Knocking on wood ...

Funny how being a mama means worrying (or wondering, at least) over not just the troublesome moments, but also the most fabulous, lucky incidents with your babe ...

... which is why I found myself pondering whether a baby can get too much consecutive sleep. Nora, for the second night in a row, slept for 11 hours straight. With nary a peep nor a rustle. And then she stirred a bit, just as the earliest morning light crept into the sky, and hung out in her bassinet for another hour cooing to herself while I got her bottles ready, cleaned the kitchen, and wrote three thank you notes forcryingoutloud.

I found myself thinking - was she too warm and therefore near comatose? Will she never ever take a daytime nap and become cranky and inconsolable (again - like yesterday - poor Nonna)** due to constant stimulation? Is she getting enough calories (the ultimate concern with Nora Bean)? Is she freakishly early in her sleep development because of some melatonin imbalance?

And of course, there is the undercurrent of wincing anticipation that she'll make up for it by refusing to sleep for more than an hour, or something, next week.

So I knock on wood, and try not to say anything about it to the other new parents at work, who are stumbling around with little satchels under their eyes. I want to prattle on about it with beaming eyes, but oh how annoying I would be. Surely, I'd be run out of town by a torch- and pitchfork-bearing mob.

Knock on wood.

I love you, Nora. I can't begin to describe how purposeful and happy I felt puttering around the kitchen as the sun came up. Everything I do these days, from going to work to sweeping the kitchen floor, feels meaningful and important. Thank you for needing me, and for your sweetness and milky mouth and the way you have actually begun to smile or cry at me when you have something to convey.

**She will not, however, take daytime naps at present. Her eyes slide halfway closed and she goes a little limp, and then WHAMMO! Open again. She cries in frustration. So we're working on that, since her Nonna nanny is going a wee bit stark raving.