I am getting better at deciphering the meaning of her cries... but, to be honest, the only one I'm ever really sure that it means what I think it means sounds like this: "WAAAAHHHHHUUURRRRRR! UNGH! UNGH! YAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGG! UNNNNGH! YEEEEAAAAHHUUURRRRRAAAAAA!" It is usually accompanied by frantic squirming and kicking. And a telltale grimace, demonstrated by the anonymous small child below.
I know what this cry means because, well, I make these sounds sometimes. (And that face.) Those sounds mean "I need to poop! Really, really bad! And it hurts!"
I, however, only make those sounds when I'm actually constipated, but I was surprised to learn that Amelia makes these sounds before every bowel movement, despite a complete lack of constipation. I suppose I've forgotten a lot about the crash course I took (Life 100: Human Body Operations) immediately after birth, but apparently one of the first things every tiny human has to learn is how to use the gastrointestinal system. I assumed that having a bowel movement is one of those things that come effortlessly, but Amelia has reminded me that, to the contrary, it takes a lot of energy at first.
I have become quite familiar with this cry over the past few weeks. A few times each night, I wake up to hear her grunting, grunting, squirming, grunting... but she doesn't quite wake up. She will carry on for 1-20 minutes, before finally, a poosplosion. A very loud one.* ... And another, and another, and another... She finally ends the finale with a sigh of contentment and a smile. Oh, and sometimes an encore.
Another cry I've come to understand is the hungry cry... either that, or the "Dang it, I just want to suck on something" cry. I haven't yet figured out how to distinguish between them solely based on the sound alone. I can usually figure out when she's actually hungry when she starts spitting out any offered fingers with an indignant outcry... If I could translate that indignant cry into English, it would go like this: "A finger!? What is this trash!? I demand MILK!"
So I obligingly pull out a sore bazoonga. And take a deep breath and timidly offer the dang thing to her. Aaaand then she ferociously zeroes in on said bazoonga and clamps down with vigor. Ayayay, that is often exquisitely painful. It's getting better, I think.
Of all the sounds our tiny Pterodactyl makes, the following is my favorite. She makes it most often when she's in REM sleep and it is sometimes even accompanied by a smile. It sounds like a laugh or a giggle... "Heheheheheh!" In fact, it sounds a little like the sort of giggle Elmer Fudd makes. The best is when she happens to "giggle" after James or I have said something funny... or mockable.
I love that pseudo-laugh. It almost compensates for all the less enjoyable noises she makes.
Love and dirty diapers,
Jenna and Amelia
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*Yesterday at church, this happened during a particularly quiet moment. It was... uh, cute. Heh. And James tells me he heard an at-home upstairs poosplosion from all the way downstairs. I think the door was closed, too. It occurs to me that perhaps all babies have loud bowel movements... and that I probably did as a baby as well. This may shed light on how I received the family nickname Jennifart... I've had it as long as I can remember. :)
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