where did my sweet boy go?!

2u2wow

my 21 month old has turned psycho! temper tantrums, wanting his soother ALL the time, just plain freaking out all the time

please tell me this is a phase and i'll have a sweet boy again one day! good lord..........i'm losing patience and not really sure what to do sometimes, give in or just stick to my guns and let him freak out. poor DS2 - never gets to nap during the day until DS1 does cause it's too loud in the house for him to!

little help?

suggestions to occupy him? i can't let him watch TV more than he does!!! 

kcisthebombdotcom

It's pretty typical for a child to act out in that situation. His world has just been turned upside down.

I don't think I would have survived without a good carrier for LO #2. I carried on with life as usual just with a baby strapped to my chest. lol. STory time at the library was something we did a lot in the early months since LO could run around in an area with lots of toys that was confined and there were lots of understanding moms around. Keeping him busy at home with stuff like coloring and play doh is helpful as well.

Other ideas in helping with tantrums is giving your child control and lots of little responsibilities. I think something that helped my son with the transition was giving him simple things to do. He was very young so it wasn't anything too complex--just get me the bottle/diaper from a spot he could reach. Something else that's good with toddlers is lots of choices over their day. Let him choose what to eat (within reason--give him two healthy choices and he chooses one), what to wear, what to play with.

Hang in there--it will get easier with time. GL!

bethann3181

This was my house EXACTLY over last summer.  DS2 was born when DS1 was 22 months.  I think that the combo of the new baby coming into the house, and him just entering the 2's created a reciepe for disaster in our house.  I can't lie - it was a rough 7-8 months or so.  There were so many times I thought I was literally going to lose my mind.  All I can say is that it WILL get better, stay consistent to your rules and disclipline with DS1, and try to ensure he gets some QT, alone time with you and DH, separately each day (meaning, the baby is out of the room).  This always helped DS1.  He will grow out of this phase, but while he's in it, accept help however you can.  Soon, you'll look back on this!!

lew0509

DS1 turned into the whiniest, most obnoxious child when DS2 was born. It didn't help that DH came home from deployment the same day. We basically rocked his little world in the biggest ways possible.

Now that DS2 is 8 weeks old, he's much better. He'll try and put the paci back in his mouth if he cries, and will "help" me with things around the house. He's ok if I leave the room for a minute, etc. He does still have days where he'll run around making a mess and touching everything he's not supposed to when I'm holding LO, but we'll get there. It is just a phase.

2u2wow

Thanks ladies. I'm glad I'm not alone! I feel like we are the only ones sometimes. All DS's friends seem so well behaved! Ill keep on him with rules but the day to day is a struggle! I hope ds2 bypasses 2 all together! Haha