Gentle Discipline Woes & Triumphs, Tantrums, and Sleepiness

Man, Baby G and I are having a crazy difficult time with outlets. He's so stubborn that no matter what tactic I take, if he can see it he goes for it, and he's so dang smart that he can take out the socket covers. When I get paid, I'm going to invest in the heavy duty ones that are more difficult to remove. In the meantime, it's driving me insane. I try to create a yes-zone for him, which is so easy at home and so hard when we're at NaNa and Granddad's. And of course we're house sitting for them this weekend. Hooray. -_-

Otherwise, gentle discipline has been working very well for us! I struggle with not yelling, as that's how I was raised and what I know. I also know how it feels to be on the receiving end though, & that is my motivation to find and excel at alternative ways of getting my point across. The most simple method is just communicating. So far so good on everything except sockets!

Also, since we're kind of on the subject; Baby G is well into the age where tantrums rear their head. Thankfully, I researched ahead of time & was/am prepared. At this age, tantrums are more often due to the fact that baby can understand more than they can communicate to us. The communication block leads to frustration, which leads to a meltdown. (Also, they can be upset that you take away something they want or you tell them no and they justplain don't   like it. Same results.) There's nothing wrong with them being frustrated. They're just little people, and they have emotions just like us. They experience what I like to call "big feelings" and they literally have to have that meltdown to get work through and dissipate those big, ucky feelings. All the thrashing actually helps them get past it. (There's a wonderful article on that, but its late and for the life of me I do not remember where I found it. I'll post it when I find it!) Back to tantrums, it helps to acknowledge their feelings, aka empathize with them. I tell Baby G, "I can see that you're so mad. I understand that you have big feelings. It's okay to get those big feelings out. I will be right here when you're ready to come to me." And I wait, and he comes to me after he calms down--or for help calming down-- to nurse. Ah breastfeeding. It's definitely my go to for everything. My duct tape! Hehe. Anyway, since I've been consistently using that response, I've noticed a large decrease in the amount of tantrums that he has. I guess that means I'm doing something right!

Alright, I simply must go to bed. I'm exhausted from our long, busy day out it the scorching sun. Before I go, here's a wonderful article that says a lot of what I said here about tantrums in a much more eloquent way: http://www.ahaparenting.com/ask-the-doctor-1/11-month-old-tantrums

Goodnight! 

Much love, much peace, much happiness,

Momma E & Baby G!

Ps, Bugaboo will be 1 on Wednesday. Where has the time gone? ::sigh::

He's an expert walker now. Next up: running!