What, Your Baby Throws Tantrums?

As everyone knows, I take lots of pictures of Sophia and share them on my social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instragram & of course my blog.

I do this because about 95% of my friends and family don't get to see Sophia as much as I and they would like. I share these pictures daily so they can see her and to also see what we've been up to.

So of course I want to show people that you know, being a mom and having a toddler is just picture perfect and Sophia is just always so happy when I'm taking these pictures and that toddlers never crawl away as fast as they can when you get your camera out and they never cry. Nope, they never do this. I mean how could they? ... my pictures never show that, right?

Actually, out of all the pictures I take about more than half of them are either out of focus, random shots of Sophia's body parts or just ones of her screaming "Mommy!" as she holds her hands up.

I've had people come up to me and say that Sophia seems like such a good baby from what they see in pictures. And I want to be honest with people. Even though she's perfect and she looks like an angel in her pictures, she's not.

I'm not saying she's a bad baby and my life is miserable, but she's a baby. Well a toddler. And she's going to throw her fits and she's going to scream at the top of her lungs because I took something away from her while we're sitting in a crowded restaurant and everyone's looking. She's going to pull my hair and try to squirm out of my arms. She's going to throw her food and not take naps or go to sleep at her bedtime.

But you know, that's how all babies act whether all moms want to admit that or not. It's just what they do and it's what motherhood is all about. And at first you feel crazy, or atleast I did but I'm getting used to it, I have to. I know that as she gets older she'll have her own kind of tantrums {I mean I still do at the age of 22} and as her mother I'm going to be there to calm her and tell her that everything is going to be ok.

I know I'm not an expert/perfect mom but I have been a mom for 17 months now so I've found ways to handle things because a kicking and screaming toddler isn't easy to tolerate. I wanted to share how I am able to calm Sophia {and myself} down during her tantrums/fits and how I am able to get her back to her old sweet self like you see in the pictures I normally post. Here's what I've learned:

• STAY CALM // Shouting or getting angry will only makes things worse. If they see that you're angry they are more than likely going to continue throwing their tantrum. Just relax and if you need to, walk out of the room, take a deep breath and go back in. Trust me, I've done it lots of times and it seems to help the both of us.
• BE PREPARED // Sophia throws her tantrums at home and when we're in public. At home it's easier for me to calm her down but when we're in public it's a little harder. So I've learned to come prepared when we're out. I will pack snacks or toys that I know she'll get distracted by. I am also aware as to when her she'll want to nap or eat. This helps a lot because when she throws her fits, they are usually around that time. 
• KNOW WHEN TO LEAVE // With a toddler, it's hard to stay at home when you have things to do. Sophia is usually attached to my hip when I'm not at work so she goes everywhere I go. If she decides to throw a fit at the store because I took something away from her then I quickly get what I need and leave. I've learned that trying to calm her down when there's other people watching just isn't going to work.
• TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF // I feel like if I've had enough sleep, food and just feel like my normal self then it's easier for me to calm Sophia down during her tantrums. But when I've had no sleep and just feel exhausted I find it harder for me just because I'm easily irritated. So taking care of yourself is not only good for you but it can also help in these situations. 

I know this post was really long but I want everyone to know that Sophia is a normal toddler and she does throw fits. Yes, all my pictures show that she never has them but who wants to see those? People are looking for happy, cute pictures of toddlers and I have been very lucky to capture some great shots when Sophia is being my sweet girl. 

And I also want everyone to know that I'm not complaining at all about being a mom or Sophia, I just wanted to share my thoughts on tantrums and to share with other mommy's how I handle them.  Hey, it may even make other mom's feel a lil better knowing that their toddler's aren't the only ones throwing tantrums. {& to all the soon to be moms or women who plan on being moms, don't let this scare you I promise you it's all worth it haha}

How do you handle tantrums? If you have any tips you'd like to share, please let me know!