The Strange Case of Baby Jekyll and Baby Hyde

I've been asked to report our observations during the last week or two.   Two different babies have been noticed in our house during recent days.  They share some resemblances, but there are some striking differences.  One child is angelic, patient, talkative and curious.  She enjoys looking at the curtain in our front window, listening to Bach and observing black and white photography.  Although she makes all sorts of grunts, cries and moans while she sleeps, it doesn't seem to wake her up or indicate that there is a problem.  She cries when she is hungry, but eating calms her down.   Occasionally, she smiles and it warms your heart.  This child, although a little noisy, seems normal.

There is another child who appears when the former is absent.  She seems to be an entirely different creature.  Her red face, quivering lower lip and full throated screaming seems to imply some sort of unnatural possession.  Very few things calm this child: the sound of a hairdryer, bouncing on a yoga ball, and sometimes riding in a car or baby carriage.  She cries when hungry, cries while eating, cries after eating, and mostly cries when not sleeping.  She sleeps only when utterly exhausted and tricked into a rest between cries.  During the days and nights that this child invades our house her caregivers are emotionally exercised beyond extremes imaginable by people living in normal circumstances.

I wish that I could report that the first child is more frequently seen than the second.  Unfortunately, the demon child has been here more often than not.

We are so glad that the grandmothers have been here to help.  Without them, how would we ever rest?