When my daughter was a baby, all the nurses and doctors I spoke to about "solids" were very insistent that this should not be started until 6 months. Just the thought of starting my daughter earlier because I thought she was ready made me feel a stab of guilt for even considering this.
Even my mum (who works with early childhood nurses so was always sitting on their side of the fence anyway) gave a raised eyebrow when I mentioned that I might start my daughter on solids at 5 months. I thought she was ready and I had read alot about mothers intuition and knowing when the right time would be but guilt got the better of me. Obviously these people weren't just saying this to annoy me, they were saying it because there was written evidence that babies should be exclusively breastfed/bottlefed for the first 6 months of their life.
I had read a few books (including my dismissed bible - Save our Sleep) that were all pro-early solids. The consensus seemed to be around 4.5 months.
Fast forward 2 and a bit years and alot of those nurses and doctors are telling me solids is ok to start at 4 months. Apparently now there is new written evidence that introducing babies to solids earlier doesn't really harm them and can actually prove quite beneficial for them! So as I did 2 years ago, I googled it - and now I'm confused again because some baby websites are telling me to wait till 6 months, others say 17 weeks. The World Health Organisation tells me to wait till 6 months. Farex, Heinz, Macro Organic, Nestle Cerelac and Raffertys on the other hand market their foods suitable for 4+ months.
The one thing everyone is consistent with is that your baby should:
- show an interest in food
- have an increased appetite
- open their mouth when offered a spoon
- have good head and neck control
4 month old ticked all these boxes weeks ago (around about the time when he started waking every 1-2 hours during the night!) but while I may seem impatient to start my baby on solids and enter a new chapter of his young life - I want whats best for him and understand the importance of waiting until at the very least, his tummy can handle something other than breastmilk.
So this week we will take the leap and introduce growing child to Rice Cereal (or recycled cardboard. I''m sure it's the same thing just branded differently).
The pressure is on to not screw this up and ensure that giggly tot is slowly introduced to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in an attempt to to instill a healthy interest in whole foods.
Easy......
Monday, 22 October 2012
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Sponge brain - please remember that before you swear in front of my daughter
I swear. Not alot, but sometimes it will slip out. Other times it adds a degree of passion and funniness to my story. I don't see anything wrong with it. Well I didn't. But now my daughter occasionally blurts out "sh!t" if she drops something and while my first reaction is to grin (then work very hard to hide it) my main reaction is to be mortified that I may have said this word far too many times and now my daughter sees it as an acceptable word to throw out there whenever she feels necessary.
The straw that broke the camels back was when my daughter used the word, far too rightly in a sentence the other day.
Upon dropping something that broke in the fall, she announces to her dad and I "Is that sh!t or what".
I grinned - how could my daughter be so clever as to use this word in a sentence that was more suited to an 18 year old mouth and not that of a 2 year old. My husband gasped and stared in astonishment at me.
Before my daughter could catch my grin and my husbands look of amusement, we stupidly asked "what did you just say?" to which foul mouthed 2 year old replies "I said sh!t" in her proud yet very innocent voice.
Daddy took the reigns on this one and stared very seriously into 2 year old's eyes and said calmly and sternly "that word is very rude. If you have heard someone say it, they were being rude and you are not to use that word again" to which 2 year old with too much courage replied "you're a sh!t dad"!
She's still on the naughty step accepting regular refreshments......
The straw that broke the camels back was when my daughter used the word, far too rightly in a sentence the other day.
Upon dropping something that broke in the fall, she announces to her dad and I "Is that sh!t or what".
I grinned - how could my daughter be so clever as to use this word in a sentence that was more suited to an 18 year old mouth and not that of a 2 year old. My husband gasped and stared in astonishment at me.
Before my daughter could catch my grin and my husbands look of amusement, we stupidly asked "what did you just say?" to which foul mouthed 2 year old replies "I said sh!t" in her proud yet very innocent voice.
Daddy took the reigns on this one and stared very seriously into 2 year old's eyes and said calmly and sternly "that word is very rude. If you have heard someone say it, they were being rude and you are not to use that word again" to which 2 year old with too much courage replied "you're a sh!t dad"!
She's still on the naughty step accepting regular refreshments......
Arrghh, teething
They say teething starts around 4 - 7 months.
My cute (adorable even!) 3 month old seems to have missed that memo and decided now is the perfect time to start cutting teeth.
