Salad Shooter drama

 So here’s a picture of a salad shooter…

Little motor spins around and grates your vegetables. I’ve got an old one that’s probably almost as old as I am, and I love it.

Looks harmless, right?

NOT ACCORDING TO MY DAUGHTER!!!!

Just this morning, I grabbed it from the cabinet to grate some zucchini and she started whimpering at the sight of it (please refer to picture above to get an idea of its terrifying visage). By the time I had the motor on a few seconds, she was bawling like a child in a war zone.

I. Am. Just. Making. Zucchini. Bread.

Nobody is dying.

Our house is still standing.

You need to breathe.

Being a first-time mom, I’m never entirely sure what to do. I needed to make the zucchini bread. But I don’t want to make my baby cry. And I don’t want her to have long-term fears of salad shooters.

She used to be scared of the vacuum cleaner, but as soon as I started holding her while vacuuming, she stopped being scared of it. Now she’s fine even if I’m not holding it.

That didn’t really help with the salad shooter. She just wrapped her arms around me and sobbed.

So I did my go-to reaction. A calm steady approach that gets the job done, provides a safe embrace for my baby, but keeps it very chill. No grasping her to my chest and cooing over her like I just rescued her from something terrible. Rather, a nonchalant but capable hug that is mildly surprised you need a hug from such a little disturbance but is none-the-less happy to give it to you.

She was still scared. Apparently I’m not going to fix this in one session. But hopefully she will learn that she survives every time, and by the time she’s old enough she’ll be able to use the machine herself!

When I finished grating zucchini, I made lunch and sat down to eat. She crawled into my lap, put her arms around my neck, and just sat there. 

Feeling my calmness.

My heartbeat and breaths helping to regulate hers.

Releasing all the tension she had built up.

It seemed like a long time to me. But I stayed still for her. I want to be the kind of mama that she can come to when she needs me, no matter how long it takes.

So now is your turn to help me out! Give me your stories of things your babies were scared of, and tell me how it turned out!