Fireworks and Thunder

Babies make a lot of noise. Most of it is made up of crying but there are other noises that emanate from babies that are far more perplexing at times. 

There have been the shrieking sounds before the crying, which my husband says sound like pterodactyl cries. There are whimpers when they are about to cry. The ‘ooooh’ sounds when the baby witnesses something great or interesting or is probably doing something in their diaper. My little girl makes some ‘who’ sounds like an owl that are just delightful. 

The list could not be complete without the frightening explosive sounds that come from her diaper area though -- Frightening in that they are so loud for such a small little body.  They often sound like the climactic exchange between fireworks and thunder. They always signify a diaper change. And an occasional disbelief that what is in the diaper has a hue that cannot be found in nature.

The first time I heard this noise, I was preparing to take my baby out on a walk in her stroller. She was preparing for a nap and then I heard the horrible noise. I began to worry that I should probably stay far away from her in case there was some projectile object about to come my way. Despite the noise, she did not wake up. In fact she seemed calmer than I had ever seen her up to that point. I wondered if I should bring her out. 

I called my husband and told him the situation. I asked if it would be a good idea to bring her out and he said ‘You know how she is when she poops, it doesn’t seem to bother her.” I didn’t know for sure if she had pooped at that point because it was only the second time I heard the opera of explosions. I decided to take my chances and go on our walk.

When I returned from the walk, I did change her diaper and there wasn’t any surprise inside the package. My baby just had some gas. However it was a sound that would historically make people hide in underground bunkers. It was noise that produced fear. A noise that was not run of the mill for any child around whom I’ve been.  I am sure there are more surprises in store as I continue on my parental journey.

Cruel Joke

Any parent, regardless of their newness to the community, will tell you that parenthood is not easy. I know I will have my share of difficulties but these first few weeks have been interesting so far. 

Beside the lack of sleep, there are other things going on physically that make dealing with and adjusting to a new baby challenging. As a woman, parts of your body have stretched and undergone changes that you can’t begin to understand despite all the reading you might have done. You feel like different parts of your body will fall out of their usual place. So you walk around trying to keep everything together as best as you can. 

One of the best ways to do that is to get sleep. However with a baby that wants and needs to be fed every 2 to 3 hours, it’s difficult to get the kind of sleep to which you are accustomed. So you sneak those naps in and you feel better momentarily. You continue to walk around like a zombie, except that you aren’t looking for brains. You just want some sleep. You can barely keep your balance because the body underneath you seems to be giving way from under you. 

With lack of slumber everything seems more confusing and more difficult than usual. You can’t figure out why the baby is crying even though there are only so many options (burp?, diaper?, hunger?, temperature?). You struggle to make sense of this little bundle and you seek out advice. And every bodies counsel seems to contradict the words you previously got from someone else. You can’t rely on your rational thinking because the synapses that usually fire have gone on strike. 

On top of that you encounter contraptions, such as the car seat or the stroller, that are far more complicated than they need to be in general. When you add the fact that you have no more coordination, they become the most daunting tasks in the arsenal of mommies and daddies. 

Despite this all, it makes you melt when you see your baby smile. Should your tiny one coo at you, then everything you just went through disappears. Moments when your baby isn’t crying seem like tangible pieces of heaven and it is all worth it. At least until the next time you are startled awake and are tumbling over your own feet.