Things I Should Have Been Told

So at Sarah's last pediatrician appointment we were given a sheet of developmental milestones she should accomplish before her next visit. One of the things on that list was "non-crying verbal communication i.e. cooing". Cooing sounds cute and cuddly doesn't it? It sounds like the type of sound that would warm a mother's heart and that someone could listen to over and over again right? Apparently Sarah decided that cooing wasn't edgy enough for her, she needed something a little more intense.

My child cooed for two days shortly before she turned two months old. That was it. Those sweet sounds lasted for 48 blissful hours. Now she's a yeller and a screamer. Her voice is permanently stuck at maximum volume. It doesn't matter how she's feeling, she yells. In order to express any type of emotion or mood she yells, sometimes right in your face. She has her happy screams and her unhappy screams as well as tired and hungry yells. It can make a public outing slightly difficult when your child thinks that yelling is a perfectly acceptable way of communicating. You try explaining to the lady in the frozen food aisle that yes you know your baby is screaming but it's because she got really excited and just wanted to let you know. It can be difficult to tell the difference if you don't look at her facial expressions. And even then it can be tough if you haven't spent a lot of time around her. Everyone in our family seems to think this is either funny or cute. All I can think of is a toddler that still screams to communicate. Here's hoping this is just an infant thing.



Happy yell

Unhappy yell