This past week or so has been one of frustration for me, as my little girl is turning into an opinionated toddler before my eyes, and in turn has been trying my patience. It is wonderful to see her becoming more independent and to have an opinion, but at the same time it is making for painful mornings while I negotiate everything from changing her diaper, to putting clothes on to which coat she wants to wear (for the record she prefers her fleece and it has been freezing here, ugh...). She is happy as a clam as long as she is doing what she wants (aren't we all as my mom says), watching Blue's Clues, playing with her ba-ba, hanging in her pj's. But the minute to tell her to do something she doesn't want to do or like, all hell breaks loose (I'm sure you have all watched the snow video, picture this but not funny). She went to Nancy's in her pj's yesterday because I didn't have the energy to fight with her. I guess there are worse things right? Being pregnant is certainly not helping, as my small amount of patience that I normally have is being cut in half.
At the same time she is finally talking more (she walks by a chair and says "chair" instead of us prompting her) which is making life a little easier in the communication department. She is obsessed with her ba-ba, from changing her diaper and wiping her with her wipes (this is the cleanest baby doll in the country I tell ya) to putting her in her stroller, bed or high chair. Hopefully this is good foreshadowing for what is to come...
I'm starting to think more and more about how she will handle the transition of becoming a big sister. I think she is going to like it, or I guess I am hoping. We still haven't approached the topic with her as I don't think she will get it yet. I think when my tummy is bigger it will be easier to start talking about the concept of a baby in my tummy (I still don't get how a toddler gets this concept, I mean I don't get it some days!). I know it is going to be a big change for her in so many ways. We are already discussing how to transition her out of her crib and into a big girl bed. We disagree on the timing, I want to do it before the baby comes so that she doesn't feel like she is giving her crib to the baby and Charlie wants to wait til after because he thinks she is too young (she will be a couple months shy of 2 if we go with my plan). I would love to hear what others did and what worked for them!
3 years ago
2 comments:
I'm with Charlie on this one. Wait as long as you can. Baby can sleep anywhere for the first couple of months. Or borrow one for a couple of months. We went ahead and switched Carly to her new room but put a borrowed crib in it, but i decorated her new room to match her new bedding for her big girl bed- for whenever i thought she was ready. Carly's old nursery became Avery's new room. It worked great and Carly did wonderful on the switch. I'm thinking it was feb when we made the switch so she would have been 2yrs 4 months old.
I get frustrated all the time over Carly's antics. Monday, after leaving the creative discovery musuem, she started screaming and refused to walk to the car. I was dragging her for a little while but then people started staring, so I left her on the sidewalk and continued to the car. Soon enough she came running. All this because she was hungry and wanted a snack.
Yeah, I'd leave her in the crib. Quatro can live in a pack-n-play for a few months if he needs to. Ava switched at almost 2.5, and even that I felt was early. The whole first week she kept asking me to put her back in her crib :(
I noticed you used the word "negotiation" and "toddler" in the same sentence. There's your problem: ha ha! When Ava gets opinionated, I simply turn the decision on her and give her two choices to choose from (either of which will let me "win"). She seems to like having at least that much control/independence, and it usually works and she ends up picking one. Like, "you can't wear your fleece, but do you want your pink coat or your purple one today?" Give it a try! Parenting is hard stuff!
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