My darling daughter has been sleeping in for the past couple of days. I am loving it!! Monday she woke up at 8:45 and this morning at 8! Hallelujah! I still remember the nights when she was awake every 2 hours! What a difference. Blissful.
Unfortunately, while her sleeping habits have taken a turn for the miraculous, her communication skills are sorely lacking. She can shake her head 'no' and nod 'yes' but when she gets frustrated... She used to whine. It was incredibly annoying and grated on my nerves just so. Now it's screaming. Shrieking. Anywhere. Any time. Either I've mastered the art of ignoring her complaints and she's decided a higher level of noise will work or she's really really frustrated that she can't get across what she wants.
We were waiting in line at Walmart today to pay and she had a fit. What would normally be a fuss turned into a full blown scream. I was so embarrassed. Everyone remembers a time when they've judged a mom in line with her unruly kid. What's wrong with your kid? Why can't you keep her quiet? Why are you taking her out in public if she's just going to scream? The frog, the suess -- no dice. I turned to Jr and said, "Shhh!", which worked for about 2 minutes. In the end I had to hold her in my arms while I loaded our items onto the conveyer belt and paid.
How are you supposed to deal with an infant/toddler who can't speak yet but who's fully capable of pushing your buttons? She knows screaming isn't acceptable. She knows throwing her frog and her suess aren't acceptable. But she does them because she knows it will get a reaction -- good or bad.
Lord, help me.
Junior's soo smart!
ReplyDeleteI find that it helps (or at least helps me to feel better) to express their emotions for them. "You sure sound frustrated! It's not fun waiting in line, is it?"
ReplyDeleteAlso, most of those people remember being the person in line with the unruly child, so they probably feel bad for your more than they are judging you.