Truth is stranger than fiction
File this under "i'd never believe it if i hadn't been there":
Babies are amazing creatures. totally helpless, yet also totally in control of their humans. Take baby Niko. Friday night, he started up that frantic screaming that only newborns can do, the kind of screaming that says "I'm starving! feed me! OMG the world is coming to an end! You're not doing it right! hurry up already! no! not like that! Mommy doesn't do it THAT way!!!" all at once while flailing and trying to throw himself out of my arms. so tiny, and so powerful.
now, i'd like to think that i'm pretty baby-savvy for a non-mom. i've beeing doing child care since i was 12, and well, that's a really long time. i'm not perfect, but i'd like to think i've got some experience, and maybe i've seen it all.
Then Derek turned on the shop-vac to clean up a moving-mess in the kitchen.
**i** jumped from the noise. Niko, however, went from screaming, flailing, fish-out-of-water to a limp, peaceful, calm, sleeping infant. INSTANTLY. my god, i think he might've even SMILED.
so there i am, half-startled myself from the shop-vac, holding a ready bottle for the formerly shrieking-starving infant, and he's blissed out. i looked at Erica in disbelief. now i'd heard that sometimes noise or vibration can calm and infant, but my experience - positive and negative - is limited.
on the one hand, i was glad that Niko has stopped shrieking. on the other hand, he wanted NOTHING to do with the bottle i'd rushed to get for him. twerp. Erica just shrugged and said "yeah, all my babies like the vacuum." well, that's a new one on me. Douglas sorta liked the vibrating bouncy seat, but i don't think Andrew cares about it.
the bottle was not wasted, though. while daddy finished shop-vaccing, we took babies upstairs for jammies and diapers, and the spell was broken, and the little guy remembered that he was hungry, starving even, and Crazy Aunt Cyd sprung back into action, changing, diapering and feeding like a semi-pro.
Babies are amazing creatures. totally helpless, yet also totally in control of their humans. Take baby Niko. Friday night, he started up that frantic screaming that only newborns can do, the kind of screaming that says "I'm starving! feed me! OMG the world is coming to an end! You're not doing it right! hurry up already! no! not like that! Mommy doesn't do it THAT way!!!" all at once while flailing and trying to throw himself out of my arms. so tiny, and so powerful.
now, i'd like to think that i'm pretty baby-savvy for a non-mom. i've beeing doing child care since i was 12, and well, that's a really long time. i'm not perfect, but i'd like to think i've got some experience, and maybe i've seen it all.
Then Derek turned on the shop-vac to clean up a moving-mess in the kitchen.
**i** jumped from the noise. Niko, however, went from screaming, flailing, fish-out-of-water to a limp, peaceful, calm, sleeping infant. INSTANTLY. my god, i think he might've even SMILED.
so there i am, half-startled myself from the shop-vac, holding a ready bottle for the formerly shrieking-starving infant, and he's blissed out. i looked at Erica in disbelief. now i'd heard that sometimes noise or vibration can calm and infant, but my experience - positive and negative - is limited.
on the one hand, i was glad that Niko has stopped shrieking. on the other hand, he wanted NOTHING to do with the bottle i'd rushed to get for him. twerp. Erica just shrugged and said "yeah, all my babies like the vacuum." well, that's a new one on me. Douglas sorta liked the vibrating bouncy seat, but i don't think Andrew cares about it.
the bottle was not wasted, though. while daddy finished shop-vaccing, we took babies upstairs for jammies and diapers, and the spell was broken, and the little guy remembered that he was hungry, starving even, and Crazy Aunt Cyd sprung back into action, changing, diapering and feeding like a semi-pro.