What I find interesting about humans is our ability to actually forget things that feel so traumatizing at the time, like the inconsolable cry baby.
I remember feeling extremely overwhelmed by my first baby’s screaming. I would pace the house with her in the middle of the night and actually pulled blankets off my sleeping husband when I felt overwhelmed and irritated by the non stop screaming and the fact that he seemed to sleep so soundly through it all.
Looking back now I’m not sure why it was such a problem. It’s amazing what a monster you can turn into when lack of sleep and screaming babies are mixed. If only I had blogged back then…I’m sure there would be plenty of documentation to describe exactly why I was losing my mind over one baby.
Every once in awhile, however, I catch a glimpse of that inconsolable baby again. My daughter is seven and still can’t see or hear anyone when she cries. There is NO talking sense to that child. She zones out. The true product of introverted parents.
And while her inability to talk about her feelings when she is upset is frustrating…I am increasingly impressed with her superb ability to express her feelings through the written word. This beautifully eloquent note was slipped to me beneath her door in the middle of a scream fest when I wouldn’t allow her to finish a movie (Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2) at bed time:
Hold on to your stats girls, I do believe we have the makings of the next top blogger on our hands.
Kristi says
:) I do believe her older sister lives at our house. Please feel free to pick up at your convienence!
Just kiddding…..I love my little drama queen to bits! Great post.
Mama Kat says
I know exactly how you feel. :)
Kate says
lol ! The small letter which she wrote and the expression drew on it is cute! I know the feeling which comes out of lack of sleep.
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Melanie says
This is hilarious! Oh, and I love how she illustrated her point. Just in case you didn’t get it. Ha!
My sensitive older (and dramatic) boy is 6. I’m just waiting for those “I don’t like you” notes.
Mama Kat says
I was actually just really impressed that she didn’t use the word “hate”…that’s my girl!!
trash says
Lots of the ‘I hate you!’ kind of notes were scratched into bits of furniture in her room. When I painted the cupboard last year I made sure they remained visible ;-)
Mama Kat says
Oh my goodness, that is awesome! Like she’s some kind of trapped animal in there. Love it.
Jen says
Claire at the age of three just shuts down when she is upset. There is a little crying but then just quiet for hours. I should be happy with the quiet but I know she is mad b/c if looks could kill, I’d be a dead woman. Maybe I need to teach her who to write because at least that would be some communication.
Mama Kat says
Ugh! Yes!! Maile does it and I’ll plead with her to talk to me. I assure her I just want to help and that I can’t possibly help if I don’t know what the problem is. It doesn’t make a difference though. I’ve learned to back off, let her know I’m there when she needs me, and then just give her space. If she needs to think and sulk to come to a better place than so be it. Bed time is the best time for pulling everything out of her though!
Amanda says
Pulling the covers off? That’s brilliant! I’m still in the “why is this baby crying??” stage at 4 months and my hubby either sleeps through it or gives me unhelpful advice, such as, “Did you try feeding him?” Yeah, dumbass, I did, would you like to take over? No? Then STFU.
*sigh*
Mama Kat says
Oh man, I turned into a monster. I slammed doors, I yelled, and yes…I pulled all the covers off of him on a number of occasions. No wonder he doesn’t want more babies!!
Jenny says
I do not miss the no sleep and crying baby days. I felt like a zombie lunatic ;)
LOL at the note, my son likes to write me notes and tape them to the outside of his door.
Mama Kat says
We WERE zombie lunatics!! Perfect description.
And I love the note idea! I will start sliding her notes from now on when she’s upset.
Val says
LOL! Eventually you’ll get an “I’m sorry! I LOVE you!” note. At least I hope so…
Ali @thecoffeeqween says
Omg! Her little brother is at my house! His name is aiden and while he cannot write such eloquent letters yet, he can come to me and tell me his heart is breaking bc I won’t allow him to play angry birds all damn day! I kid you not. But yes it does seem so sad later to me, that in the moment the sleep deprivation and general I have been on my feet for 15 hours of it all gets the best of me. Not always, not as much as when baby #2 came, but every once in a while on a total no sleep day, I think I can’t do this. Then the moment is gone and I realize what the was I buggin for?
Mama Kat says
DUDE! What’s the deal with the Angry Birds obsession? I made the same mistake of allowing Kainoa to play and it’s seriously non stop. I appreciate that there’s something I can give him to keep quiet when I need it quiet, but he just wants it all day long too!
BalancingMama (Julie) says
I’m sure I will never get such lovely notes. My kid will love and adore me forever, right???? I will live in my dream world for now.
Mama Kat says
You’re right Julie!! Your child is the exception of all children in the world!! ;) Congratulations!!
Kimberly says
I can’t wait to get her on twitter…what? Too early?
Mama Kat says
We’re going to start a competitive revolution of moms whose kids are in social media, “my FIVE year old has 300 blog readers!!”, “oh yeah? My 3 year old can work Twitter and has already surpassed me in followers!”
We’ll be the pageant moms of blogland.
the domestic fringe says
I love it! She’d definitely make a great blogger. Don’t feel bad, my first baby drove me insane. I remember putting my screaming baby down in his crib, walking outside and sitting on the front porch to cry myself. Now I laugh, but then, I was at my wits end. For reals.
