Okay so I did a very stupid thing last night.

I watched Chloe sound asleep in her crib and she looked so peaceful, so adorable, so squeezably soft, I had to pick her up and cuddle with her.

I know it was a dumb move and even people who have never been fortunate enough to call themselves parents have more sense than to disturb a sleeping baby, but I was reminded earlier in the day that she is going to celebrate her first birthday in a month and it occurred to me, she has never really wanted to snuggle with anyone and it won’t be long before the only affection we get from her is a text message asking what’s for dinner. So, I did the unthinkable. I moved some of her blankets around, slid her down to the middle of the crib, gently stroked the top of her head, counted her little toes, essentially, trying to sort of wake her so she would see me standing over her and would quietly crawl over to the side of the crib, arms outstretched, begging to be picked up.

Wrong.

She looked at me out of one eye, startled and started screaming.

I picked her up and tried to slowly rock her in the glider, back and forth, forcing her head down on my shoulder the way babies do willingly on t.v. shows, commercials and movies. It was hardly the real life Love You Forever scene I had envisioned. Robert Munsch would have shuddered.

She bit my hand and swatted the side of my ear.

Totally deserved.

Lesson learned.