Snowflake

Baby clearly has some sensitivity to loud (and not-so-loud) noises. Unfamiliar noises (helicopters, turning on the shower) are The. Worst. but even ordinary noises (crinkling a bag, banging a pot in the sink, the hubbub of a crowd in the store, sneezing, coughing, breathing loudly...) will startle him, sometimes unto unearthly shrieking. If not immediately comforted back into a relaxed state (meaning, if you continue doing whatever you were doing), he will continue to cry and whine with escalating urgency. We're not sure what is so frightening about the ordinary noises - being shown what is happening, demonstrating that he will not be eaten, and fun distraction will sometimes work to a degree, but the only real solution thus far has been to cease and desist the noise or remove him entirely from the situation. It's…challenging and limiting and frustrating and sad, because we don't want him to be continually in a state of fear. Maybe this is a phase? It seems to be pretty recent, only a few weeks old, and coinciding with his much expanded interest in the outside world. Hopefully it passes quickly because we don't want for this to be the way he interacts with the world, for all of our sakes.