Family Communication

Communicating with a newborn is hard. He only has one oral form of communication (crying) and he can't understand my oral form of communication (English). While already tenuous, communication lines break down even further when I haven't gotten enough sleep and I don't have the patience to figure out what he's trying to tell me.

Today was especially hard because Dash decided he only needed 7 hours of sleep for the whole day--midnight to midnight. Which meant that I only got 3.5 hours of sleep last night. I was very frustrated and not really in the mood to go to church. But I went to Sacrament meeting anyway, and I really felt like the talks were meant for me.  

They were both based on older church articles about Communicating Love in Families:

Family Communications

This talk gave seven recommendations for helping family members feel loved when you communicate with them. In applying this to a newborn:
1. Sacrifice the Time (I think I got this covered)

2. Set the Stage (I realized I could do better at setting a better stage so that baby isn't overstimulated)

3. Willingness to Listen (I also can improve on overcoming my personal frustration so I will be more willing to listen)

4. Vocalize Feelings (I need to tell Dash I love him aloud)

5. Avoid Judgement (I think I judge the baby by blaming my lack of sleep on him- even though he can't help it)

6. Maintain Confidences (Not really sure how this one applies...)

7. Practice Patience (Self explanatory)

Expressing Love within the Family

I loved the following quotes from this talk:

- "The best time—the easiest time—to start expressing love to our children is when they are infants." 

- "To express your love, you can hold him, cuddle him, gently squeeze him, kiss him, and whisper thoughts of love in his ear."

- "How would we react if each time a child was born our Father in Heaven made this kind of introduction to the parents: Thank you for preparing this little body for the spirit I have created. Now, I present him to you for a season to care for. Please teach him of me and of my Son. I so much want him back with me some day. … Remember this: He is loving. He will respond to teaching. He wants to learn. Please treat him with respect. The road will not be easy. Some of the time it will be most difficult. I want to help you raise him. Please call on me often for advice and counsel. Together we can help him fulfill his purpose in the earth."

Rhetorically,
Rebekah