Baby Drama

As parents we would like to think that our children are perfect. But they all have their days. Some days my son gets so cranky and I don't know what to do with him. I pick him up to comfort him and he arches his back, leans his head back and wails. He has a legitimate concern. Maybe he's tired, or hungry, or perhaps he's teething. Sometimes I joke to my boyfriend that he is being...dramatic!

And you know what? He is being dramatic. Or at least it appears that way, because he currently only has one real mode of communication: crying. Sometimes I wish I could burst out crying when things don't go my way...wait, I do do that. But not to the extent that my son does it.

When he doesn't get his needs met, my little man lets me know, and in quite a theatrical way. I think the reason I joke about him being so dramatic, is to relieve my own maternal anxiety. Let's face it, being a mother is a hard job. The hardest job I've ever had.

And when my son is wailing his head off, I laugh at his dramatic display to ease the tension within myself. Because I don't know what he wants. I use trial and error to figure out what could placate him until I get it right. And if I don't get it right, I ask my mom for what to do.

The truth is babies are inherently dramatic, because they have to let us know when they need something. And that communication cannot be subtle.