"Feel this." I guided his hand to my stomach.

The baby kicked wildly. "Whoa!" Pär cried, astonishment in his voice. "Tot!"

The baby kicked wildly again. "Tot!"

And again. "Tot!"

"Small Tot is completely spasmodic," I said.

"It's because of the AppleJacks you just ate," he said.

"I can't believe you gave me a bowl of sugar cereal and put your child on a sugar rush at one in the morning."

"Hey, I brought that bowl in for myself. You're the one who took it away from me and ate it."

"I was hungry! You put food in front of me!"

"Oh, I don't mind," he said, "I'm happy to feed you. I just don't consider myself responsible for you munching down a bowl of sugar at half past midnight."

"Well, now Tot is freaking out." I tried to roll over and get comfortable despite the riot going on in my womb.

"Don't worry, soon the sugar coma will hit and Tot will crash and sleep."

"Pär, if it's like this now and I'm only in my sixth month, what's it going to be like a couple months from now? Tot's going to kick its way right through my stomach like a little alien."

"No," Pär stated solemnly. "Tot is perky but respectful of your boundaries."

"I don't think respect really enters into this. I mean, I am Tot's boundaries."

"We'll just lay off the sugar cereals after midnight," he said.