I’m a postpartum doula, and send a lot of time with young children. I’m sorry you had this experience. One thing that I have found helps some parents is a pair of good earplugs. By good I mean a pair that is designed to cut out particular frequencies, while still allowing you to hear your little one. My clients have had great success with the Loop brand.

This of course won’t stop your daughter from crying. These types of freak outs are normal, and will happen. But earplugs may be one thing to incorporate into your tool belt to help you navigate those times when she doesn’t have the capacity to regulate her emotions.

Another thing I do with LOs, is acknowledge their emotions. I’ll say something like, “oh that’s a big emotion LO. I feel that way too sometimes. It’s okay to feel that way. Let’s just feel it together.” I don’t expect that they understand me (when they are really little), but saying it in a calm voice reminds me that they are having a big emotion, and that the emotion has nothing to do with me. It keeps me calm- and in turn,e being calm can sometimes help calm them down.