-FringeGirl
Mama Kat says
Yes! I did the same thing, only I shut myself into my bathroom and plugged my ears and cried. Those are such sad and helpless moments! I feel bad for our old selves.
Melissa R says
LOL… Alex is definitely in this “drama club” and she is only 16 months old!!
Mama Kat says
Maile threw her first temper tantrum when she was 10 months old. I’ll never forget it…she threw a toy and started screaming because it was out of reach. I looked at her and was all, “It’s okay, just crawl and go get it!!” to which she responded by throwing herself backwards and screaming even harder. I picked up the toy and handed it to her and she stopped crying instantly. At that very moment I knew I had a “situation” on my hands. Haha!
Kate says
Oh goodness…Right now I’m loving that my kid can’t spell!
Courtney K. says
So glad my son is only two and can’t write or spell yet. Boy how I do NOT look forward to those little nastygrams. :) And I was a total nutcase when my son was born…the non stop crying drove me up the wall!
Mama Kat says
I actually really liked the letter. She’s such a sweetheart, and if that’s how she needs to express herself when she’s that angry than so be it. The great thing about being the parent is that no matter how much they might be mad at us, we know they still love us.
Georgia Girls says
Memories — ugh, but okay.
I had a son who’s MO was/is to avoid expressing his feelings, but he would leave us notes. As a teenager they could be hurtful if as parents we didn’t have such good self esteem. The funny thing is he is more capable of bouncing out of a snit with more ease than one of my other boys (who says girls are the emotional ones?)
I was given some invaluable advice that totally gave me a paradigm shift: As a mother, it’s not your job to make people happy. Your job is to validate their feelings and help them with their communication skills so they can learn to solve their own problems. Totally removed a burden from my shoulders.
Mama Kat says
That’s excellent advice!! I absolutely do not take her little letters seriously and am definitely preparing for more in store from her as she gets older.
Hold me.
Mommy Fabulous says
Sooooo, what’s her blog address? I’m so sure she has a lot of stories about you! Oh how the tables will turn!
Mama Kat says
I know right? Her blog can be called “Baby’s Not TAKING IT ANYMORE!”. She’ll recount all her stories of living with a crazy mom.
Not Winning Mom of the Year says
I have two boys, so the thought of how they will be informing me that they don’t like me either, scares me. Maybe peeing in a garbage pail, or putting dead bugs under my pillow?
Mama Kat says
Eww! I hope we just stick with the letter writing in these parts!
Carrie says
I am frequently told that I am “ruining her life” by my 4.5yo. God help me when she is a teen!
Mama Kat says
Ruining her life?? Oh dear! Haha…where do they even get this stuff?
Lynn MacDonald (All Fooked Up) says
It doesn’t get better…just yesterday both of my girls, aged 20& 21, declared that they won’t forgive each other unless the “other one” apologizes first. Melodrama anyone?
Mama Kat says
Oh Lord.
I can’t wait.
camesha says
that is HIGH-larious!
KIr says
My heart just contracted with this, seriously. I don’t like when my 3 yr olds tell me that they “don’t like me” , it turns my heart inside out.
but for some reason, this made me feel much less alone. :)
Mama Kat says
Oh I don’t take it seriously at ALL. I know she loves me…for as angry as she claims to be I don’t buy into the “I don’t like you” nonsense one bit. What she means is that she does not like that I didn’t allow her to watch a movie at bedtime…she just doesn’t know the difference between those two feelings quite yet I think.
Either way. She’s stuck with me!
Kristi {at} Live and Love Out Loud says
I’d suggest purchasing her new domain now before someone else gets their hands on it. shutupimcrying.com is still available!
Mama Kat says
Haha! That’s perfect!
Rachel {at} Mommy Needs a Vacation says
Did you come by and pick up Sadie on your way back from San Diego this weekend? I am pretty sure you have her at your house.
Mama Kat says
Rachel where were you!?!
Jennifer says
Baby Girl will do this, or she will scream, “I hate you, you don’t love me, you love Bud more….” Etc. With door slamming and falling onto the bed as part of it. I think sometimes they just don’t know how to express whatever it is they are upset about and they just take it out on us because they know we will love them no matter what and that we can handle their anger. But it still sucks.
Lindsey says
Heh, when I was about seven or eight I remember my mom slipping a note under my door that was almost exactly the top one you have.
I’m still not exactly sure what my problem was then, but even into my teens I’d write it out.
How thought-provoking this is for me!
leslie says
Wow~ I was totally going to say her twin was at my house (although my Sweetpea isn’t seven until the end of May)
This morning she informed me I had to complete a 2 page survey her school sent home yesterday. AND send it back today! She’s telling me this about 15 minutes before we need to be in the car on the way to the school.
When I calmly explain their just isn’t time, she gets hysterical because she isn’t going to get a prize for bringing it back.
Then she starts with the “sometimes I just feel like you hate me…”
Oh, life with girls…who knew?!
Maybe we’ll have an Oscar in our house one day~LOL!
Very funny!
Thanks for sharing!