Help me love toddlerhood again..

[Stayseeliz]

I am so worn out with my 17mo. She is my most active child by far. Even my mom commented that she is more active than any toddler she's ever seen. I can't get school done unless she's asleep. And if we have to be out during her naptime school doesn't get done at all. She's into EVERYTHING and seems to spend the day trying to kill herself. I just had to go pluck her off the tabletop as I was typing this. She pulls books and toys off the shelf and tends to undo whatever I'm doing (like sweeping, etc). Today I dropped off the older two at writing class and OT and thought it would be nice to let the younger two play in the children's area at Barnes and Noble. My 4yo was fine but the little one pulled all the toys and books off the shelves as fast as she could. We didn't stay long. I.am.so.tired.

 

Help me to love this stage of my life. I *KNOW* it will go by quickly and I love the child to death but ohmyword I feel like she thwarts my efforts at every turn. I don't like the chaos.

 

I used to think it was hard to have several kids close together but now I think it's harder to have both younger and older kids. When my 4yo was 1 my oldest was in 1st grade. It just didn't matter that much if school didn't get done. Now it matters.

[Ottakee]

That is a tough stage. I had one that did that so much that she was evaluated at almost 3 years old (other issues as well) and the EXAMINER came out of the room and said "I'm tired"..........yeah, just try living with it 24/7.

 

Does she like videos at all? I hate to use TV as a babysitter but sometimes a well chosen toddler DVD or TV show while they are in a pack and play can give you 30 minutes of work time.

[Stayseeliz]

The thought of her still being like this at 3 makes me want to cry! lol She is utterly adorable when I have nothing else to do. But with a self employed husband and 3 other kids how often is that??

[MrsBasil]

:grouphug::grouphug:

[sparkygirl]

I must have her twin...20 months old and into everything! Books belong on the floor not the shelves, toys are abandoned everywhere, she moved the chairs to climb over the baby gate, she climbs into her crib - but not out. She hides drum sticks under the pillow in her crib.

 

Here is what we have found, she must have constructive activities to do. In our house that means, snaps, clips, etc...playdough mats, Learn through music from fisher price, iPad apps and yes netflix. Sometimes the only way we can get to STOP moving is a video that catches her attention.

[Katy]

Have you sat down at her eye level and told her something like, "We do not pull the books off the shelves." <Or> "We do not climb on the table."

 

How does she react to that sort of thing?

 

 

I heard a story recently about a little girl like that, at about 18 months she just wanted to run. The family would take her to a park with a trail that was almost a mile, and the very first time she could run almost the whole loop. By age 3 she was running 5K kid's fun runs with a sibling.

 

They found her much easier to contain when she'd had enough exercise.

[SonshineLearner]

With my son who was beyond crazy active... ERGO!!! :) It was my friend. He was pretty good in it, and it was something I was willing to demand he stay in while shopping. It was my sanity :) If you have a spot right by you to corral her in, it might work, too. And train... I'm not saying spank... but ask for something to be done... and then help her do it. Spend the time now... "Come to Mama" and then if she doesn't... Go and help her "come to Mama" :) All with a happy face. I swear dogs and kids are like each other. You want to be the one she looks at to please :) It's hard... it's tiring... That's how it'll be for her life, maybe!! So, spend these times when there aren't SO many distractions... and encourage cooperation. You literally can't get the energy out... so you have to work at it... My son can wake up at 8am and be awake at 11pm....

:)

[wintermom]

Laugh a lot.

 

Get lots of rest, proper nutrition and physical activity to energize yourself.

 

Schedule in breaks for yourself.

 

Don't worry about a messy house.

 

Visit seniors residences where the ladies go nuts over toddlers.

 

Gotta love those messy toddler faces!!! :001_smile:

[Canadianmumof5]

I have one of those. It is soooo hard.

 

He will finally sit & watch 20 minutes of tv. You would not believe how happy that makes me!! I never thought I would be encouraging my toddler to watch TV :001_huh:

 

But I NEED him to sit still periodically so I can do something besides watch him!

