What motherhood means to me this morning

I have a heavy heart this week. 2 friends have lost their babies way too early, another close friend is having a miserable start to her pregnancy, and a couple others have had disappointing cycles again with no results.
I feel blessed to have my Elle Belle. So with my night with the monitor I awoke at 3 for that space between sleep and awakeness to wait for the inevitable crying. Elle has been waking around 3 am for some reason this week(I am attributing it to a growth spurt since she is starving or to the fact that she has started cruising and I read somewhere when they are going through developmental changes it affects their sleep and will pass). so I laid awake until the monitor went off--I thought I got off scott free until 3 fire trucks went roaring past our apartment with lights and sirens blazing. And up Elle went.
So I took an extra few minutes in the glider early this morning. A few extra quiet cuddle moments and kisses when she wasn't squirming away. I guess I should thank God for the kick in the pants to be grateful and still.