Is anyone watching Oprah? Re: Baby Language

[chaibaby]

There is a woman on the show named Priscilla Dunstan. She says she has uncovered the universal baby language that ALL babies use to tell us five specific things they want. Before your baby starts to cry/wail, pick up on the subtle sounds that they begin with:

"neh" - hungry
"owh" - sleepy
"heh" - discomfort (diaper change/hot/cold/etc)
"eair" - gassy
"eh"- burp (not like the Canadian "eh" - the "e" is short, not long)

It was actually quite fascinating. The woman will have a DVD coming out on November 23. The sounds are only good for the first three months of life and so maybe it is good for us moms who can't distinguish what our babies want!

[erikaa]

I saw it too and thought she sounded like her theory had merit. However tonight I watched my little man and he wasn't making too many sounds! I think I caught a "neh" once or twice, but otherwise, nothing but little grunts and squeaks!

[Finding Serenity]

I don't have TV so I didn't see the show but just want to say that I find this really interesting. So far Maytal hasn't cried much but I can tell the hungry cry when she does get vocal and it may have that "neh" sound.

[KIMBER1983]

Not from this DDC but I watched Oprah tonite too. It was neat.
I am listening for my babe to make these noises and she did. heh.
It was a bit easier to anticipate her needs.

[chaibaby]

I've been able to recognize the "neh" and "eh" sounds and it worked for me! Although pretty much each time Caleigh gets upset, if I feed her, she quiets down. But the burping thing worked for me last night!!!

The woman has a DVD coming out in November that you can get off the Oprah website.

[leurMaman]

Hmmm...I've never heard my babies say "neh" LOL! I'll have to look into that more.

[OMama]

I had tivo-ed this and watched it the night before last -- so was able to rewind and really hear the sounds. I have mixed views on it. I think it was definitely interesting and I think that an advantage would be that maybe mothers (or fathers -- which were NEVER mentioned in the show) might pay more attention to really trying to meet the needs of their babies if they are intently listening to the different sounds. It was also cool to realize that my babe does make different sounds. I have to admit that I wasn't fully aware of how different the sounds were. But I think that babies are a little more complicated than the woman (who is going to make a large chunk of change over selling her DVD) suggested. She didn't say that there was a sound for nursing or sucking, but I bet there is. She just said there were ones for 'hungry' and 'sleepy.' Also, in attempting to do this with my baby, there have been times when he is clearly making the "eh" sound for example, but really wanted to nurse, not to be burped. So it is not totally accurate, at least not for my babe. Lastly, too bad that out of the 8 mothers they had on (it was 8, right?) that none of them were shown b-fing. There were several bottles being used instead. That made me sad.

[sleepypeanutsmom]

Yes, I also noticed that no one was breastfeeding (at least on the air) and it would have been nice to see that. I've been listening to my babes more intently the last few days and I've heard some of the "neh" and "eh" cries, but I also instinctively knew those times what they needed, so the sounds just confirmed what I already knew. Very interesting concept!

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by OMama

Also, in attempting to do this with my baby, there have been times when he is clearly making the "eh" sound for example, but really wanted to nurse, not to be burped. So it is not totally accurate, at least not for my babe.

This is what I found as well, I can't tell any difference between "eh" and "neh" because he usually just wants to be nursed either way. (I've tried just burping him for a while when he says "eh" and usually he only got more hungry and insistent, lol, no burp!) Also, my baby makes the discomfort "heh" sound in general like when he has gas or needs to nurse "real bad mom!" not just when he needs a diaper change etc. Also, my baby seems to make the burp sound/gassy sound interchangeably. And I don't think I've ever heard the sleepy sound they talk about. I haven't looked at the video they have online yet though.

[jule924]

I just watched this (I TiVoed it) and I really think you have to hear the sounds and see the babies making them to really "get" it. I haven't had a chance to test it since my little one is sleeping at the moment. I think it has merit, though, based on what I saw. I hope it does because I could use it!! Ds has been crying more lately and I can't always figure out why.

[forty's_wifey]

My mother called me and told me to put this on, and even while watchin it i was trying to identify javonte's sounds. And he doesnt make any of the ones they showed. But with 5 kids i should already know what the cries mean right? LOL I just go through everything, diaper, feed, burp, rock. But luckily tay isnt too bad of a newborn. He sleeps 90% of the day and the rest is spent eating and just looking around sucking on his fingers.
Its a great idea tho. Kind of like that old Simpsons episode where homers brother took the 2000 and came up with a machine that interpreted baby;s cries. He became a millionare, and if there is some merit to this womans theory almost every mother in america is gonna be looking for a copy of this DVD

[Momtwice]

Dd did not say "neh" when she was hungry. It was more like "oo" as in book.

[LionTigerBear]

Now that I've been paying attention for a few days, I can say that my baby never says "neh" or "owh". He hardly ever says "heh" either. He is a very gassy baby and of those five he pretty much only makes the "eh" and the "eair" words. He also says "ah" and "eh" for nurse, although he usually just grabs at the air and pushes his tongue when he's hungry. I have heard other babies say "neh" before though. Just not mine.

[alison_in_oh]

She said that "neh" was as a result of the baby making a sucking motion with the tongue while starting a cry noise. I wonder if that's mostly for bottle babies -- the first thing my son is doing with his mouth if he's hungry is open-mouth rooting, so he also has more of an open-mouth "uh" or "oo" sound when he vocalizes!

His "heh" sounds like a "neh", every time I think I hear "neh" I check his diaper first (he HATES to be wet!)

[OMama]

My babe makes more of an "eh" sound for nursing too. Every once and a while I hear a "neh" but it is not necessarily when he's hungry. Hungry is more of the "eh" sound. I wonder what this lady would say about our babies that don't fit her observations. That is interesting about the "bottle" thing. Maybe that is true! Again, that is why I'm a little skeptical to begin with. I think there would be a different sound for just wanting to nurse or be held. That might be different than being "hungry."