Well kittens, it’s Monday morning and frankly, I’m relieved to be at work. I stand by my original statement that this age (coming on 20 months) has been my favorite so far with my darling daughter, starting around 18 months. But it is the most mentally draining I’ve experienced to date.
I need to reclaim my authority and take back the night but how does one do that when they are BEAT DOWN? Thus my reasoning for being glad to be sitting at my desk, where every move I make, I can just make, I do not have to evaluate if each decision is going to be worth the battle.
Ahh…..toddler-hood…and the fierce desire for independence.
Don’t get me wrong. I like that my daughter wants to be a big girl and do things on her terms and has an opinion.
But I don’t always have to like it. And I don’t.
Just like I love being home with her, but it doesn’t mean I love it every second of the day. Because I don’t. Right there, you have a true mom confession.
My little firecracker can scream and force her way out of any situation now. High chair? Dead to her. Completely. But how does one avoid the breakfast that goes on for 1.5 hours. I don’t have it in me at 7am to force her into the high chair because I’ve seen what happens, it peaks into a screaming crying fit and she gets progressively more worked up to the point where she’s gasping for air.
But if I let her sit at the table, then she’s back and forth, for the marathon breakfast that gets dragged all over my house.
How does one reason with a toddler?
Intuition tells me you don’t.
But how does one enforce that you are the rule-maker, the task-masker extraordinaire? The warden of the house? And that breakfast happens ONCE a day at the table, and when you leave, you are done?
Kittens, I am stumped.
If you tell me consistency, I’ll tell you to bite my ass and ask you if you have a 20 month at home.
Take the DVR, for instance. I know it’s a game. I know that telling her “no” and removing her from it, consistently, is what works in theory.
But the mere “NO” coming out of my mouth almost excites her. It’s like we’re doing a dance, I’ve made the first move, and for her, there’s only one move next. And that is, to do the VERY thing I’ve just said “No” too.
SO then she does it.
Then I repeat and move her from said DVR.
And what does she do?
Has an enormous fit and then goes right back to where she was.
How about going outside?
You know you have a toddler at home when before you allow your child outside, you think to yourself, do I really want to let her out because then I have to deal with the battle of getting her back in.
You got it.
My new life. It’s non-stop and fun, it’s true, but man she is beating me down.
Like I said, today, I love Monday.
