This "UP!!" thing is going to make me crazy

Rynleigh · July 2014

Jamie hit this "pick me up" phase practically overnight. Like he hit 18mo old and immediately he starts crying the second I get home from work if I don't pick him up the moment I walk in the door... I get him out of his high chair after meals and try to clean up at the sink and he will pull on my jeans and try to push me away from the sink or the fridge or the stove or whatever I am cleaning and screams if I do not comply and lift him up. With the girls I was typically able to redirect and put them down to play with toys or watch a show or take a nap but Jamie is having none of that.... and, of course, Simon sees brother freaking out and will come try to hug him, which just pisses James off more. When I do give in and pick him up, Simon suddenly realizes that brother is being held and he isn't, and then *he* starts in with the woe-is-me act and follows me around whimpering and hanging on my leg.

This will die down very soon right? The girls were never this intense about it and I have never had two toddlers of my own at once before. By the time Alyce came around, Aurielle was nearly 5 - they entertained each other well. Jamie couldn't care much less about his siblings trying to play with him. Urgh.

wifeofadam · July 2014

Could you use a carrier and put him on your back? I've had kids go through stages like that and I just let them spend a few days on my back in the Ergo and then they seem to get over it.

Rynleigh · July 2014

Honestly I don't know if it's worth the effort of putting on a carrier, getting him to sit in it (he is not a fan of being restrained, he hasn't ever enjoyed being in a carrier), and then having to get him out again because my kitchen clean up really only takes about fifteen minutes if he isn't in there trying to assert his will over my activity LOL it would probably double the time it takes me to clean if I was taking the time to put him in a carrier (assuming he'd sit in one at all).

tamarar5 · July 2014

Boo, it sucks that there's two of them to gang up on you! Do you think it might help if one or both of your daughters helps out either with getting clean up done faster or picking up the boys and holding therm until you are done?

lc&jw · July 2014

DS has been doing this for months now. If DH or I are in the kitchen prepping any kind of food, DS screams and flips out until we pick him up. It doesn't matter how long we've been holding him, if we set him down for even a second, he resumes screaming. It is very difficult to cook a meal while holding a toddler in one arm, especially around a hot stove or knives!

Fortunately DD doesn't usually insist on being held at the same time. She's much better at playing on her own and not as obsessed about being able to see every single thing we do on the kitchen counter!

I have no idea how long this lasts but I also can't wait till it ends. Just tonight I tried telling him that I wouldn't pick him up unless he stopped screaming and used his words, and it actually worked! Maybe if I stick to this the screaming might decrease a little.

Rosebean · July 2014

This sounds like my house when I make dinner. I don't know why, but it's very difficult to hold DS while making dinner with my big belly poking out. I found that after 5 minutes, and I talk to him and tell him what I am doing and why I can't pick him up... He eventually does give up and goes to play. Something about coming home just makes him super clingy. What helps is when we get home, he gets a snack and I spend about 20 minutes interacting with him on the floor. Then I get up to cook supper. By then, he's less needy for my attention because I am no longer interesting. I have about a 5-10 minute window before he wants up.

ally2011 · July 2014

Would he let one of your girls hold him just while you got finished? My dd says "holdy, holdy mama!" It is cute the first 5,432 times

fignewt74 · July 2014

Sorry I don't have any advice, just wanted to let you know that we are going through the same thing. And yes, I think it is a phase. DS1 went through this as well.

...although I cannot imagine going through it with twins

Hang in there momma!

Rynleigh · July 2014

The commiseration is definitely welcome. The crying would not be so difficult for me to handle if that were all it was - it's the physical part that really gets to me, of all things LOL it makes me crazy to have him pulling and pushing me away from the counter/sink/table/stove. He isn't supernaturally strong, I just don't want to trip over him or drop something on his head or anything... We've not really bothered investing in a gate for the kitchen entry because it's over-sized and we would need one that screws to the wall since the boys can easily push a gate over when they team up - we'd really rather not have to spend the money on one, especially since it won't be much use to us for long now that they're climbing.

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