If any mum had complained to me abot teething, prior to my daughter I would have sounded very earnest and had a very convincing concerned look on my face, all the while thinking "seriously, complain much! How bad can it really be?"
And then when I was pregnant with my daughter I got the toothache from hell and being pregnant the dentist could only give me a "quick fix" that helped with the pain but didn't stop it. I had to wait until my daughter was born (5 months later) before I could have the proper work done when the baby was safely away from x-ray machines and other bits and pieces needed to perform root canal.
Life went on and I thought nothing more about it until my daughter started teething and I felt helpless when trying to make her feel better. Then it suddenly dawned on my under-performing, over-tired brain - this is like the 5 month toothache I had and I whinged and bitched about.
Nothing I tried worked for me and half of these things aren't recommended for babies so how was I supposed to ease the pain my baby was going through?
My daughter started showing signs of teething at 5 months. She was irritable, got rosey red cheeks, drooled all the time and constantly putting things in her mouth to chew on. When she couldn't find a toy she would normally gnaw on her hand.
Her bottom two teeth were the first to break through but that wasn't before they came up and down for 2 months. Just as soon as you would see the white just on the surface of the gum it would disappear again and pop back up a week or so later, along with the irritability.
At 7 months, her first tooth finally cut throgh the gum.
Being older than 6 months, I was able to give my daughter rusks. When she got a temp, I was able to give her panadol. I put small holes in dummies and froze them for her to suck on, I always had teething rings in the fridge and was always available for cuddles when she just wanted some comfort.
My savour was Hylands teething drops. They were little white homeopathic tablets that I used to put on her tongue and they would dissolve. Within 20 minutes of giving her a tablet she would calm down and relax. I really believe that these tablets made sleeping through the pain possible for her (and me).
Now happy and healthy 3 month old seems to have the same nasty signs of teething. Red gums, white at the surface (hard to imagine if you've never seen it before but really amazing to witness) drooling (I forgot about the constant changes of wet clothes) colourful nappy changes and just a little bit irritable. He's a pretty chilled bub so he seems to be handling it all quite well - but he picks his moments...
And I forgot about the biting while feeding part. Ouch!
So, did my teething tricks work well enough last time to try them again this time or should I opt for something new, like the amber teething necklace - although a boy wearing a necklace doesn't seem right when his sister isn't wearing one??
Hylands teething drops are no longer available so it's not possible to test their performance on my son.
I've decided on teething rings, chilled overnight in the fridge. A dummy filled with water and frozen. Strangely enough massaging the gums. My daughter would never have let a finger near her mouth but my son seems to love it when I rub my fingers over his gums, it stops the rolling tears and brings a smile to his little face.
My newest addition to the teething game is Chamomilla. They're homeopathic drops just like the Hylands so I'm hoping they have the same calming effect. The directions say to use 5 tablets a time for adults and children over 2 so I'm going to start with one tablet and see how I go. It's homeopathic so it's near impossible to cause any bad reactions.
As for the nights where baby is in pain and we're both feeling miserable sitting in the rocking chair at 2am wishing we were both sleeping..... It wont' last forever.
Just another 2 years to go.....
My cute (adorable even!) 3 month old seems to have missed that memo and decided now is the perfect time to start cutting teeth.
If any mum had complained to me abot teething, prior to my daughter I would have sounded very earnest and had a very convincing concerned look on my face, all the while thinking "seriously, complain much! How bad can it really be?"
And then when I was pregnant with my daughter I got the toothache from hell and being pregnant the dentist could only give me a "quick fix" that helped with the pain but didn't stop it. I had to wait until my daughter was born (5 months later) before I could have the proper work done when the baby was safely away from x-ray machines and other bits and pieces needed to perform root canal.
Life went on and I thought nothing more about it until my daughter started teething and I felt helpless when trying to make her feel better. Then it suddenly dawned on my under-performing, over-tired brain - this is like the 5 month toothache I had and I whinged and bitched about.
Nothing I tried worked for me and half of these things aren't recommended for babies so how was I supposed to ease the pain my baby was going through?
My daughter started showing signs of teething at 5 months. She was irritable, got rosey red cheeks, drooled all the time and constantly putting things in her mouth to chew on. When she couldn't find a toy she would normally gnaw on her hand.
