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It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. Hours have passed since everyone else in the house has sensibly run to their beds for a good night sleep. I, on the other hand, have been sitting on the porch talking to Christi, listening intently to all her words, marveling at what a wonderful full grown person she has become. We sneak up the stairs being as quiet as two giggly girls can be and let myself into the bedroom where David and Little Annika Baby are snoozing. I tip toe into the bathroom, quiet as a mouse, put on my jammies and brush my teeth. I tip toe back out, check on the baby and slip under the covers exhausted from a long day of fishing on the beach but utterly content with this wonderful life I am so lucky to have.
My head barely hits the pillow before I hear my Little Annika Baby begin to make her adorable little squeaky noises. I lay in the dark, listening to her sweet sounds until I know that she is fully committed to getting up for her nighttime feeding. Being the ever prepared grandma, I had slipped her bottle onto my nightstand before I got into bed. Now there is one rule that Christi has with the nighttime feeding—DO NOT ENGAGE THE BABY! Annika is supposed to get up, drink her bottle and then be put immediately back to bed to fall back asleep until a more respectable time of the morning before she is to be played with.
I get my little love and slide back into the bed propped up on my pillows and give her the bottle never saying a word. When she is finished I lay her head on my shoulder and pat her back relieved as she relaxes back into that sleep that only infants can enjoy. Then like a shot she pushes up on her arms, grabs the sides of my face and begins to whisper her little baby secrets into my mouth. Then she starts giving me those amazing open mouth slobber kisses. Technically I am not breaking the Christi night time feeding decree—Annika is engaging me.
She spends the next half hour whispering her little baby secrets to me and filling me up with kisses and coos. My mind races ahead to the years when she is no longer a little baby but a growing child and I make a wish that she will always want to crawl into her Grandma’s bed in the middle of the night to share her little girl whispers with me.
As I finally put her back into her crib I look at the clock—4:45 and realize I will need to be up and at ‘em in a few short hours. With an amazingly contented sigh, I slide back under the covers to get a little shut eye before my day starts. Some people would be dismayed that the nighttime hours of sleep have slowly been fettered away, but this Momma/Grandma knows with all her heart that sleep can come another day but these precious moments are too fleeting to miss.
