Pooties vs. tooties. vs. burpies vs. hungries.

Last night was a major success!

I finally and certainly distinguished the difference between the hunger cry, the pootie/tootie cry and the I-need-to-burp cry!

Here’s why it’s so important that I know which is which: He’ll take a boob for all three.  I mean that breastfeeding – to an extent – soothes each situation.  But do I think it’ll be helpful in the long run to have Bennett snacking here and snacking there without ever getting a full meal?  Not really. (‘Cause the “full meal” is when he gets the “skim” milk AND the “whole” milk.  A snack is only comprised of “skim” milk.)

Okay, so the hunger cry is gentler and usually comes with some soft grunting.  Brian and I usually call him a zombie baby at this point as his eyes are closed and he’s rooting around trying to eat his hands, the burp cloth, my shoulder and my face.

The pootie/tootie cry and the I-need-to-burp cry are almost identical, but have one important difference: Bennett’s face will go red for the former, but not for the latter.  It’s important to know which is which because it’s more helpful for him to be upright if he needs to burp, but laying down if his gas is coming out of the back end.  Really, a critical difference.

I realized that in these two situations, a pacifier certainly helps him to work through the aggression and drama that gas can create.  It’s soothing and it allows him to get hungry enough for a full meal.

And why do I count this a success?

Although I was up quite a bit last night helping my boy work out toots, poots and gas in general, I felt completely relaxed the entire time because I knew exactly what was happening.  It then occurred to me this morning that when I feel stressed, I become more awake, which results in being more exhausted the next day.  But when I feel calm and in control, I somehow feel more rested, even if I’m up the same amount of hours in the night.

Miraculous discoveries here in the Spears’ household!