Her bottom two teeth were the first to break through but that wasn't before they came up and down for 2 months. Just as soon as you would see the white just on the surface of the gum it would disappear again and pop back up a week or so later, along with the irritability.
At 7 months, her first tooth finally cut throgh the gum.
Being older than 6 months, I was able to give my daughter rusks. When she got a temp, I was able to give her panadol. I put small holes in dummies and froze them for her to suck on, I always had teething rings in the fridge and was always available for cuddles when she just wanted some comfort.
My savour was Hylands teething drops. They were little white homeopathic tablets that I used to put on her tongue and they would dissolve. Within 20 minutes of giving her a tablet she would calm down and relax. I really believe that these tablets made sleeping through the pain possible for her (and me).
Now happy and healthy 3 month old seems to have the same nasty signs of teething. Red gums, white at the surface (hard to imagine if you've never seen it before but really amazing to witness) drooling (I forgot about the constant changes of wet clothes) colourful nappy changes and just a little bit irritable. He's a pretty chilled bub so he seems to be handling it all quite well - but he picks his moments...
And I forgot about the biting while feeding part. Ouch!
So, did my teething tricks work well enough last time to try them again this time or should I opt for something new, like the amber teething necklace - although a boy wearing a necklace doesn't seem right when his sister isn't wearing one??
Hylands teething drops are no longer available so it's not possible to test their performance on my son.
I've decided on teething rings, chilled overnight in the fridge. A dummy filled with water and frozen. Strangely enough massaging the gums. My daughter would never have let a finger near her mouth but my son seems to love it when I rub my fingers over his gums, it stops the rolling tears and brings a smile to his little face.
My newest addition to the teething game is Chamomilla. They're homeopathic drops just like the Hylands so I'm hoping they have the same calming effect. The directions say to use 5 tablets a time for adults and children over 2 so I'm going to start with one tablet and see how I go. It's homeopathic so it's near impossible to cause any bad reactions.
As for the nights where baby is in pain and we're both feeling miserable sitting in the rocking chair at 2am wishing we were both sleeping..... It wont' last forever.
Just another 2 years to go.....
Friday, 5 October 2012
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Routine for Baby
My daughter was a month old before I discovered Save our Sleep by Tizzie Hall.
Being the first child, this book became my bible and what the book said I did. I followed the routine like I had no other option. Baby fed at 7, went down at 9, woke up at 11 and fed again. Went down again at 1, fed at 3 then had a nap in the bouncer before feeding again at 6.30 and going to bed by 7 and having a dreamfeed at 10.30pm.
The book said that this routine would ensure my baby would sleep well of a night and wake at 7am the next morning to begin the day.
First born however, preferred to wake at 6am. Bringing bedtime forward by 15 minutes didn't help. I learnt to live with a 6am riser. Still to this day I am woken by that same adorable child at 6am.
My son has been on this routine since he were a week old when the book dictated that our day would start at 7am.
Seems second child shares the same early riser gene as his sister and prefers a 6.15am start to his day.
So being the second child, i'm a little more relaxed with my routine. He still feeds at 7, 11, 3 and 6.30 but my little mans sleep times vary from day to day. Most days, he just can't keep his eyes open till 9am, the time when my bible says he should go down for his first sleep of the day. Keeping him awake till 9am is a hard task and more often then not, no matter how much noise his big sister is making, he will fall asleep. Some days he will sleep from the time I put him down (some days as early as 8am) through to 11am. Other times he will wake at 10am. Usually if he wakes before 10 I will try to resettle him with a few off-key songs and he tends to drift back to sleep until closer to 11.
Getting to 1pm for the second sleep is also a hard task. My happy boy crashes and burns at around 12.30 but he will generally sleep through till 3pm. Sometimes even longer.
Afternoon naps are rare but do happen occassionally.
Bed time is as close to 7pm as I can get and I will be woken from my slumber anywhere between 12am and 3am. I have tried the dreamfeed with no success so I figure if I can get to bed at 10, instead of waiting up to 10.30 to feed then I may as well get the extra 30 minutes sleep.
Going out and about with my daughter meant that she would sleep in either the pram, car seat or baby bjorn. If my daughter wouldn't sleep at home in her cot, I took her out.
My son on the other hand refuses to sleep anywhere but his cot (occassionally the vibrating bouncer - a must have baby item!!). Outings have to be strategically planned to fit into his awake time. Any cross-over into a sleep time means he misses out on that sleep. He doesn't cry, he just happily watches the world go by with a look of wonder.
