First Tear

Fact: The average panicked cry of a newborn is 84 decibels - about the same volume as a passing freight train.

Fact: A baby's eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately 6-8 weeks old.

Yesterday after church Benjamin was peacefully sleeping in his sling - despite the efforts of churchgoers who think he's especially cute to rowse him so they can see his blue eyes! We put him in the car seat to drive home and he began to cry. He often fusses a bit when first put in his seat but we thought he would calm down and go to sleep like he usually does. We were obviously wrong because he proceeded to cry/scream the entire way home. (This was our cue that he was in fact hungry, not just fussy.) The drive was nightmarishly reminiscent of our first drive with him - the drive home from the hospital after he was born - only now he can cry louder! At that time I thought that I might never get in a car with him again if this was the scenario that would ensue. As we parked in the underground parking lot and made our way up the stairs to the elevator (with Ben still in his car seat), the gentle rocking of being carried lulled him into silence. Once in the elevator I set him down so that my arms could recuperate, and the crying began again. But this time was a little different. I bent down to look into the car seat, mesmerized as Ben's big blue eyes welled up with tears. "Look, a tear!" I exclaimed to Colin as a single droplet spilled over and left a wet trail down our son's left cheek. My husband's response was more practical than mine - he picked up the car seat and the crying stopped!