Oh, the joyous milestone of week 19! The wonder week where your baby’s brain starts developing so rapidly, she turns from a little angel into a little monster; from predictable & content to unpredictable & miserable. Add in some teething pain & you’ve got a nice storm brewing.

It’s interesting really. Just when you thought you’ve figured out your little one, they turn the tables on you completely! So it’s back to the drawing board for Mom! I followed these 4 steps & managed to bring my little angel back & be rid of the monster that tried to take her place (at least for now).

Knowing that her brain is firing rapidly right now, I’m doing my best not to overstimulate her. Before this week, she could take in a lot around her and was quite content playing with 1000 toys all at once. For instance, she loved interacting with all of her toys hanging from her playmat. She’d grab, hit, pull, kick and giggle her way around that mat, having such a good time! However, this week, she was getting fussy & cranky whenever she was put on it to play. Puzzled, I laid beside her on the floor to try and calm her & realized that there may be too many toys hanging. Therefore, I started to remove the majority of her toys and only left her with two, and voila! My happy baby has returned. All I needed to do was change the status-quo.

Speaking of changing the status-quo, this also holds true for rooms in our house. If she starts being overly fussy or cranky in one room, I pick her up and walk with her into a different room; sometimes I even leave the lights off in the new room. Just by taking her away from whatever is making her upset (ie. Causing her to get overstimulated) and bringing her to a quiet & darkened area, she calms down, usually within seconds & returns to her happy self! I like to think of it as her way of saying you guessed it right Mommy!

This has been the ‘fun’ game since day 1. I’ve managed to keep the same list as previously mentioned in my “Busting Into Mom-life” post, while omitting and adding a few items:

#4 I’m tired

#5 I’m teething

Given, I’ve had 4 months of practice already, I’m getting quicker at understanding what the cause of her crying is, thus reinforcing to her that everything is going to be okay! It also helps keep my frustration levels to a minimum as happy baby = happy Mommy!

(And as far as teething goes, Infantino makes a great ring teether that our baby girl just loves! She can hold onto it easily & it soothes her gums tremendously!)

That’s right! Embrace the fact that there are some days where she will fuss every time you try to put her down. Now, I know this one may have some controversy around it, but I have no problem cuddling and hugging my daughter when she wants to be held! That’s not to say I hold her 24/7, but if she’s going through a rough patch and wants to be held for a couple hours, I’m more than happy to do so! I like to think of it as she’s having a bad day (for whatever reason) and just needs some comfort! As adults, I know that we all have tough days where all we want to do is cuddle up to something or someone we find comforting. It’s a natural human response, so why not provide the same courtesy to my baby girl?! After all, in her world, there’s no place better than in my arms & if she’s happy, everybody’s happy!