H is for hiccups

Most people hiccup randomly.

You’ll be minding your own business, happily getting on with life, and then suddenly out of nowhere….HIC!

Off goes your diaphragm, bouncing all over the place, and suddenly you’re holding your breath, pouring glasses of water at impossible angles and encouraging people to randomly scream BOO in your face in the vain hope of getting them to go away (the Wee Man loves the BOOing. Only problem is, he likes to continue doing it for several hours after the hiccuping has disappeared too…).

Bubby D, on the other hand, is a bit of a predictable hiccuper. Ever since she was a bump, at certain times I’d feel her hiccuping away, quite a funny feeling and something that I didn’t really experience with the Wee Man. Then, when she arrived into the world she’d hiccup at regular intervals…and suddenly I realised – she always hiccups when she’s tired!

Without fail, if she’s hiccuping, it’s nap time. Never mind eye rubbing, yawning, avoiding eye contact and all those other sleep cues that people tell you to look out for – with Bubby D it’s hiccuping every time.

In that moment, hiccuping went from being a bit of an annoyance to a really useful baby communication tool.

Hiccups = nap.

Nap = happy baby.

I don’t think there are many parents who can say that hiccuping is one of the major reasons for a much more contented life – but we certainly can. I’m not sure why it happens, and it’s still annoying when the hiccups are happening to me – but otherwise, here’s a tribute to hiccups. Keeping me (mostly) sane since 2011 🙂