Meltdowns...

As a mom there is this overwhelming desire to make and keep your children blissfully happy.

With newborns, of course, it isn't always easy to decipher what a baby is trying to tell you they want.  Fortunately, it's generally one of a few things... I'm hungry, I'm sleepy, I need some cuddlin', I got a load in my diaper...

For my sweet Sayler, her requests are no different (except she doesn't mind a dirty diaper as much as I do.)  But sometimes I misinterpret "I'm ravenous" for "I need to be rocked".

I'm learning.

I can now sense when my wee one is getting over-tired and will subsequently be screaming bloody murder.  I know when she has an appetite (for the most part- this girl seems to eat non-stop...) and when she just needs to hear my heart beating next to hers, and feel my warm breath against her skin.

I am so ninja-like, in fact, that I have just about mastered the ability to keep her wails to a mere cry, and her cries to a mere whimper.

But sometimes...

I mis-read the book of Sayler and a meltdown ensues.

Yesterday as we embarked on our nightly walk, a part of our routine, Sayler became hungry.  But I somehow thought she was saying, "hold me closer".  Needless to say she wasn't happy with my dyslexia and she proceeded to scream, like, REALLY loudly and I'm certain all my neighbors heard my sweet baby wailing and immediately burned holes into the back of my head.

I scootched along frantically, like a Geisha in a hurry, anxious to get into our home where I could feed her (I haven't mastered the nursing while walking thing...).  I was mortified that my neighbors all heard my sad baby and are certainly thinking I am a horrible mother.

On the plus side, my daughter has mastered being a good sleeper, an exceptional tummy-timer, and a world-class heart-melter.

It was one of those MOMents, I guess. 

Note to self:  tank up the baby before the walk.