I suppose I need to start with an apology to Eleanor (and possibly to people who are reading this). The picture of Eleanor is not flattering. If you can’t tell what’s going on in the picture, this look of concentration means that she’s having a bowel movement. Eleanor has been quite regular, having one just about every other day. It’s usually in the evening, and it’s usually in the middle of having a bottle. At about the halfway point in the bottle, we burp her and then she won’t take the bottle again. Instead, she hunches over, gets a focused look on her face, and then she starts to turn red. She sometimes develops a bit of a sneer. She’ll stop to take a few breaths and then push again. It’s all entirely quiet. I usually just sit her on my lap and wait for her to finish. When she’s done, she breaks the silence with a distinctive high pitched yelping sound made by drawing in her breath. It’s the only time she makes this sound, and any time I hear it, I know that she has had a bowel movement. After a diaper change, she happily finishes her bottle.
Miranda is a bit harder to read. She often has a furrowed brow and a look of concentration on her face, even when she’s just looking at you. With her, the only signal she makes that she has had a bowel movement is the same distinctive yelping sound that Eleanor makes. That, and the smell of course.
heehee, I don’t know what it is, it seems like every parent wants to capture their baby when she is having a bowel movement (what we call the “poop face”). We didn’t post the poop pictures though.