Aaron’s usually pretty good at eating and drinking a variety of foods. Oh, he’ll have his obstinate moments, but generally, he’s a good sport. But lately, he seems to be a lot thirstier than he should be.
He’ll have recently finished a full bottle of milk, and then he’ll be asking for “Nai-nai” (Chinese baby-talk for milk) again. Time and again.
Now, Aaron’s had a head start on language and vocabulary, because he’s got his big sister to help him out. So we’ve been able to figure out what he’s asking for pretty easily. He knows words like Nai-nai, banana, Poh-poh (grandma), Gai-gai (to go out), Mamma, Daddy, bird, dog, etc.
So does he really want all that much milk, or is there something else going on?
Today, Maddie and Aaron were running around the house like loons, when there was a crash and sudden silence. (That moment when children try to figure out if they’re in trouble or if they’re hurt.) I run in to see what happened, and there’s Aaron on the floor, he looks up at me, stunned, and asks, “Nai nai?”
Then he asks, “Gai gai?” I just give him a look that says, “What?”
He gives me, “Nai nai gai gai apple?” with this look of longing.
Lillian figured it out: These are comfort words for him. Usually they’re associated with a good experience. So when something doesn’t go right for him, he’ll give the ol’ comfort words a go, and maybe things’ll turn right.
Who We Were Then
- David
- Lillian
- Maddie (3 years old)
- Aaron (1 years old)