So It Turns Out Infants Cry

As a parent of a young child I have grown somewhat immune to the sound of crying.  I certainly still recognize it, and there is always the cry of pain that registers as different from the hungry cry or the whiny cry or the plain ole just want to cry cry.  However, compared to 24 year old Colin who would wince every time he'd hear a baby cry, 32 year old Colin is significantly lower on the reaction scale.

Despite all of that, Sara and I have been surprised at how much Owen seems to cry during his awake times.  Connor had a lead stomach that could suck down any amount of milk, be thrown up in the air seconds later and manage to keep everything down with a smile.  Owen seems to struggle simply with keeping in milk while having his diaper changed.  Jostling is definitely not a good idea immediately after feeding.  He also seems to struggle with swallowing a little more air during feedings than Connor, or being less adept at handling the air once it's in his system.  While his scrunched up face as he tries to deal with these problems is pretty adorable, the accompanying shrieks that he lets out on occasion are less so.

As Sara and I talk and try to figure out ways to make Owen a little more comfortable we come back to a couple of thoughts.  First, maybe in our sleep deprived state of the first few weeks of Connor's life, and all the joy he has brought to us, we're not remembering his attitude exactly accurately.  The negatives of anything seem to fade as time wears on, so why would this be any different.  Secondly, Owen isn't yet 3 weeks old, and perhaps our expectations, either based on Connor or our inaccurate memories of Connor are a little unreasonable.  It doesn't make the individual moments of crying significantly easier to deal with, but it does help with mental health as a whole.

As has been said many times when it comes to small children, days can be long but years are short.  In no time at all we'll be dealing with two boys crying from wrestling each other and someone banging their head rather than someone having a dirty diaper.  Until then, maybe it's time for a white noise machine.