The Gay Uncle is in the midst of writing an article about parents’ feelings on the first day of school, and in response to a request for stories, he received this one from a wonderful colleague of his. She explained that her older daughter was a very colicky baby–she cried all the time. Gunc’s friend had to resort to wearing ear plugs around the house in order to get any rest or peace. In keeping with the helpful habits of the medical profession, when she asked her pediatrician about this issue, he sighed and dismissed the problem, waving her off. “Babies cry,” he said. (Duh!)
Fast forward a bit to G.U.’s colleague returning to the work force. Her daughter was still quite little at this point, but said friend had found a great early childhood center she liked. She dropped her daughter off at preschool the first time, without mentioning this issue, and gleefully, and with much relief, peeled out of the parking lot to go back to her job.
When she came to pick her daughter up at the end of the day, the teachers looked kind of troubled and worn out. They pulled Gunc’s pal aside. “I want to ask this gently,” they said. “Do you think there’s a possibility that your daughter might be…colicky?” The proud back-to-work mom shrugged. “Babies cry,” she said.