Fright? or Flight?

Yes, I know it’s commonly known as the FIGHT or flight reflex. But I seem to have a mutated reflex that I call “FRIGHT” or flight. That is, if something startles me, I either freak out, go into self-paralysis and then start screaming:Fright. Or I run away (also screaming): Flight.

Our baby may look like Matthew, but he definitely inherited my fright or flight reflex. Now, we discovered this as the result of some rather strange circumstances. I’ve heard of kids being afraid of the dark. Monsters under the bed. Dogs. Spiders. Water. But have you ever heard of a kid that was afraid of a sneeze? I didn’t think so.

Last weekend, Matthew was watching the baby while I finally got a shower in. Suddenly, over the roar of my hair dryer, I hear what sounded like the shrieking eels from Princess Bride. Throwing down the dryer, I rushed to the baby’s room to find Matthew holding him as he shrieked with unearthly cries! What in the world was the matter with him? I thought.

Matthew told me the baby had been laying peacefully in his crib, and then Matthew had sneezed, startling him into this frenzy. This had actually happened a week or so before, but the baby had only cried, not screamed like this. Crazy! Fortunately, when I held him he calmed down, but I guess we have to be careful who we sneeze around in this house! 🙂