The Bub in the Belly: Last night

Here's a great follow-up to yesterday's post.

Last night, the baby cried for milk while Ryan and I were reading in bed. Ryan nudged me to pick her up. I put her to my breast, offered Ryan the other breast and the three of us laid down in bed next to Richard, the baby on my chest, Ryan in the crook of my arm. I hugged both of my children, rubbed their heads, stroked their faces and arms and told them I loved them. It was a wonderful feeling.

Slowly, Ryan reached out to his sister and gently, so very gently, put his hand on her head. It's hard to adequately describe the moment - it was pretty magical. I kept quiet, watching to see what would happen next. Ryan relaxed, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Ryan and I have slept in each other arms ever since he was born. Coupled with the fact that sleeptime is when a child feels most vulnerable, when all defences are let down, it was immensely significant that Ryan accepted and incorporated his sister into our very intimate and personal space.

The baby came off the breast shortly after that but stayed on my chest, fast asleep. She shifted position but Ryan continued to hug her in his sleep. He soon came off the breast too, falling deep into slumber.

It wasn't the first time that the two children slept so closely together but it was the first time that Ryan set up everything from start to end. This next shot was taken last week. Ryan and I were sleeping and I got up to nurse the baby. Ryan got up, semi-awake, and settled down again on me, with his hand on the baby's hand and his head on her legs.