Miss SUPER Sensitive

Last night we found out that Tia is not just sensitive, but she is SUPER sensitive!  She had an incident last night where we told her in a very stern voice how disappointed we were in how she threw a temper tantrum over nothing.  She must have really had her feelings hurt or realized she disappointed us, because she was hyperventilating crying. It was a hard sight to see and it took us a while to calm her down. After almost an hour, she calmed down and was back to her old happy self.  She couldn't catch her breath and she was just so upset. She gave us these looks of sadness, but more so of trying to gain our approval again. It is so darn amazing that a 1 year old can be as emotional as she is. I know she is going to be a passionate, competitive, analytical one and it shows.  Chris and I both are very sensitive, wear our heart on our sleeve types and she has it double force. We felt bad for Tia and talked that we'll have to watch our tone with her.  We can still discipline, but we'll have to say it in a more calming way.  She really does understand when we are disappointed.  I know how hard it is for all kids wanting their parents approval and I'm here to say that even at age 1, they are in tune to what is going on with our feelings.  She is at that stage where we don't want to give in to her every whine, and we don't want to say no to everything.  However, we know that discipline is important and we have to stick to a good routine of teaching her yes/no/okay/what not to do/etc. She's doing great so far, but every now and then when we try to leave places (friends houses, stores, establishments), she goes into a temper tantrum like it is the end of the world. Then she won't let us put her in the car seat. She'll arch her back and make it super hard for you to buckle her in.  It can be frustrating as a parent, but I guess as long as we continue to follow what we feel is a best practice, then that is all we can do and hope that Tia picks up good habits. It was painful for all of us last night and emotionally draining for all of us, but these are growing pains that will help us know how to handle situations.  She is so darn sweet and loving, so it doesn't surprise me that she is emotional. I know I have always been the emotional type and I'm extremely passionate. So hopefully because I know how it feels to get your feelings hurt, I'll be a better parent in handling the situation.  The hard things is knowing that she doesn't understand WHY she can't do or have things, so trying to tell her no is probably hard for her to understand. She probably thinks we say no constantly, and we do. But hopefully soon she'll understand why.  She was in a great mood the rest of the night and really playful. This morning she was happy and back to her loving self, so hopefully she is over it. I just want her to be happy!