermittently showers you with slobbery kisses and pats on the head. She worms her little arms around your neck and squeezes your head closer to her. She wiggles her little feet. Happy to be with the ones she loves. 

She moves over to shower the dad with the same affection. She lies on his head and giggles. She snuggles her head right into his neck and shoves her knee into his back. He lets out a loud sigh of frustration. 

You giggle. 

She heads back over to your pillow and commandeers it. You have no pillow and use your arm to support you neck and head. She babbles while you think of how you’re going to sneak your pillow back. She pulls her head right next to you and quiets while you tickle her back and legs. She’s drifting back to sleep.

The temperature of the room is a little too hot. Because you are sleeping next to a little furnace. The blankets have pretty much been swiped or stolen leaving you to manage with a one square inch corner. Your pillow has been taken over by the mini dictator.

But you are snuggled next to your little fifteen month old, feeling her chest rise and fall and smelling her sweet baby smell. You are letting your mind wander and remember how fast she has grown up. Reminiscing about her little personality and feisty attitude. You hold this little body closely next to you and think ‘does it get any better than this?’