Owls and Show Tunes peripatetic, poetic and chic
She had a day of being more like a stereotypical howler, wide mouthed and with tonsils wobbling, as she unleashed some top-tier screams. She's still under 4kg, but that must be mostly vocal cords – a Chorus Line singer in the making.
She also screams at home, sometimes
Scene: a tiny room in the paediatrician’s surgery, slightly bigger than a phone box. Jo and I are squeezed in with Ellie howling her little lungs out. Sometimes two doctors are in there with us; it’s cosy!
It’s like a sauna in there – crazy hot. It’s kept above 25°C so that the babies don’t mind being undressed, at the expense of everyone else, of course, and with so many extra bodies the thermometer touches 30.
There are owls everywhere. Dr. Euler has really committed to her namesake. There are owls on the wallpaper, and owls painted on the windows. There are owl pictures, and owl furry toys, and owl picture books. (We have yet to learn about Herr Uhu with Ellie, but it’s on the reading list now!)
And to calm her down we do some rocking, some bobbing, and some singing. “One – singular sensation!” Slight calming of the shrieks? “Every little step she takes. One – thrilling combination” Nope, screaming louder than ever!
At some point we realised just how funny the whole episode was and drowned out Ellie’s crying with laughter. She looked so confused that she was actually quieter for just a short while. “Maddening pose, effortless whirl, she’s the special girl.”
She’s had a cold, poor little thing, and we took her to the doctor to check on the funny noises she was making while breathing. (She’s fine, it was nothing. I doubt it’ll be the only time we go to the doctor for nothing!) But with a blocked nose, bright lights, lots of people around poking her, and cold stethoscopes making her flinch, it’s no wonder that she wanted to have a little moan.
We’ve definitely got a lucky one. She’s normally so quiet and gentle, she doesn’t cry for long, and she sleeps like the proverbial baby, not the one that all of the mumsy blogs moan about. So it all came as a bit of a shock to see her so loud and for so long! I don’t think it the doctors found it so surprising.