One of the toughest adjustments I've had to make so far as a new dad is tempering my overactive worry gene. My dad lives by the credo, "I'll worry when there is something to worry about." On the other hand, my worry meter, via my mom's side of the family, says "There's something wrong, I just don't know what it is yet."
The area where my anxiety is toughest on me is in the baby sounds department. You need to be an NSA cryptographer to decode the meanings of all the sounds the baby makes. Some are cute and some will make you bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night (assuming you've been able to fall asleep in the first place). Gurgle. Sigh. Snore. Sneeze. Hiccup. Gasp. Squeak. Amanda and I have conversations that would sound ridiculous to outsiders. (Though, I suspect most new parents have had the same conversations.)
"She's making a weird snoring sound. Do you think that's normal?"
"Hey, she stopped making that weird snoring sound. Think that's normal? Check to make sure she's still breathing."
"Is that a different gurgle than the one she was making yesterday?"
"Is that more sneezing? I hope that cold hasn't settled in her kidney."
Logically I know that most of the sounds are normal and, unless they are accompanied by signs of distress and/or crying, that they are harmless indicators that my daughter is growing. I just wish she wasn't a Navajo Codetalker leaving me to decipher the code of what's normal and what is not.
3 comments:
Growing up in a large Catholic family is like growing up in a tiny baby factory, my 4 younger cousins and my little sister all made the weirdest damn noises when they were babies. Especially my sister. And I mean weird. My sister still makes weird noises. I guess what im trying to say is that you (and the wee one) will be OK. Also babies are weird
1. Precisely why little J went to her own crib in her own room at the tender age of 6 weeks. I wasn't getting any sleep worrying about every little noise! Turns out, my mom "spent the night" with her one night and commented that she's a really noisy sleeper. Who knew?
2. Google Patricia Dunstan Baby Language. This lady swears that all babies say 5 words that have meaning. It's actually pretty interesting and yeah, I bought it (the premise, not the DVD--that was going for $60 US 2 yrs ago). She was on Oprah, and it's better when you can actually HEAR it, but here's a link to the show. It makes sense and I believe it!
http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20061113
Glad you're enjoying your noisy little girl!
Maybe if she had just put her jacket on, it might not have settled in her kidney. Of course, then it would groans from her injured knee during that Peterborough game that would be keeping you up.
It is funny how you have to try and decode the sounds. Sometimes all the sounds make you worry, sometimes the lack of audible sounds instills even more worry. And then there are the times where you'll wonder: "Is that the baby, or just static in the monitor?"
But then there are those sounds that you recognize as the good sounds, and they just put your mind at ease. Awesome, isn't it?
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