Hey, I’m not such a freak after all!

So, I signed up for this e-newsletter on Baby Center (US spelling) when my wife was pregnant.  It would email me every week, tell me that my kid was the size of a particular fruit or vegetable, and describe whatever the fetus was currently working on developmentally.  

Incidentally, it’s because of websites like this that all of us guys in the prenatal class were able to pinpoint to the month and day precisely how far along our wives were in their pregnancies.

Anyway, back to me not being a freak…  Baby Center continues to send me emails outlining my little girl’s growth and development.  The latest one is entitled “Wondering what’s behind some of your baby’s strange behavior?”, with the subtitle “See why babies bite, bang their heads, grind their teeth, go on strike & want only you”.

My daughter isn’t exhibiting any of these behaviors – yet – but I was interested to read the article on head banging.  You see, I am a reformed head banger.

I banged my head on my crib so hard that it would move clear across the room.  I would also bang my head on the living room wall and on the piano bench.  My mom asked our family doctor about it, but he just responded that he had a kid that did that too.

It’s not totally surprising, but head banging and rocking are apparently normal, self-comforting behaviours.  One in five babies bang their heads, with boys being more likely than girls to do so.  Girls seem to have far more sense than boys about these kinds of things…

The good news is that I have outgrown banging my head on hard objects.  On occasion when I am REALLY, REALLY concentrating, my co-workers have caught me rocking back and forth in my chair, though.  It’s very comforting.  You should try it.

Hmmm, I wonder what quirky behaviours my daughter has up her sleeve…