by Brandi Riley posted in Pregnancy

My son Jamie is 11 months old, and, thankfully, right on target with his milestones. He started clapping a few months ago. Just a couple of weeks ago, he started walking. Now he's babbling all of the time, making intentional sounds that actually have meaning to him. Our family is learning to decipher what each "baa-baa-baa" means based on Jamie's tone.
As much as he's learning, one thing that he hasn't quite figured out is volume. This little boy is loud! When he feels strongly about a situation, if he thinks people are trying to talk over him, or if we don't seem to understand exactly what he wants, he pumps the volume way up.
There are a few ways that he gets loud. He elevates his volume. That's not so bad. Our family isn't quiet at all, so much of that is probably him just mimicking us.
He also hollers out a long, drawn out sigh. He does this when no one is paying him any attention. I've learned how to continue conversations even as he tries to pull focus with that.
Finally, there's the loud shriek or scream. This is my least favorite noise. We hear it when he's done eating a banana and he wants more, if we try to put him down for a nap, or if we take something dangerous away from him.
Since I'm a mom, I've learned how to ignore the noises Jamie makes, no matter how loud he gets.
Except that scream. I hear his scream in my nightmares.
On occasion, babies are loud. It's what they do.
I realize not everyone can ignore loud ba...