Mostly lovely with a bit of not so thrown in.
Typical two almost three?
Bit of a control freak in the making on my hands?
Mama not watching for patterns and working on avoidance?
Probably, probably, probably...
So here goes...some things are non negotiable.
If dude goes in the mud on his bike and even with a reminder that he will get dirty if he falls he remains in the mud...only to fall...well taking off the offending muddy pants to make him happy? In the park? When it is 6 degrees?
Um no.
If dude wants to take control by going back to the moment he lost the control position (back in the mud) and that involves crossing back over a 4 lane street that I just
Um, no.
If every time I put dude down he heads back towards the street? No matter how far we get from the street he is always focussed on going back to the mud to "do it myself" and turns around and walks away. But he doesn't want to be carried? Can he walk?
Um, no.
But in the end while we are safely in the livingroom and the fit is winding down and dude wants to go back to the front door and put on his dirty muddy pants so that he can "do it myself" and take them off?
By all means. Go for it. And come and give mama a snuggle. And pick a few books. and move on.
Now, about avoidance.
The big fits and the end of napping seems to be a strong parallel.
Dude is tired by the time we get home...
Tired, hungry but eager to spend time outside.
Our new rule will have to be:
Home, feed the dog, eat dinner THEN go for a walk.
Never walk first and eat later.
Our evening fits always seem to happen on an empty stomach
while Ben is riding his bike.
If he snacks he doesn't eat dinner.
Boomer will simply have to wait.
In order to do dinner first dinners will have to be prepared in advance.
I'd love some advice on this.
I HATE cooking and dude pretty much HATES variety in his diet.
Plus, the dog has been in the house quite a long time by dinner.
3 comments:
I can so relate to much of the behaviour you're experiencing lately! Such a fun age but, oh so challenging, too.
For dinner, do you have a crockpot? Then you can make your meal in the morning and it will ready when you get home. There are recipe ideas here: crockpot365.blogspot.com. You can also get some pre-made things that you can put in the crockpot (stews, chilis, etc.) but I'm not sure how those will appeal to your little guy. I am trying to get in the habit of making extra and freezing leftovers to be reheated later.
I have been preparing meals the night before(so they are ready to just microwave as soon as we arrive home each night) for the past 3 years! It's the only thing that seems to work...and even then the meltdowns sometimes still happen.
I also find that if I give a little cuddle time(as little as 10 minutes) as soon as we get home, it fills her love tank and I can sometimes avoid a meltdown.
I still haven't been brave enough to cut out Owen's nap. He still falls asleep quickly at 8pm so I'm not going to cut it until I have to. I'm thinking by summer I'll be doing that. That's the only break I have all day from him tho - so I really don't want to give up nap! Plus I know he'll be grumpier in the evening etc while he adjusts to the new routine.
Hopefully Ben (and you) adjust quickly and you get into a new routine that works for both of you. I don't have any advice for early dinner prep. I hate cooking too and try to avoid it as much as possible :)
I'm looking forward to seeing you both soon!
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