Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I have a screamer

Before I got pregnant I had these preconceived notions about what my child would be like. She would never use a pacifier, she would be breastfed until a year old, she would definitely be walking by one year, and I would never ever let her be one of those girls that scream all the time. Well, that all went to shit.

I have a screamer on my hands. Marlo screams when she is tired, she screams when she is hungry, she screams when she is happy, sad, frustrated, bored, excited...so basically she screams all the time. Now I am not talking about her talking loudly, because she does that all day too. I am talking about an incredibly high pitched scream, that each time she does it, the dogs ears perk up.

And every time she does it, I immediately put my finger to my mouth and say "Quiet...shhhh." And then she giggles and screams again. Seriously it is so loud it makes my ears ring! And when it happens in stores, people look at me like I am torturing the child.

I don't want to stop her from expressing herself, but it is getting a little crazy with the screaming.

Is there any advice you have for me? My ears are ringing!!! And I have to take her on a 3 hour long flight next month...ugh!

3 comments:

  1. I'm sorry. I really know the feeling. I posted about this when Parker was about seven months old here: http://sharonchristiansen.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/screamer/ Just take heart in knowing that it's just a phase that your little one is going through. I know its tough, but distraction is key, and trying to ignore the unnecessary screaming (as hard as it sounds) even in public is something that you'll probably have to do. Sounds like you have a very vocal, social baby who enjoys expressing herself. Parker is the same way. He still screams occasionally, but has found other ways to get my attention (whining). Once she is able to communicate some sign language, that too can help here get across what she's trying to say without the ear piecing shrills. This too shall pass! Good luck!

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  2. Caitlin used to gag herself and make a horrible retching noise. When she first did this, I tried to make her stop by saying "No," or moving her hand away. I found it terribly upsetting and worried she'd actually induce vomitting. Then I figured out the more attention I gave her gagging, the more she gagged. As hard as it was, I ignored her behavior and she actually stopped really quickly. She was just doing it to get a rise out of poor mama.

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