It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

There's nothing better than waking up to a (co-sleeping) baby making little preverbal vocalizations, yawning, and reaching out to touch you in the morning.

There's nothing worse than the same baby resisting sleep for hours the night before -- crying, coughing, flailing -- especially when your husband is at band practice, drinking beer and yukking it up with the guys.

But I guess you take the bad with the good in parenting. I try to keep in mind that Henry really needs me at those times, and although he may not consciously remember it, my being there for him is something he'll carry with him for the rest of his life.

After he finally fell asleep last night he continued to cough for a while, and he clung to me like his life depended on it. Which in a way, I suppose, it did.

Edited to add: I just noticed that Henry has a tooth! He pulled my thumb into his mouth to gnaw on it and I felt something sharp. It's one of the bottom front ones. Can I just say how very, very glad I am that I was so patient with him last night? Poor little guy was probably in a lot of pain.