Babies generally cannot
sit up by themselves until they are 4-8
months old.
As they learn to keep their
balance, they
fall over.
A lot.
They don't like it.
But their subsequent
cry depends on the type of
bonk. Sometimes it's just
scary (They pause very briefly with a
startled look on their
face, then close their eyes and
cry intermittently), other times it's
frustrating (They usually
start crying on the way down, kind of like "
Mayday! Mayday!
Gyroscope malfunction!
I'm losing control - bonk! - AAAAAAAAH!").
Then there are those times it really, really
hurts.
You know when someone hits you in the stomach and you just can't get any air in you to scream, but your mouth is wide open ready to go any time your lungs are ready? That's it.
They close their little
eyes really tight, their
mouth is wide open,
body so tense it almost shivers,
arms and
legs outstretched,
fingers and
toes clenched, little
tears starting streams down their
cheeks... and they are like that for what seem like an
eternity, until they (finally!) get a
big breath and start
wailing!
And
there's nothing you can do about it. All you can hope is that by
holding them
safely and
securely, using a
comforting voice, and
waiting they will
calm down enough to
eat, be
distracted, or
sleep. It is rather
upsetting for the
parents, and everyone else stands around just feeling the pain,
awkwardly wondering if there's something they should be doing to help.
But it's nothing like
the "I'm getting my first shot" cry.