I have heard the sound of God laughing. It is the sound of my child jerking awake just as he is about to fall asleep. It is the Moro reflex.
The Moro reflex [1] is a sign of a healthy baby. If your baby isn't displaying the Moro reflex regularly, it indicates a serious problem and/or disorder. Nonetheless, the fact that it's a sign of a healthy baby leaves me belting out crazy, overtired cackles. The Moro reflex is when an infant is startled or feels like he is falling, and it often happens just before he falls asleep, waking him back up in fear. Some experts say it is the only natural fear of humans. To which I ask: a fear for the infant, or the parents?
A description of this startle reflex [2] I found online nailed it: The mom said it was like throwing out your arms and legs "as if you were riding a big ol' Harley" and that the infants resemble "mad little orchestra conductors getting after the second violins for missing a cue."
Here's a nice little video of the Moro reflex [3], which I have since renamed "The Chuckle of the Holy Spirit."
This, of course, is one of the reasons why I love and hate YouTube, all at the same time. Love it because I can link to it to give you an idea of what the Moro reflex is. Hate it because there are idiots out there purposely scaring the crap out of their little infants so they can capture it on video and post it online.
See, when you've had 15 hours of sleep in the past week, and you've got bags under your eyes and a huge greasy zit in the middle of your forehead, and you haven't had a chance to floss in three days, and you're starting to feel like an extra from the "Thriller" music video, when all of that happens, you'd just as well have your baby fall asleep when he's about to fall asleep. But just when it's about to happen, the Moro reflex rears its ugly head.
And this is about the time when Jesus giggles like a little schoolgirl.
"Oh ye of little faith," He might say. "Dost thou possess the strength to father children? I shall test thee."
The following thoughts then course through your head: Is this a test from high above, or just nature's cruel joke? When in the world will this Moro reflex stop? Did someone visit the county courthouse and legally change my name to Job?
Fortunately, I read online that the reflex subsides after four or five months. A month or so later, your baby starts to crawl. Ha ha, God, very funny.