i’m writing a fanfiction and the protagonist is a mother, but i don’t know how to describe the sounds of the baby. do you know how to describe the sound that a baby makes before crying. it’s kind of like a whimpering but it’s kind of hiccup-y
I'm not even sure what sound your talking about to be honest. Maybe you're trying to describe it in to much detail.
My children generally went from silence to ear shattering cries with no discernable pre-howl noises, but occasionally one of them would make a little fast huffy-puffy sound before letting loose.
Nah, more like rapid inhale-exhale-inhale-exhale in quick succession (vibrato breathing?) before the true wail bursts forth
Nope. Panting is too slow and deliberate without enough "I'm getting ready to holler really loud" overtones. I'm not sure a word has been invented for the pre-scream early warning system employed by small children, particularly my daughter.
When there's no word for something, or at least one can't be found, just describe it. What you have here is not bad. Use "the hiccuping whimper that always precedes a crying jag" or "She drew in hitching breaths between tiny whimpers. She was about to wail." or you know, whatever fits your paragraph.