The pursuit of happiness

Heaven cries when he has to fart. He cries when he is hungry. He cries when he has had enough of the bedroom. He cries when his diaper has had enough of pee too.

My wife, Aires, and I are slowly learning his distinct cry for a distinct reason. The worst crying comes when he has too much gas and needs to fart. This can go on for quite a while. No amount of cooing and singing can immediately calm a colicky baby.

Our quick-fix was to breastfeed him. Think of band-aid on a punctured rubber tire. But we learnt that crying does not usually mean it is time to feed.

When Aires returned to work, we tried leaving Heaven at home for one day with expressed milk. He howled for hours, we were told. I heard him crying over the phone and I found myself crying also. But parenting is an on-the-job training. We have learned not to get stressed when Heaven wails.

Sometimes, Heaven cries without really crying. I call it his “staged” cry. He goes “Eeeh! Eeeeh!” I check his stomach to see if he has gas. I touch his diaper to see if he needs a change. When all signs say nothing is wrong, I get back at my little boy and tickle him to lala-land. He goes berserk, his “staged” cry becomes guffaws, and I hear the most magnificent sound of all --- his laughter.

Last Christmas, I dared my relatives to make Heaven laugh for 500 pesos. But the catch was they had to do the mission without touching him. My nieces and nephews took turns making funny faces and weird noises. My relatives did everything imaginable to make Heaven laugh. Heaven was ecstatic. He was all smiles. But the baby laughter never came. Aires and I left the Christmas party with a happy child and with my 500 pesos.

When Heaven cries, we try not to cry with him. But when he smiles, we cannot help but smile at and with him. And when he laughs, we know that the pursuit of happiness is ours for the taking.