I like the way you capture the slowness of waking and the surreal distance that often surrounds moments like these.  You could expand the story backward or forward, but it stands alone as a vignette.  Thank you for sharing this.

I am speechless at the power of the emotion in this piece.

Very frightening stuff. It must have been difficult to write. Since I became a mum myselfe I am very vulnarable to these kind of stories. Well done.