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Dramatic Decrease in Crying

In the last month or so, Austen has undergone a major change. She no longer cries as much, or has such a short, explosive fuse: going from silence to yelling in a split second. During her second month of life, we had trouble taking her out of the house because of the arduous attention required to keep her calm. It seemed like half her waking hours were spent on the verge of crying and in need of soothing. The Happiest Baby on the Block was our bible; we used the 5 S’s everyday: Swaddling, Swinging, Side position, Sucking, and Shhhhing. Once Austen began crying, it took everything we had to snap her out of it. She’d turn red, close her eyes and put up a barrier to the world.

Now, at four months, she still has her cranky moments (and even a few cranky days) but the amount and duration of crying has decreased dramatically. Most importantly, it’s so much easier to break through her baby shell and convince her there’s nothing to complain about. We theorize that she no longer feels so helpless and trapped in her body: she can use her arms and legs and neck and eyes, instead of being just about incapable of intentional movement. It takes only a word, saying her name, a smile, or a toy to make her happy. Moving her to a different sitting position, or to a new environment, cuts off a crying fit. During a recent car ride, she got a little overheated in her car seat and began to fuss, so Mommy, Daddy and Beerinder started singing the words “Miss Fussypants” like lyrics from the Alleluia chorus (high notes, low notes, and middling notes) and she stopped making noise, furrowed her brow and focused on the silliness as if thoroughly entertained.

When Austen gets tired out from playing and needs a nap, she is still swaddled and rocked, but the process goes much smoother and is much less noisy these days. With a little distraction, Austen’s day is full of smiles and interest in new things.

Austen and Grandma Judi

Both Austen and Grandma Judi are fans of Mommy’s singing. Grandma Judi recorded Mommy’s singing, including Daddy’s favorite, a cassette tape of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, made when Mommy’s was only 9 years old. Austen stops fussing when Mommy sings to her and stares in fascination as if Mommy’s doing something amazing.

Austen has great lungs and can produce a lot of sound. Grandma Judi played a woodwind instrument, the oboe, which can be heard above all the other instruments of the orchestra and is featured in quite a few concertos. Both sometimes turn red during performances.

Austen has a squarish face with full cheeks, like Grandma Judi.

Nanny Rin becomes Daddy Rin?

Lucinda and Beerinder took Austen to her four-month appointment with the pediatrician and one of the nurses referred to them as Mommy and Daddy. The doctor, who’d been introduced to Uncle Rin, spied Austen smiling at Rin and commented on how much Austen liked her uncle.

During a trip to Menlo Park Mall, Austen and Rin went to Children’s Place alone – while Mommy and Daddy finally checked out the famous children’s shoe department at Nordstrom – and several people commented on what a young father he was and what a happy baby he had. Austen was a babe magnet, smiling and cooing at passersby.