Maura Never Cries...

Maura never cries...I'm sure you've heard me say that before. Really, I'm not kidding. Maura doesn't cry! When we were in the NICU, I'd sit for hours and listen to other babies cry. I'd secretly wish that Maura would cry. There were even "seizures" that were documented because if she cried, it must be a seizure. She never cried because she was hungry or tired or wanted to be held. It was rather a running joke for a while, but in all honesty, it's rather stuck! Maura doesn't cry!


She's very vocal and she'll yell, but outside of toppling over and wacking her head on something, Maura never cries. Maura also never laughs....mostly... You see, we aren't really sure why. The meds she takes could "numb" her down a bit. It could be her general demeanor overall, but to get Maura to laugh, you really have to work. You have to lay her down on a soft surface and grab her feet and bounce into her and really jostle her or you have to dig into her sides to hit some tickle points really deep down inside JUST to get a chuckle out of her...so the very idea of her rolling in laughter is something that purely doesn't exist.

Does it make me sad? Yes! But I remind myself that she's just about the HAPPIEST baby anyone could wish for. She's content. She smiles all the time. She flaps her arms like a little bird when she gets excited. She just doesn't laugh...

....except when she's on the swings. When she's on the swings, she laughs every single time she comes towards me. I love to watch her swing because its the ONLY place I can get her to really really laugh. I caught it tonight on video, so I can look back at it and smile whenever I want. Maura giggled tonight...more than just a chuckle, an outright giggle, and I'm overjoyed about it.

Maybe someday she's just lay on the floor and roll in laughter at something her brother does, but for now, if the swing is the only place I can really get her to giggle, I'll take it!