Happy Baby

My mom used to tell me to keep my smile all the time. I clearly remember their (mom and aunt's) story about the four-day old me bursting into laughter the moment I heard them laughing. Technically, I'm a smiley-face. Can't suppress a smile whenever someone is looking at me, or when everyone's attention was on me (during recitation or class presentation), and also, I can't keep a serious face in front of the camera so I always ended up with a not-so-good photos! Now that I'm the mother, I wonder if my baby is happy. During our first ultrasound when I was pregnant to see our baby's gender, we saw him playing around inside and smiling. He is actually smiling!

One of the indications of his smile was his cheekbone popping out! See!

Since he can't talk, my baby expertly shows how he feels by gestures, facial expressions and pitch of voice. He kisses me, dances and smiles at us when the food is delicious. He shouts on top of his lungs while tugging his daddy's neck when he wants to go out of the house or when he wants us to reach his toys on top of the shelf.

As a new mom with my first child, I always wonder if my babe is a happy kid. I know it will have an impact on his personality and social life in the near future, so we, as an extended family (mom, dad, grandparents, etc...) always contributes to make him feel happy and contented. I used to watch films and read books with weird characters on them, like Wednesday of The Adams Family, or the hair-eating villain on Charlie's Angels - ok, he don't eat hair but he is weird, etc... - I think it has something to do with their childhood. They are not happy kids!

What is an unhappy kid? Unhappy doesn't necessarily mean wearing smug look on his face. He could be quiet, doesn't laugh or smile. Don't talk too much, don't ask too much. A picky eater. Don't play with other kids, don't even play on his own - withdrawn.

Well, now I am happy to conclude, JC is indeed one happy baby. Why, he plays a lot! He is even contented playing with the box of his vitamins! Shows interest on anything of everything under the sun! He digs everybody's bag, opens all the drawers in the house and remove all the "things" inside it! Curiosity is obvious on this picture below...

If your baby is not that "active" or curious, don't jump to the conclusion that he is unhappy, maybe he is just plain shy. As long as he in not isolating himself to others especially to the family and he is not too "phobia-tic" if that's a term, then maybe he is just an introverted one. Still, if you are in doubt, talk to your pedia and your health provider. It is better to be sure than not. :)

Hug your child today! xx