"Babies should be classified as an antidepressant. It's pretty hard to be in a bad mood around a 5-month-old baby." - Jim Gaffigan
Anyone who's been anywhere around a happy, smiley baby will agree that they are indeed great at boosting your mood!! With their pure innocence, babies exhibit a certain exhilarating sense of freedom - they want to kick their arms and legs, wander around and generally explore everything (and not just with their hands!).
But anyone who's tried to stifle an active baby knows that they're not going to get their way. Babies love their freedom, it's part of their natural development and any attempt to curb it will result in all hell breaking loose! If you've ever tried swaddling a fidgety infant, you know what I mean! A few more months down the line and they're flinging off their clothes and running around in their birthday suit! The same goes for diapers that are binding and uncomfortable; it restricts their freedom and they don't like it one bit.
Speaking of clothes, there was this one incident that comes to mind. My son was around 11 months old and just beginning to toddle around. It was my teenage sister's birthday and she had invited a bunch of her friends over in the evening. Since morning, everyone at home was busy preparing for the party, and my son could sense that there was a buzz in the air - he seemed excited as well!
It was almost time for the guests to arrive, and everything was ready - except my son! He seemed a little too excited; so much so that he was refusing to get dressed! I had got him an adorable little outfit with a bow tie and all, but it was just lying there, and the person it was meant for was bouncing around! Finally my Mom took over and with a lot of cajoling, Junior got dressed.
Our guests started to arrive, and soon the house was filled with chatter and squeals of laughter (you can imagine how teenage girls are!). My son's mood had changed a little; he seemed uncomfortable. The girls oohed and aahed over him for a while, which worsened his mood; he wasn't used to such a large group of females; and such a noisy bunch at that!! He got increasingly fidgety and started tugging at his bow tie and his pants. I was horrified; my son was going to strip in front of company!!
I realized that it had been a little too much for my son, who's used to a quiet home with few people. All the music and noise and people - he was over stimulated and the poor thing looked trapped! Finally, I gave in and helped him take off his outfit. He was instantly relieved; he looked so free!! Wearing only his super soft Pampers diapers (he probably didn't realize he was wearing them), he toddled over to the room where his toys were and sat down and began 'vrooming' his truck. Bliss!
Babies teach us a lot of things, and one thing that my son taught me that day is that when the pressure gets too much, all you need to do is get rid of all the baggage and go to your happy place where you can truly be yourself - free and comfortable!!
Lots of Love,
