Secretly grateful for night tummy, a strange condition that seems to afflict Girl only at bedtime. It’s come on suddenly for the past two nights, happening right after she brushes her teeth.

“My tummy hurts,” she tells me. Sometimes she is more descriptive: “My tummy feels like it’s being pulled in two directions.”

Apparently the cure for night tummy is for me to lie down with Girl in her bed until she falls asleep. I used to do this on a regular basis until about six months ago, when she abruptly decided she didn’t need me or my bedtime stories to fall asleep anymore. Just a kiss and a prayer, thank you very much. She wanted to be alone. So the Adventures of Emily Poochydoochydachydoo, my rambling bedtime saga, came to a screeching halt way before I was ready for it to end. But you can’t beg a six-year-old to be more needy. You have to respect their small declarations of independence.

I think night tummy is really about saving face. For a girl like Girl, it’s easier to say “my tummy hurts” than “I still need you, Mommy.”

I’ve liked the last two nights, lying besider her in her small bed, staring at all the toys in her room as her breath grows steady and even. Happy that my baby can still sometimes be my baby.