 

Watch, 12 months from now, there will be a post from me "how do I get my toddler to stop watching TV?" :lol:

 

Anyway, all that to say that months ago on this forum, someone recommended a book "Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches", by Rachel Jankovic. I ordered it that same day. I just picked it up again this weekend (as I was panicking over how I was going to school the older 3, and watch this little tornado while taking care of a new little one!) and I am feeling better. Just the words that she writes are music to my weary body right now.

 

These years are hard with super-busy munchkins like ours......but they won't last much longer. Try to find some joy in every hour (even just something small) - the time flies by so fast. Honestly, there are days when I PRAY that the morning will go fast just so I can get him down for his nap!!!!

 

Hang in there - lots of us are right there with you.

[Momof3littles]

Another Ergo fan. At that age he wasn't always thrilled about it, but he was safe, contained, and had the comfort of mom nearby. I didn't have the distraction of wondering where he was and what he was up to. He had love, warmth, and was part of the action.

[2_girls_mommy]

I had one like that. And she wouldn't nap or sleep unless i read to her, rocked her, and nursed her. Otherwise, she would flip and flop and rearrange her dolls and never settle down and be more tired and cranky on top of busy later. So even when I was exhausted and needed her to nap so I could get something done or have a minute to myself, I had to spend time with her to help her get to sleep.

 

She is still my busy busy bee. Exercise is the main thing for her too. We took walks every day in the stroller and I would let her out to run a long stretch. She LOVED and still LOVES to be outside.

 

Even now at 8 yrs old she has to move around between lessons and when she is getting frustrated. She has to get outside every day to get to move move move.

 

I remember the days you are talking about. I gave up scrapbooking because she would throw all of my stuff on the floor. Picking up the books she deshelved lasted for YEARS, way past toddlerhood, no matter how many times I told her not to and helped her pick them up. She is who she is.

 

It gets better :) She will grow up and be slightly less destructive, if not less wiggly.

[EKS]

My 16yo was like that. It was really hard. I am so glad he was my first because if I was dealing with older ones too it would have been much harder. And I can't even imagine trying to homeschool.

 

I used a leash with him. He wouldn't hold my hand and was always attempting to kill himself. I truly believe that he would have succeeded if I hadn't been watching him so carefully. All. the. time.

 

I also used a crib tent and left him in there after he woke up. He would play with his toys and sing, thank goodness.

 

And the baby backpack--I kept him in that until he weighed 40 lbs.

 

And the stroller. He never figured out how to undo the straps and I was careful never to show him.

 

And the playpen, though he tolerated it for only short periods.

 

And I babyproofed the family room (where we spent most of our time) completely. I actually had to rearrange the furniture each time he was in there (like daily), but it was worth it to have some peace.

 

I don't have any advice really. It will get better. I think at 17 months my son was peaking on difficult toddler behavior. It got gradually better and he was fairly easy to deal with by the time he was 6.

Edited August 28, 2012 by EKS

[EKS]

He will finally sit & watch 20 minutes of tv. You would not believe how happy that makes me!! I never thought I would be encouraging my toddler to watch TV :001_huh:

 

 

I actually trained my now 16yo to watch TV. Of course now he is quite good at it. :lol:

[Stayseeliz]

So far this morning she's eaten cat food, climbed up on the table again and colored on DD8's schoolwork, gotten a tea kettle out of pantry and hidden it somewhere. Oh my! I'm going to have to work on some training. I did try to get her to watch Dora with my 4yo and we watch very little tv. She watched for 5 minutes yesterday then ran away.

 

I'm redoubling my efforts to baby proof the living room and trying to get her lots of grace. But it's just hard when you have others you need to focus on.

 

I think I'll feel better when I when I wean around her second birthday too. I'm worn out with nursing for so long and a tough pregnancy. I need more energy to raise these kiddos!

Edited August 28, 2012 by Stayseeliz

[2_girls_mommy]

LOL. Your missing teakettle reminds me that mine used to hide things in the kitchen cupboards. I would reach in to get a pot and put my hand on a dried up old crumbly muffin. Once I couldn't figure out where a smell was coming from. I finally traced it to a rotting tomato in a kitchen cabinet. She loved to stash things!