So is routine really that important? By having set feed times I know when my son is crying because he may be due for a feed, but how do you stick to a routine when you have an older child, things to do, places to be and a baby who, try as you might, likes to create his own sleep times despite what the bloody book says.
I laugh now because I used to preach the words of Save our Sleep and made recommendations to everyone with a newborn or those who were having trouble with their baby sleeping.
2 years ago I would have picked Save our Sleep over Twilight or Fifty Shades.
Today, I realise that it's nice to have some help and guidance, It's nice to be given some idea on when to feed your baby and put them down to sleep when lets be honest, as a first time mum I had absolutely no idea. But really, someone telling me that every baby is capable of sleeping till 7am and that you should put your baby in a pram to get them to have an afternoon nap or that the darn dreamfeed will ensure they sleep through most of the night - get real. Thanks for your words of wisdom but this time i'm going to have to pass on the recommendations. Seems second child has his own agenda and I can handle that.
So thanks Tizzie, you helped me survive my first born but back on the bookshelf for you this time it seems.
Being the first child, this book became my bible and what the book said I did. I followed the routine like I had no other option. Baby fed at 7, went down at 9, woke up at 11 and fed again. Went down again at 1, fed at 3 then had a nap in the bouncer before feeding again at 6.30 and going to bed by 7 and having a dreamfeed at 10.30pm.
The book said that this routine would ensure my baby would sleep well of a night and wake at 7am the next morning to begin the day.
First born however, preferred to wake at 6am. Bringing bedtime forward by 15 minutes didn't help. I learnt to live with a 6am riser. Still to this day I am woken by that same adorable child at 6am.
My son has been on this routine since he were a week old when the book dictated that our day would start at 7am.
Seems second child shares the same early riser gene as his sister and prefers a 6.15am start to his day.
So being the second child, i'm a little more relaxed with my routine. He still feeds at 7, 11, 3 and 6.30 but my little mans sleep times vary from day to day. Most days, he just can't keep his eyes open till 9am, the time when my bible says he should go down for his first sleep of the day. Keeping him awake till 9am is a hard task and more often then not, no matter how much noise his big sister is making, he will fall asleep. Some days he will sleep from the time I put him down (some days as early as 8am) through to 11am. Other times he will wake at 10am. Usually if he wakes before 10 I will try to resettle him with a few off-key songs and he tends to drift back to sleep until closer to 11.
Getting to 1pm for the second sleep is also a hard task. My happy boy crashes and burns at around 12.30 but he will generally sleep through till 3pm. Sometimes even longer.
Afternoon naps are rare but do happen occassionally.
Bed time is as close to 7pm as I can get and I will be woken from my slumber anywhere between 12am and 3am. I have tried the dreamfeed with no success so I figure if I can get to bed at 10, instead of waiting up to 10.30 to feed then I may as well get the extra 30 minutes sleep.
Going out and about with my daughter meant that she would sleep in either the pram, car seat or baby bjorn. If my daughter wouldn't sleep at home in her cot, I took her out.
My son on the other hand refuses to sleep anywhere but his cot (occassionally the vibrating bouncer - a must have baby item!!). Outings have to be strategically planned to fit into his awake time. Any cross-over into a sleep time means he misses out on that sleep. He doesn't cry, he just happily watches the world go by with a look of wonder.
So is routine really that important? By having set feed times I know when my son is crying because he may be due for a feed, but how do you stick to a routine when you have an older child, things to do, places to be and a baby who, try as you might, likes to create his own sleep times despite what the bloody book says.
I laugh now because I used to preach the words of Save our Sleep and made recommendations to everyone with a newborn or those who were having trouble with their baby sleeping.
2 years ago I would have picked Save our Sleep over Twilight or Fifty Shades.
Today, I realise that it's nice to have some help and guidance, It's nice to be given some idea on when to feed your baby and put them down to sleep when lets be honest, as a first time mum I had absolutely no idea. But really, someone telling me that every baby is capable of sleeping till 7am and that you should put your baby in a pram to get them to have an afternoon nap or that the darn dreamfeed will ensure they sleep through most of the night - get real. Thanks for your words of wisdom but this time i'm going to have to pass on the recommendations. Seems second child has his own agenda and I can handle that.
