Sitting in bed, in the silver-blue glow of my laptop, watching my son sleep, soothing him first with sound when he wakes. Interestingly, more than half the time he wakes with a violent start, and starts crying immediately – before even opening his eyes. So I have to ask – is he having nightmares? Or is he simply hypersensitive to his situation- in the crib, not in the bed, and alone, no bodies next to him? I can’t decide. I know that he’s upset before he’s fully conscious. It makes me sad to think that a child of a mere 8 months could have anything in his head other than warm, fuzzy, liquid, fleshy happiness.