The pediatrician watched the recording three times the next morning. On the fourth viewing, he slowed it almost frame by frame. Sarah gripped Daniel’s hand tightly beneath the examination-room table. “There,” she said when Rebecca bent over the crib. “That’s when it happens.” The doctor quietly raised one finger. “Wait. Watch Lula’s head before Rebecca touches her.”
He backed the clip up. Lula’s head began turning first. Her shoulders lifted. Only then did Rebecca’s hands slide underneath her. Daniel leaned closer. “So Rebecca didn’t pull her up?” “Not from what I can see,” the doctor said. “She looks like she’s reacting to the movement.” Sarah silently stared at the screen again. The same footage that had terrified her now looked completely different.
“What does that mean?” Sarah asked. The doctor opened Rebecca’s feeding notebook. “When was this bottle?” Daniel checked the time. They compared it with the other episodes Sarah remembered. Nearly all happened after feeding. “She coughs afterward too,” Sarah said. “And she’s better upright.” The doctor nodded slowly. “That might be important.” Sarah looked at him. “Do you know what this is?” “I have an idea,” he replied, writing a referral, “but let’s confirm it.”