Productive Communication to Baby: Controlling Emotions

Being a full time mom without a domestic helper means I have bunch of never ending things to do throughout the day. Now, imagine that I have to combine that with a fussy baby and low supply of patience. As you can probably imagine, (ehm) yes, I often lost my temper. Huhu..

There is a pile of Alula's laundry in the corner of my room. It keeps irritating my eyesight. So I take all of them into the washing machine and set it to finish in the next 30 minutes. I don't have much time. Because.... Alula is sleepy, but she doesn't really want to sleep (yet). Sigh!

Alula is a charming baby. She's normally is relatively calm and friendly. But not when she's sleepy. She turns to be the exact opposite of her cuteness, crying out loud no matter what.

The washing machine is ringing, indicating that it has done washing. Alula is still playing in the living room with her dolls, books and toys. I escape from her a while to hang the laundry. When I am halfway about to finish, she's throwing a tantrum.

I approached her, look at her in the eyes and say "Mama is hanging the laundry for a while. I will be done in 5 minutes. Can you please be patient?". She's still crying loud.

I hug her. Her cry subsides. Then calmly say, "I know you are sleepy. We can sleep after this. But Mama need to finish something in a short while". Alula is still sobbing while rubbing her eyes.

I put her highchair near the laundry area and put her there. I hope that she will be calm at least when she sees me. But no. That's not the case today. She cries out loud again.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.  

Inhale. Exhale.  

I lower my body to be in the same level with her. "Alula, this clothes are damp. If I don't hang them now, I'm afraid it will be musty. Do you want to help me to hang them?", while give her one small hanger as an attention diversion. :D

.....And finally Mama can hang the rest of the laundry in peace.