So thanks Tizzie, you helped me survive my first born but back on the bookshelf for you this time it seems.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Are we best friends again?
I've had a cough lately so I've been gargling with scotch of an evening to help numb the tickle.
I'm breastfeeding so aside from the fact I despise scotch, I can't drink it anyway.
Today has been one of those days where the tantrums seem to blend into each other and therefore NEVER end!
Thank God for the distraction that my son provides. But he's now in bed. I've checked the freezer. Plenty of breast milk. Will a scotch really solve the problem...?
Turns out 2 year old does know how to stop screaming. How quiet the world seems when the screaming stops.
And then there are those few sentences that make the whole morning tantrum suddenly forgotten:
"Are we best friends again? I love you mummy. I'm very sorry"
I'm breastfeeding so aside from the fact I despise scotch, I can't drink it anyway.
Today has been one of those days where the tantrums seem to blend into each other and therefore NEVER end!
Thank God for the distraction that my son provides. But he's now in bed. I've checked the freezer. Plenty of breast milk. Will a scotch really solve the problem...?
Turns out 2 year old does know how to stop screaming. How quiet the world seems when the screaming stops.
And then there are those few sentences that make the whole morning tantrum suddenly forgotten:
"Are we best friends again? I love you mummy. I'm very sorry"
Monday, 1 October 2012
Toddler loves the ABC Reading Eggs
I often question myself on whether or not I should teach my daughter new skills. Don't take that the wrong way, it's just, isn't teaching her how to spell, and new words just adding to her ammo to be stored away for when precious daughter turns crazy toddler?
Regardless, we spend time every day reading and drawing, attempting to write and learning new skills from planting seeds to melting butter. It's fun and keeps everyone busy and entertained. Nobody wants a bored child!
We've recently discovered ABC Reading eggs. Reggie (or 'Reggie egg' to my daughter) helps you with phonics, sight words, vocabulary and letter recognition.
My daughter enjoys matching the picture with the words but her "flavour of the week" is the letter recognition where you must find the letters in a find-a-word style puzzle.
ABC Reading eggs is fun and colourful, has plenty of happy tunes and lots of cute characters.
As my daughter is not quite 3, she uses the playroom section which is designed especially for 3-4 year olds.
ABC Reading eggs is a computer based system so we both sit down at the computer and complete the activities together and when we're out and about 2 year old is able to play using the app on my phone.
There's a 14 day free trial on their website which is definitely worth trying!
www.readingeggs.com.au
The bike ride...
Two years ago when my daughter was just a baby I thought it would be a nice idea to buy a bike trailer. You know those tents on wheels that you see being towed behind a push bike?
Well this weekend my husband decided it was time we took it out of it's box and put it together.
Both my kids loved it. Well hard to tell with my son, but he didn't cry so surely that means he liked it??
My daughter thought it was the best thing. She could ride around in her daddy drawn trailer and gaze out the small plastic windows at all the suckers who had to exert energy to get to where they were going.
Our ride to the service station to put air in the tires was slow. We took the dog but didn't anticipate that our daughter would insist on holding his lead, which is fine if she were walking but being in the bike trailer it was near impossible for this to happen. Try telling that to a 2 year old. We made it to the service station without too many tears and the ride home was tearless - imagine!
The tears started when we got to the driveway and my daughter decided it wasn't time to end her ride. She wanted to go over the speed humps in our street more times. After two more 'up and over' my husband attempted to head home again, only to be halted by a very determined 2 year old.
In an attempt to save the neighbourhood from what turned out to be a bloody good show, we bargained with said daughter. End result - 5 more 'up and over' and she would be happy.
Joke was on us.
Each up and over was counted by my daughter. We were all smiling, she was almost a fit of giggles at the fun that was created by riding over speed humps.
We were all happy, until the damn ride had to end and the evil child hidden beneath the beautiful big cheeked girl that was just giggling uncontrollably broke out and unleashed her fury on anyone caught in the crossfire.
If you've ever been witnessed to a toddler tantrum it goes a little something like this...
YES. YEESSSSS. I WANT TO. NOW. NOOOOWWWW. DADDY. DADDY. DAAAADDDY. MUM. MUUMMMMY. I WANT TO. I WANT TO. I WAAANT TO. DADDY. GO AWAY. GO AWAY. I WANT TO. LET GO OF ME. LET GO OF ME. LET GO OF MEEEE. NOOOWWWWW. YESSSS. YEEESSSSS. I WANT TO. NOW!
