That itty bitty baby who was just born is nudging her way towards a third birthday. Impossible, I know, but it's true. There's like six weeks left of two and I fully intend to enjoy every second of it.
I'm especially planning to enjoy that thing where Mila still hasn't figured out how to climb out of her crib. She climbs IN, but never out. It's magical and stuff. For as long as it works as a cage, the crib is staying. That's despite the fact that Mila still calls for me at night. If she were in a big girl bed, she might wander down the hall on her own, but that magical cage thing is worth the cost of getting out of bed to check on her as requested.
She still requests my presence most nights. I managed to jinx her into staying asleep in her own bed for a bunch of nights, but I knew it wasn't permanent. Mila won't be little forever, so it's fine. At least when she calls me at 2:00 a.m. now, there isn't a boy or alcohol or some sort of bad choice involved.
Right?
Right.
Last night Mila summoned me at exactly 2:12. I know it was exactly 2:12 because that's the sort of thing you memorize for no reason at all. I could have space in my head for useful things, but no, I remember wake-up times. I stumbled my way down the hall, fully expecting to find a wide awake Mila staring at me through the darkness. That's what I find more often than not, so it was a reasonable expectation.
Mila was laying down, though. I usually just grab her and take her back to bed with me when she wakes up in the middle of the night, but what's there to do if she's laying down? I decided to wait and see what was going to happen next.
Her breath fell softly and she seemed to still be asleep. Maybe I had imagined her calling out "Momma?" I am well-trained at this point. I could have imagined it. I listened to her breathe for a few seconds and then turned to go back to bed.
"I love you, momma," a little voice whispered in the dark.
I paused. Mila was definitely still sleeping. Some dreams seemingly come with a little gift for me, I guess.
For what's it worth, she summoned me for real at 2:48. It's a good thing I'm trained to not need continuous hours of sleep.