Today I got to spend some time at the hospital, hanging out with the new parents, the thrilled bubbe (grandma) and of course, this very new baby. He’s fairly easy going so far, only crying when his clothes are taken off (he’s very modest) or if he’s hungry. Otherwise, he’s pretty content to just hang out, completely oblivious to the fact that every eye in the room is on him.

I took nearly 150 pictures of him in the first half hour I was there, all the while being grateful that I don’t live in the days when I’m constrained by the cost of film and can keep on snapping until I get some good shots. After that I held him. For an hour. I don’t know if I can properly convey the magic that is having such a new person in my arms for that length of time. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was almost as if I had a contact high from that inarticulable connection to the unknown that all new babies have.

Standing at the foot of Sabrina’s bed, I unconsciously fell into the rhythm and bounce of the baby waltz. I don’t remember learning the gentle swaying and rocking that can sometimes calm babies and keep them sleeping. It just springs from someplace deep within me when I have a baby in my arms.

Finally, around 4:30, I handed him over to his dad, heading home to make an apple crisp for dinner with friends. I can’t wait to see this little person again.