And it continues like that until you find the one tiny string that will bring your sweet little child back.
By this stage my husband and I are fending off kicking legs and flailing arms trying to get our son out who has been strapped into the seat next to the tantrum queen, unable to do do anything but endure the torture of his sisters tantrum.
Behind closed gates and out of public view but still within earshot of all within a 5km radius we attempted to reason with tantrum queen.
What were we thinking??..
The sprinkler was on the lawn and dear husband whose stress levels are better suited to work deadlines than 2 year old tantrums, decided a dunk in the sprinkler was just what tantrum queen required to settle down. Didn't work the first time so he thought he'd try again.
Two soaked bodies later, tantrum queen was being carried kicking and screaming into the house for a warm shower.
By this stage the tantrum has progressed to
YOU WET ME. MUMMY DADDYS BEING MEAN TO ME. HE WET ME. GET AWAY. GO AWAY. GO AAWAYYY. NO DADDY. NO DADDY. NOOOOOO DADDY. GO AWAY. GO AWAY!
Clothes and all tantrum queen is placed in the shower and the shower is turned on to warm her up. Neighbours, and neighbours of neighbours, and their neighbours too are now hearing NO DADDY. NO DADDY. NO DADDY. GET OUT. NO DADDY. GET OUT. The tantrum being slightly muffled by the bathroom walls and the excess build up of snot that has smeared itself across 2 year olds face is now in full flight. The cold water in the back yard has only added fuel to the fire and my mind has gone blank with what I could possibly say that will end this epic tantrum.
While daddy proceeds to get undressed so that he too can get in the shower and warm up tantrum queen wipes her face clean, clears her throat and at the top of her lungs yells NOOOOO DADDY. PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON.
Great, now what will the neighbours think......
Well this weekend my husband decided it was time we took it out of it's box and put it together.
Both my kids loved it. Well hard to tell with my son, but he didn't cry so surely that means he liked it??
My daughter thought it was the best thing. She could ride around in her daddy drawn trailer and gaze out the small plastic windows at all the suckers who had to exert energy to get to where they were going.
Our ride to the service station to put air in the tires was slow. We took the dog but didn't anticipate that our daughter would insist on holding his lead, which is fine if she were walking but being in the bike trailer it was near impossible for this to happen. Try telling that to a 2 year old. We made it to the service station without too many tears and the ride home was tearless - imagine!
The tears started when we got to the driveway and my daughter decided it wasn't time to end her ride. She wanted to go over the speed humps in our street more times. After two more 'up and over' my husband attempted to head home again, only to be halted by a very determined 2 year old.
In an attempt to save the neighbourhood from what turned out to be a bloody good show, we bargained with said daughter. End result - 5 more 'up and over' and she would be happy.
Joke was on us.
Each up and over was counted by my daughter. We were all smiling, she was almost a fit of giggles at the fun that was created by riding over speed humps.
We were all happy, until the damn ride had to end and the evil child hidden beneath the beautiful big cheeked girl that was just giggling uncontrollably broke out and unleashed her fury on anyone caught in the crossfire.
If you've ever been witnessed to a toddler tantrum it goes a little something like this...
YES. YEESSSSS. I WANT TO. NOW. NOOOOWWWW. DADDY. DADDY. DAAAADDDY. MUM. MUUMMMMY. I WANT TO. I WANT TO. I WAAANT TO. DADDY. GO AWAY. GO AWAY. I WANT TO. LET GO OF ME. LET GO OF ME. LET GO OF MEEEE. NOOOWWWWW. YESSSS. YEEESSSSS. I WANT TO. NOW!
And it continues like that until you find the one tiny string that will bring your sweet little child back.
By this stage my husband and I are fending off kicking legs and flailing arms trying to get our son out who has been strapped into the seat next to the tantrum queen, unable to do do anything but endure the torture of his sisters tantrum.
Behind closed gates and out of public view but still within earshot of all within a 5km radius we attempted to reason with tantrum queen.
What were we thinking??..
The sprinkler was on the lawn and dear husband whose stress levels are better suited to work deadlines than 2 year old tantrums, decided a dunk in the sprinkler was just what tantrum queen required to settle down. Didn't work the first time so he thought he'd try again.
Two soaked bodies later, tantrum queen was being carried kicking and screaming into the house for a warm shower.
