Sonny the Showboat

It's premature to forecast a great future for Sonny in the entertainment industry, but he's certainly beginning to show some talent in the scene-stealing department.

Yesterday, we brought him to the polyclinic for his immunisation shot. He's had a slight runny nose, so we thought we'd double-check with the doctor to make sure it was still fine to proceed with the injection. Still, our four-month-old seemed pretty much in the pink of health - until, that is, we were called into the doctor's room.

Suddenly, as though someone had yelled 'Action' and clapped one of those wooden 'Scene I, Take I' boards, Sonny began to sniffle furiously. The doctor looked up in alarm. Right on cue, Sonny commenced wheezing. Oh, how he wheezed. It sounded as though there was enough phlegm in his lungs to float a small boat. To cap the performance, he eked out a heroic smile, that of an unprotesting martyr to the cause of inoculation. Mum felt as though she had been rebuked for daring to bring this obviously sick thing in the hope of inflicting further injected pain.

Anyway, the doctor suggested very politely that we consider not proceeding till the dear child was better. Out we went, suitably chastened, but you more or less know what happened once we left the room, don't you? Yes, someone we couldn't somehow hear shouted 'Cut', and Sonny's wheezing and snot-blasting ceased instantly. He was gurgling as though the Oscar was his. Which was probably what we deserved, since he quickly switched to his 'I'm so cute, see my dimpled smile' routine, which harvested three 'How adorables' from assorted strangers within an hour.

In a way, though, Sonny has overplayed his hand. It's impossible to say whether he just felt like showing off, really didn't like the idea of a needle being stuck in his bottom (unlikely, you say?) or was coincidentally going through an innocent wheezing/sniffling fit (even more unlikely!). Pa, especially, has always suspected that the young fella was showboating when crying away at being deprived of a thumb to suck, or adult to beam at. Now, the evidence is overwhelming: After that little performance at the doctor's , every exclamation, outburst or pleading session will be tainted with the possibility that it's just a bit of masterful acting.

You've outsmarted yourself, buster!