Well, it's finally hit us. We have a toddler. And?
I miss my baby!
One of my friends has a newborn right now. I know she's not getting sleep and it's hard and she's recovering... but that cute little baby isn't throwing tantrums yet! Well at least not about the things E is throwing tantrums about. Because if he was upset only because he was hungry or tired, that I could do! I have a year's experience on that!
But how do I explain to him that no, you cannot run into the road? Because I tried.. and got screams. He would throw himself to the ground, scream, and then jump up and run to the road again. And I'd stop him again. Rinse, Lather, Repeat.
UGH.
I speak in soothing tones, I give hugs when he lets me, I try to say yes to as much as I can... but it's a hard time in his life, and therefore, he screams. And in my head I silently die, because I hate it so much.
Some nights it just feels like too much. He'll go from laughing and giggling to throwing himself on the floor in a fit, to laughing again in the span of 2 minutes. And the cycle will continue for hours. He has a very clear vision of what he wants to happen, and anything that deviates from that will cause immediate meltdowns.
His toy got stuck. He didn't like what he was eating. I didn't let him play with an electrical cord. The wind blew in his face. Who knows.
I know it's normal. I know it won't last. But boy, that doesn't make it any easier!
I can’t decide if the past 6 months have gone quickly or not. Sometimes it felt like a never ending slog that we were sleepwalking through, but on the other hand I swear we just celebrated F’s first birthday. Either way, we have an official 18 month old on our hands. And thanks to a sleep consultant, we are back on track with sleep and everyone is feeling more like themselves lately. F is back to sleeping and happily chatting in her crib, and it feels like at least one layer of stress has evaporated.
F remains the happiest Spearson, excited to be a part of things, and loves it when we go somewhere. She mostly gets mad when we try to remind her she’s a baby and can’t always do the same things that the older two can. Oh how quickly she’s going to demand equal treatment though. Already she fights back if someone tries to push her away.