Phonophobia

For the longest time we thought Thomas had a severe hearing problem. This stemmed from a lot of things, like the fact that he rarely startles, is hard to wake up and is not interrupted by noise. When he wasn't responding in fear to the vacuum cleaner, I began to really get worried. We scheduled hearing tests, but they were always cancelled due to illness. Then one day he startled. He turned to his name. And he started crying when the vacuum cleaner came on. I was no longer very worried. Annoyed that I had to now carry my baby while vacuuming to keep him from screaming in fear, yes. Worried that he was deaf, no.

Then last week our air conditioning slowly started getting louder and louder. Finally it maxed out at a mind numbing hissing like, ticking like, screeching sound that nearly drove me crazy. Literally. I could not stop complaining about it. I think what made it worse was that when it wasn't running it sounded absolutely silent in comparison, and then VROOMHISS it would kick back on, infuriating me. We watched a movie Saturday night about two feet from the tv. It was the only way we could hear what they were saying when the AC kicked on, even with our volume maxed out. And I am not exaggerating. Infuriating.

What was weird to me was that our kids never even noticed. Not once did Olivia ask what was that sound (maybe she was too afraid that by bringing it up steam would begin seeping from my ears). Thomas didn't even flinch. Not once did he look up, or stop what he was doing when it kicked on. Nothing.

Then miraculously the AC healed itself. At 3 am on Sunday night (Monday morning?) I got up with Olivia (who was going to the bathroom, and seems incapable to do so without one of us getting up with her) and the AC was running and I could barely hear it. No hissing, no ticking, barely even a hum. I think I smiled in my sleep for the rest of the night.

The next day I went to vacuum the living room. Thomas was awake and playing in his saucer, but I thought for sure it would be no big deal since he had given no notice to the demon possessed AC, why would he even look up for the mild mannered vacuum cleaner? Boy was I wrong. Immediately he lost it, and truly, crying is so unlike him. Fuss, yes, but cry? Hardly ever.

So the scientist in me is perplexed. Is my hypothesis all wrong that it is the noise that scares him? Is it possible that he understands the function of the vacuum and fears being sucked up with the goldfish crumbs? Oh, to get into that little head of his. It would make house cleaning so much easier.

And for the SEVEN of you that voted for the calendar picture (I am really trying hard not to take this as a blow to my ego), no, Super Mommy did not show up at the appointment on the 14th. Man, I could have called it. We all layed down for a nap, and then I rolled over and looked at my watch and it said 3:59. The appointment was at 4:15. We ran out the door, shoes in hand and I drove in a safe, mad fashion to the clinic. There was little chance for SuperMommy. Anyway, the good news is that I know how to pick good friends, and Carole, the mom of the other adorable DOC band baby, sent in four snap shots. The bad news is we are competing with babies from all over the United States, not just our little Dallas office like I thought. So maybe we won't get in. And maybe I really am becoming a showbiz mom. I am going to have to watch it.