How I learned to appreciate parenting by training my baby to sleep

The rosé prosecco tingles in my throat and I swallow it with a guilty conscience. It’s a night in Washington and I have a baby monitor in front of me, watching my five-month-old. It is crying. But I don’t jump up.

Four more minutes, then I can go to him. Three, two, one more minute. I open the door to the baby’s room, the crying gets louder. I peek in and say, “Shhhhh, everything’s fine, honey.” Then I close the door from the outside and take a deep breath. The next waiting interval begins.

The bad conscience will pass, because after a few days I taught my child an elementary skill. My baby had previously only interrupted at night and only slept on the body during the day. Now it can fall asleep and sleep through the night in its crib without rocking, rocking, rocking, carrying or sucking.