Some of Syntia’s tell-tale teething signs: sweating and holding her ear during naps. She’s got 3 teeth out with number 4 on the way. Hang in there lady!!! When Syntia gets tired and cries or flings her body around not knowing what to do with herself, I still have to be very diligent in my self-application when my emotions get triggered. One of the things that helps is telling myself that whatever I feel I am struggling with inside myself right now, she has it much worse. Our own emotional experiences can be overwhelming and blind us to the reality of a moment. And yes, while emotional havoc can be difficult to work with and work through, it doesn’t compare in the slightest to the physical agony our babies have to brave. This simple reminder has helped me to snap myself out from under the spell of my own inner turmoil, and reclaim my ability to direct myself and act in the best interest of Syntia and me both. I will be sharing more about what I have learnt and applied in those challenging moments where my emotions suddenly sweep up while I am with Syntia in videos to come, so keep an eye out for more content!
![Cesar gave Syntia his train tracks about a year ago, and before they were hers, she would play with them together with Cesar. She's had a ton of time to learn the different pieces, how to put them together and build a track, but for some reason, she DID NOT want to build a track by herself and most of all preferred to just watch as someone else built the track for her.
Lj and I knew she was perfectly capable of building a track for herself and we tried to support her to start small and show herself that she can do it. Or that we'd be here if she gets stuck, but she can at least try on her own. Any such attempts, however, were met with an absolute and firm refusal. So, we did it with her, or for her.
We started wondering, is this little girl really just taking advantage of us at this point? Are we entertaining this too much? Should we push harder? We knew she could do it, she knew she could do it, but for some reason she just didn't want to do it, at least, not yet.
And then one day, out of the blue, she takes out her blocks and starts building a track... by herself. Lj quietly waived me over, pointing at her, then signing 'shhht', lol - didn't want to disturb the moment. The track you see in the pic is the first one she built by herself. It wasn't a "beginner's" track like a simple circle or a straight line, it was a more intricate design laid out exactly and precisely how she wanted it to be, including all the elements she wanted to have as a part of it. Kabam, out of the blue.
There are other things where Syntia 'took her sweet time', like learning how to walk and potty training, where it was clear at some point that she was able to do it, but for some reason, pulled back or didn't want to do it all by herself just yet. It's so easy as parents to freak out over that, to think that children should develop skills in a particular way, like 'starting small' or doing something by yourself as soon as you're able to. But not all kids are the same in this. [Continued in comments..]](https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/135216034_868657797266702_107582540258970761_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=AwcDjJsv6z8AX8z3F1X&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfDz7JKknfXiTiNtMQPTY6feuYnVgUtaSV9OJJa_M1vbzA&oe=64823152)
