- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Stellasmom
member
What sucks about parenting is that you can't just walk away and cool off.
Stellasmom
member
If I'm frustrated at work I can switch projects and work on something else. If the washing machine is p!ssing me off I can go do the dishes instead. If I'm mad at Dh I can walk into another room to clear my head. If I'm upset by someone online I can log off.
If I'm alone with DS and he has a diaper full of crap and is flailing around and getting poo everywhere, I can't walk away, scream, and then come back to him when I feel better. lol.
Does anyone else have a lot of these moments? We were at Wendy's for lunch today and Ds had ketchupy hands and he kept grabbing me. After the 11th ketchup smear on my shirt I would really have just loved to have gotten up, walked out of the restaurant, and sat on the curb to chill out for awhile. But of course I had to sit there and try to wipe his hands off and try to make him sit down and try to get him to stop staring at the people behind him and try to get him to eat some nuggets and not just fries etc...etc...etc... I hate that feeling of being overwhelmed and having no options.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: What sucks about parenting is that you can't just walk away and cool off.
Fcuk yes.
These are the moments that taught me that I had so much more patience than I ever thought I was capable of. In those moments, when I want to rip my hair out and run screaming from the house, or go slam a door and sulk somewhere, I have no choice but to reach deep down, remember to breathe, and just take care of shiit. (Sometimes literally.)
Or, you know, just hand her off to H and go slam a door.
When I have moments like that - I just let go and stop trying to fight it. Once you accept that you will walk out of there covered w/ ketchup and LO will only eat fries for lunch that day - its a lot easier.
We went to to Red Robin a few weeks ago and seriously my whole left side was covered w/ cheese sauce from DD pawing me. It was gross and annoying, but eh - what was going to do? At a certain point, its jsut happening so there's no point in preventing it/mitigating it.
I think of it like when DD was a newborn - once I realized that DD needed to be held pretty much 24/7 and stopped trying to figure out how/when to put her down, it just got easier.
Yep. The worst for me is in the middle of the night when DD is up for the 8 millionth time and is freaking out because DH is trying to get her back to sleep and keeps screaming "NO, MAMA! MAMA!" I desperately want to pack a bag and run away from home at that point.
Logically, I knew that being a parent would mean no more "downtime." The reality of it, though, is tough at times.
I def have those times and I do walk away when I can. If I am home and I need to, I put her in the crib or playpen with toys and take a time out.
You too? Drives me batty...I can hold out my hand and say "give it to mommy if you don't want it." and she will STILL sometimes give me a sly look and very deliberately drop food on the floor.
Awww...I learned early on to sit back and just accept that I'm going to have food/snot/puke/milk on me most of the time. You can try as hard as you want to "get" a toddler to behave the way you'd like (ie not dropping food or not getting you with ketchup hands) but the reality is at this age they'll only comply about 20% of the time. And that's good.
If you dont want ketchup hands, dont give him ketchup. If she throws her food, take it away.
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Gosh! I had no idea the solution to not getting ketchup on me was to not give him ketchup! Thanks so much for this vital info!
Look up. See that thing whizzing over your head? Yeah, it's the point.
all of this! Last week, DH came home from work and I just handed DS to him and I actually just left the house. I rolled all my windows down, opened the sun roof and just drove. I came back so much more relaxed!
Ha!
I also believe parents should get sick days. That perhaps is when being a mom sucks the most. I've often thought to myself "I think I'll go into work today so I can rest and relax a little bit".
I love this post. I really love it because it reminds me that I am not alone. Sometimes that really helps
No kidding. This post is good therapy. I've totally made the "huge glass of wine" deal with myself before. lol
I agree with this! I just messaged DH to get me a large bottle, not one of those small skinny ones!
This. But it's funny, my DH still has the tantrums you speak of, the ones you envision yourself having. He totally screams when he gets fed up.
Heh.
DS just unplugged the computer for the sixth time today. I just picked him up, took him to the kitchen, put him in his high chair, shook out a bunch of puffs for him, and left him there.
I just finished duct taping the chords into the wall, and now I'm sitting here with smoke coming out of my ears, eating frosting directly from the can.
LOL. Yes, THIS is where my patience comes from. And I wonder why I'm fat.....
Yup. This has been one of the hardest things for me to deal with. I've learned to practice mindfulness/distraction at those times. I focus on something, anything (usually my own breathing) and just block out everything else until I feel a bit calmer.