don’t judge the mother of a drama queen

is your baby a very expressive crier? mine is. 

every time I put him in the pram, he hits the roof and screams, I mean SCREAMS! for a few minutes and then he just suddenly stops, relaxes, and starts smiling or day dreaming and is totally chill again. Ditto for getting into the front pack, getting out of the bath, when he is hungry, when he is tired but doesn’t want to sleep, when he’s got gas, when there is sun in his eyes, etc etc etc

basically whenever there is the slightest problem or discomfort, he immediately goes into level ten crying. Often there is no warning, just la de da life is fab, and then BAM! bloody murder.

I know my kid, and I am confident that this just means he is expressive and assertive. He also laughs and smiles just as much as he cries, (except on grumpy days, which we all have) so I know everything is okay.  I have also learned some tricks to help him through the bad moods or discomforts.

Obvs I feed him/burp him/get the sun out of his eyes/get him to bed on time/ or do whatever I can to prevent discomfort. Other times when he is just really ‘expressing’ his dislike of a situation (crying his head off) I rock and shush in his ear to calm him, and tell him “I hear you, I know you don’t like it, I’m helping you.”

But there are some situations I can’t change, or I know we have to ride out a little because there is a benefit. Like seeing the dr, drying off with a towel, a nappy change he doesn’t like (he usually likes them, but sometimes NOT), or rides in the pram/ getting into the front pack to go somewhere.  

 I have learned through experience that if I take him out of the pram when he is doing his initial protest, and try and calm him, and then put him back into the pram again, it starts the cycle of crying all over again. it’s better just to wait it out until he can just ‘say’ what he needs to and express himself. And I promise you, he loves the pram after he gets into the groove, he looks up at the leaves on the trees, watches the people, listens to the birds, and then gets rocked to sleep. it is very zen. So it’s worth it. and baby, sometimes mama has GOT to leave the house. 

BUT I know that when people see me walking down the street with my 3 month old in the pram screaming, they think “why doesn’t she help that poor baby? why is she just leaving him to cry?”  But I know I am not, he’ll be okay. He just needs to talk about it. and I am listening. trust me, I AM LISTENING. (everyone on the block in listening).

So be understanding of the mother whose child is crying. Don’t think she is exercising some evil from of CIO. It might be a personality thing. She might be really in tune with him and just appear to be unresponsive. Mothers with chilled out laid back kids might not understand that a screaming baby might actually be okay. 

And my power stance regarding Ari is that there are no such thing as bad or good babies. As in, “Your baby is so *good*, she’s been quiet and asleep the whole time.” Babies cry, some more than others, and mine just happens to be the ‘more than others’ kind. Plus I think it is a sign of intelligence that he is switched on to what is happening around him and expresses his opinion about it. 

But you better believe I need to remind myself of this every damn time we go out in the pram.