When they talk about the quiet alert stage in the books, it's that their eyes are open, but they are relatively calm. They say this is the most receptive time to interact with a newborn.

My son has never been relatively calm. He didn't really scream or cry to get attention - more that he yelled at you - specifcally targeted one individual and grunted loudly at them until they paid attention to him. Now he screeches while smiling at you. He has a lot of words but he doesn't like to use them. He would just rather screech. He only speaks in actual words when he gets upset and he can't get what he wants quickly enough. If we're in the car and we can't stop, it's usually "I wan mama boooooo!!!" (I want mama's boob).

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