Paranoia

People always want to know when they see a baby in a stroller:
Boy or Girl?
How old?
What's the name?

I answer all these questions, the first two without much thought. I hesitate for a second, but I always give her name to complete strangers. This afternoon while I was nursing Tallu I saw an awful news story. A woman asked another woman if she could take the baby to the store. The other woman said yes. 48 hours later, the two month old is still missing.

Now, I doubt someone is casing the house waiting for an opportunity to snatch my baby. But I'm considering coming up with an alias for my child. (I have friends who never tell their baby's name to strangers, just a nickname.) I also travel the streets with the stroller completely covered up because I don't want people looking at her. (A lot of people have said my baby has kissable lips. She's two months old- don't be looking at my baby's lips!) I'm wary of putting pictures of her on the internet, because I don't want every schlub with internet access to have images of my child. (My husband made an online album and made it public, which still unsettles me.)

Ok, I'm tired, and it's hot in the living room. Plus it's been an hour and a half that Tallu has been in a different room, and I haven't heard any noise on the baby monitor. I gotta make sure she's still in her bassinet...