This experience is so different from my first. I'm sure part of that is different temperaments of my daughters, but I think the great difference is in me. I know more, have a whole lot more 'tricks up my sleeve' for dealing with a newborn, I'm way less anxious about everything, I have different expectations, different attitude. I feel no need to sweat the details. The result is quite different. For starters, our sleep is so much better than it was at this time with my first. But I'll go into that in another post. For now, I'll tell you about the baby language.
I surely feel that I have a better sense of what Mikayla needs. Part of this is just from being a mom a second time around, but Dunstan's baby language has also helped a heap. Here's what I found helpful:
- The two clearest words that I can hear from Mikayla are EH (burp) and EAIR (gas). The EH is very clear. I can hear that the sound is coming from high in her voice. It just sounds like she's struggling with a burp. It's helpful to know quickly that she needs to burp. I can tell even when she's lying on a blanket and I'm not looking at her. I can tell a friend who's holding her what it is that she needs.
- The EAIR sounds to me like a low RRR sound. And I can totally tell that it has to do with lower gas. As soon as I hear that, I can help her by crunching up her body or doing "bicycle" with her legs and we can work it out before she's all-out crying in pain. Mikayla hasn't had a huge problem with gas. Maybe it's mostly because she just has a good digestive system, but I also like to think it's because when she has issues we can help before they get too painful.
- I don't hear the NEH sound (for hunger). I think this may be because my daughter is tongue-tied. While it's not serious enough to affect her eating, I think she cannot easily put her tongue to the roof of her mouth to make the N sound. She makes a coughing sound when she's hungry. In the middle of the night that's the sound I get up for. Anything else I sleep through or I let her work out on her own. Actually, I haven't gotten up for anything else in weeks, but that's another post... I usually just tell when she's hungry by her reflex - she opens her mouth toward skin or a finger if it's put on her cheek. I think that reflex will be going away soon, probably by two months. I hope it's not hard for me to tell when she's hungry after that.
- The HEH and the OWH are harder for me to distinguish. I personally think OWH sounds more like AH, and I do occasionally hear that. More often I can tell she's tired because I know she's been awake for a long time, or I see her eyelids doing the blank stare or drooping. I haven't heard the HEH sound yet.
All in all, it's been helpful. I love that I can quickly tell when she has a burp or gas problem. I'd recommend a new mom or mom-to-be to watch the youtube video. I don't feel any need to purchase Priscilla's DVD program, but not having done it I can hardly say it wouldn't be valuable.
