I haven't posted a "new" blog in a while, so I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on!
Tanner: "Nanner" (as he calls himself) has hit the terrible twos! :( He has been hitting, scratching, biting, and pinching us when he is upset. This has been a very hard time for me. I hate to see him so upset and acting like this. Where did my sweet boy go? I know it is just a phase, and he is "acting like a two year old," but I struggle with how to stop this behavior. Should I ignore it? It's hard to ignore when he is hurting the baby. Should I put him in time-out? That's not always an option (like when we are in the car). I know that I am not the only parent to go through this. Any advice you have to give is welcome (as long as it comes without judgements) :) On a better note, Tanner has many cute sayings......bug bug bite, he calls me Nonny, he yells for Bobby and I by saying "Honey," he calls Thomas the train "Bach Train," he says animal names by the sounds they make (meow-meow, nah nah). He went camping with Bobby last weekend and did so well! He didn't nap, but he did sleep all night in the tent! Tanner and I had a day out with just the two of us last week. We had a play date with his friend Tom ("Bach"). We played at the mall, then went out to lunch at Olive Garden. Then we finished up by going to the grocery store. He did so well the whole day. No tantrums, no hitting. It was lovely! I know that he misses spending quality time with Mommy and I miss it too! I have made a mental note to do more of those!
Brennan: "Dede" is 6 months old now! A half a year....wow!!! His napping is wonderful now! I rock him, give him the paci, and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Then I put him in his bed and he goes right down! He sleeps anywhere between 1-3 hours per nap! YAY!! He is still just the happiest baby and is only fussy when he needs to nap. He loves the Exersaucer and can somehow move it across the floor in the kitchen to get to the table. He loves to watch his big brother. He LOVES when he is facing out in the carrier or Moby and we go shopping or for walks. He squeals the whole time!! He is a good eater, just like Tanner. I haven't found anything that he won't eat.
Guess that's all for now! :)
Do you think the hitting/biting/pinching is part of jealousy? I am so nervous about how Lily is going to react to the baby!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. He didn't start that until recently and Brennan is 6 months old. But Brennan can also do more now, so he gets more attention now. So who knows? I think it's more just about being mad and not knowing how to show it.
ReplyDeleteHey gal. Sorry about the tough time you're having. I think the biggest thing is (and ignoring him is SO NOT what I would do) is to remove him from whatever is going on. I know it's hard (and sometimes a more of a punishment for you than for him if you want some times with your friends) but I know that with Julianna I removed her about 3 times before she started to realize that behaving like "this" means I don't get to play here. It's all about staying consistent and staying on top of correcting the behavior. He's at the age where he should be able to understand if you say do it and we will LEAVE... and get it. If he does it at home, put him somewhere he's NOT happy with... until he calms down. We never allowed ours at that age out of time out until their behavior was completely under control. They have to learn. Even in the car... I pulled over many times in the past and gave warnings... even if it's grocery shopping.. we WILL go back home and you WILL lay down if you behave this way.... etc.... get creative! You can do it.
ReplyDeleteI totally believe in positive reinforcement, but at the same time I believe that negative behavior should follow with the right consequences. It does for us as adults, it should for them as children.
With all of this said, I am yet again going through this with another child *sigh* lol... and this time it has started much sooner than with the last two. It's hard correcting an 18 month old that truly doesn't seem to "get it" lol!!! So... hang in there; this too shall pass!!
Your a wonderful mommy, and it shows even more so that you're not worried about asking for advice from others. I don't know how anyone could judge you for what you're going through!!! <3
AND on the plus side of things!! YAY for cutsie words and GREAT napping!!!! See you ROCK as a mom!!!! <3
Thanks Vicky! Just what I needed to hear! :)
ReplyDeleteEowyn didn't get 'rough' with Finn til she got more mobile, in the past month or so. And she's not doing it to be mean, her's is more, "I want Finn to do everything with me!" E does get pretty protective of Finn at the childcare at the YMCA when kids her size go near Finn. Time out has worked for Eowyn.
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