Dropping the Dreamfeed....

I suspect that we will soon be dropping the "dreamfeed," or the late evening feeding. We used to do this at 11:00, then at 10:30, then at 10:00...about 2 weeks ago I moved it to 9:45. She's been sleeping from this feed until at least 6:30 (usually 7:00) for about 3 weeks now. Before Ryan started at TSA and had to get up before the crack of dawn, he did the dreamfeed. I've been doing it since then. I used to hate the dreamfeed, because I used to pump afterwards. Once I was doing it every night, I stopped pumping pretty quickly! Too much of a pain. :) Anyways, we got into a couple of arguments about the dreamfeed, actually. I liked being able to go to sleep when Ryan went in for it; it gave me an extra half hour or so (I know - big deal, right?). I was dreading doing this last feed, because it meant I had to stay up for it and yada yada yada. Tonight I moved it back to 9:35, and I was surprised to feel a little bit of emotion welling up inside. I have come to love the dreamfeed. It's one of my favorite times of day with my sweet little Zooey. She's all snuggly and warm, and she's pretty much asleep and just so very adorable when she's eating. When she's done, I cuddle her to myself for a bit before putting her back in her crib, and she makes those little baby sighs and squeals against my ear, breathing contentedly against me. I will miss these moments. Soon Zooey will not be nursing quickly enough - she'll want to look around and move around. Soon she will be crawling and walking, exploring everything she can in her little world, and our snuggles will become fewer. Moms I know told me, "Cherish this! It goes so fast! You won't believe how fast it goes!" I thought I knew how quickly time goes. I had no concept of this until I had Zooey. She's 15 weeks old tomorrow! So crazy how fast time goes. And although I so look forward to each and every milestone she's going to face, all the exciting "firsts" she will experience and teaching her things and doing so much with her, as each phase passes, I'm struck with how she's moving forward, and sometimes I wish I could slow time down a bit or freeze it for a bit. So once again, I looked down at my precious little girl, and I pray that the Lord will help me to cherish each moment with her. And that He'll help me through the transitions as tough as some may be (even when it's just a "little tough") in a way that will glorify Him and grow Zooey into a healthy, Godly woman.