Sadie bit me tonight. I was sitting at my computer and she was upset because I didn't want to hold her. She whined for about 15 minutes in between my legs and then decided to take a chunk out of my right thigh. I watched as she put her head down towards my leg and then screamed in agony as those 7 little teeth ripped through my pants and cut my skin.
I didn't kill her. I didn't even yell or hit her. I did yell out in pain and in shock. Logan grabbed Sadie and put her in the corner. Since she's only 1, corner time is for one minute. Usually I count out loud for 60 seconds so she knows when her time is up. I couldn't even do it. I don't know if you've ever been bitten in your inner thigh but it is extremely painful. Sadie went into rage mode. Bent over and screaming, turning bright red, even gagging in anger... that behavior looked all too familiar as I remembered my youthful rages. Afterwards she came to me and I held her in my arms. I called my father asking him for advice and explained to him the situation. He suggested pouring a cold glass of water on her the next time she bit me. (This was the second or third time she has bitten me and the first time she has pierced my skin.) As we spoke on the phone, I realized she got exactly what she wanted. She wanted me to hold her and it worked. I was trying to comfort her during her time of distress and she got to be held - the means justified the end. I was comforting her from her punishment - a punishment she earned and deserved. Carefully I put her down, got off the phone with my dad and went to speak with Logan in the kitchen. Sadie then began to lose it. She followed me around yelling, demanding for me to pick her up. I showed her repeatedly my wound and told her "owie." I explained to her how much she had hurt me and how upset I was by her behavior. In between her demanding to be held she would touch my leg and repeat "owie." She understood what she had done and she was visibly upset about the situation. Only when she really started to cry with tears rolling down her cheeks and she held her hands out with remorse did I hold her and kiss her and tell her I forgave her. Parenting is much more complex than I imagined. I figured giving a child food, love and warmth would create a happy baby. Instead I am learning that a child's mood can swing at a moment's notice. A happy child can turn sour if her needs are not met immediately and to her satisfaction. Living life for myself is over. There is a new boss in town: Sadie.
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Meet the Blogger!
I'm a mom. A writer. A lover of good fantasy. A proponent of nursing when possible. A birth advocate. I am absolutely horrible at keeping my house clean or the dishes washed or the laundry done. I strongly believe in women having a positive birth. When we start to respect women's rights to birth the way they want, we can start to treat women as equal people in this world. Archives
February 2016
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