Eight-month old Carrie stayed with me and my toddler for a week
while her mother joined her sailor-husband for a much needed
shore leave. When she arrived Carrie's mother took her out of
her infant carrier and put her down in a playpen that she
brought along. She handled the baby like all the other baggage.
The baby made not a sound, just laid where she was placed.
Carrie looked more like a shriveled old woman than a baby girl-
her skin dry and gray-like there was hardly any life in her. I
did nothing special, just folded her into our daily routine. The
transformation was astonishing. I saw Carrie's smile for the
first time the next morning. Her eyes got a little brighter each
time I said her name. I could almost see her gaining weight. By
the end of the week she had rosy baby cheeks and a ready giggle.
Her mother was overcome when she picked her up. "I never knew
she could be so beautiful!" she said through tears and smiles.
The question is...Can Young Babies be Depressed? Depression: A
mental state character