'Should I carry you?', I asked as she cried.
She nodded and I scooped her up from the bed. Her cries had attracted me to the room, it was past 3am.
'Why is she crying?' I asked her Nanny who shrugged in response.
As I rocked her, I whispered in her ears 'should I carry you on my back?' She nodded again and I picked a wrapper to tie her to my back.
I walked to the living room and sang gently to her. Today we both have something in common, we cannot sleep.
I don't know why she is awake but I am working on a report for an early morning assignment.
I continued with my work as she laid still on my back and asked at intervals if she was okay, she would nod in response.
After a while she started talking to me, she spoke quite inaudibly so I couldn't understand what she was saying, I just kept nodding to all she said.
She talked for a while and decided she no longer wanted to stay on my back. Wriggling was her mode of communication this time so I dropped her on the couch and continued with my work.
After a while she decided again that she wanted to sing, she just started singing inaudibly.
'At this time? You'll wake your sisters up if you do' I said as I tried to explain to her that it was too early to sing.
She just continued singing so I decided that we would sing in hushed tones as that would be better than having her cry out loud in protest.
Waking her sisters at this time would not be funny - at all.
We sang THE A,B,C,D song and laughed, all in hushed tones. Then she decided that she wanted Cerelac.
'Now?' I asked again and she nodded.
I made her sing again but after she did she called for Cerelac and I knew at this point that whatever had kept her awake is more than I can handle.
I am picking my battles wisely and handed her to her Nanny. She had her Cerelac made and became calm.
As I watched her eat, I wished Cerelac was all it would take to get me to sleep again, I wished I didn't have to leave early despite having slept for just 2 hours.
As she finished her meal she smiled as she started to talk again, this time more happily.
As our eyes met she mouthed a kiss and I imagined the joy her Mum would have felt had she been awake.
Whoever said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach must have meant a baby's heart - love undiluted lives right here, in the heart of a child.
We found that love while others slept.
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