By this stage the tantrum has progressed to
YOU WET ME. MUMMY DADDYS BEING MEAN TO ME. HE WET ME. GET AWAY. GO AWAY. GO AAWAYYY. NO DADDY. NO DADDY. NOOOOOO DADDY. GO AWAY. GO AWAY!
Clothes and all tantrum queen is placed in the shower and the shower is turned on to warm her up. Neighbours, and neighbours of neighbours, and their neighbours too are now hearing NO DADDY. NO DADDY. NO DADDY. GET OUT. NO DADDY. GET OUT. The tantrum being slightly muffled by the bathroom walls and the excess build up of snot that has smeared itself across 2 year olds face is now in full flight. The cold water in the back yard has only added fuel to the fire and my mind has gone blank with what I could possibly say that will end this epic tantrum.
While daddy proceeds to get undressed so that he too can get in the shower and warm up tantrum queen wipes her face clean, clears her throat and at the top of her lungs yells NOOOOO DADDY. PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON.
Great, now what will the neighbours think......
The smile at the end of a tantrum
Today I had one of those moments where I could fall to the floor in tears wondering where I went wrong, or I could be the adult and guide my daughter through her epic tantrum, back to a world where we are all smiling and giggling and I'm grinning at my babies thanking God for such perfect creatures.
When you witness your own child throwing a "terrible twos" tantrum you have that ARHHH moment where it suddenly dawns on you, the real reason why it's called the terrible twos. Well let me tell you, the tantrums at 24 months, are nothing compared to the tantrums at 31 months. They're louder, last much longer and start for such stupid reasons.
The tantrums (yes, multiple) I endured today are the reason for this blog. While sitting through the third tantrum of the day, there was that moment where the room went silent and I smiled and saw the funny side of my daughters epic tantrum.
My husband and I had endured two tantrums already this morning. Before the third and final one, we thought our daughter was all screamed out and surely there was no way she would have enough energy to burst out again. But she did. In actual fact she had enough energy for a tantrum that lasted one hour.
It started with a bike ride....
I chose the later option but it was hard work and if it weren't for my husband I would probably still be curled up on the floor in tears.
My kids are adorable little people.
My son is 3 months old. He's rolled a couple of times, has just started to reach out for things and put them in his mouth and he will always return a smile if you smile at him. He sleeps fairly well at night, normally going down around 7pm (I say around because as hard as I try to get him to bed by 7pm I quite often fail..) and waking once during the night for a feed before starting the new day at 6.30am. I have tried many times to introduce a dreamfeed but at the beginning he wouldn't feed unless he were awake and now, he is happy to have a drink but it makes no difference to his sleep. Regardless of whether or not he has a dreamfeed he will always wake anywhere between 12am and 3am. I was even lucky enough for him to once sleep through till 4.20am!!
My daughter is 2 and a half. She was born on a hot summers morning after a very quick labour and had a full head of dark hair. She was sitting by 4 months, crawling a little later than others but walking before her first birthday. By 13 months she was telling me when she needed to use the toilet and by 16 months I felt comfortable enough that I could put her in undies and people wouldn't judge me for toilet training someone so young.
Just shy of her second birthday my daughter threw her first tantrum. At the time, I thought my world was falling apart. My perfect child that was easily swayed had all of a sudden decided she was her own little person who if she didn't get her way, would yell NOOOOOO at the top of her lungs until I would bargain with her and we were both happy. Tantrums at this age lasted no more than 5 minutes and now that I think back, could probably have been avoided had I not been so stubborn. Something which I have since discovered has been passed on to my daughter. When you witness your own child throwing a "terrible twos" tantrum you have that ARHHH moment where it suddenly dawns on you, the real reason why it's called the terrible twos. Well let me tell you, the tantrums at 24 months, are nothing compared to the tantrums at 31 months. They're louder, last much longer and start for such stupid reasons.
The tantrums (yes, multiple) I endured today are the reason for this blog. While sitting through the third tantrum of the day, there was that moment where the room went silent and I smiled and saw the funny side of my daughters epic tantrum.
My husband and I had endured two tantrums already this morning. Before the third and final one, we thought our daughter was all screamed out and surely there was no way she would have enough energy to burst out again. But she did. In actual fact she had enough energy for a tantrum that lasted one hour.
It started with a bike ride....
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