She has become a monster!

[mrschelseap09]

My "perfect" child over the past week has turned into a monster. I have no idea what happened but MH & I joke that she is a face eating zombie.

If I take Lila out in public and she is not put on the ground to walk and do what she wants, she throws a complete fit and turns into the exorcist (head shaking back and forth and screaming at the top of her lungs). I don't know what to do, I feel like I am stuck at home all of the time for fear she will have a meltdown. Most of the time, I can distract her with food, but I don't want to form a bad habit of feeding her to keep her quiet or teaching her if she screams, she will get snacks.

She is even bad in the evenings (around 5ish) where she refuses to do anything but have someone hold her. If we are not holding her, she is screaming.

I have noticed that she is "faking" nap time. She goes into her crib and is super quiet, instead of actually napping. Do you think that could have something to do with it?

[jen812]

Oh no. I hope this passes quickly.

[amellis2]

I think the fake napping certainly has something to do with it. I know I feel like a monster without a nap! Do you do, "Ok, naptime is from x time to x time." or is it more "naptime starts at x time and ends whenever she wakes up." I know that my girls will usually want to take a nap at a certain time of day - and I let them sleep for about 1.5 hours (they only take one nap a day.) Then either they get up or I get gently wake them (so that they are not sleeping too much.)

If you tell her naptime starts at a certain time, and doesn't end until she actual falls asleep, maybe that will let her actually fall asleep instead of hanging out and pretending, kwim? Or tell her that she may not get up until she actually sleeps, so she can hang out and be quiet all day if she wants, but she has to fall asleep.

I don't have older toddlers, so I'm flying by the seat of my pants, but that's the first thing I thought about.

[sara76]

Oh man, I'm dreading the day. I think this stage is inevitable. It just makes me wonder, when should I make nap time a specific time? I usually just let her crash when she wants/needs to. And if she doesn't nap she goes to bed earlier, if she does she goes to bed later. This isn't going to work forever...

[mskateb]

What I've found with Lily is that these things come and go in waves. There was one wave that came in and I swore the girl was more demon than child. There was just no other explanation that I could think of. Fortunately, it passed, and Lily came back.

Hang in there, and pour you some wine. It helps.

[mrsjenrn]

How many naps is she taking now, Chelsea?

When Zoe does something really annoying I tell myself it is just a phase and she will grow out of it. I know that doesn't really help you with going places, but at least there is hope you'll get through it. Zoe is getting more impatient in restaurants because she wants to get down and run around. She also wants to be outside all the time. It is 5000 degrees outside and I do not want to be out there. Sure, we go out and play, but if it's at the hottest time of day I can usually distract her somehow. Yesterday we did the chicken dance for 30 minutes. True story.

I think at this age they are getting better at walking and more confident and just want to explore. Everything I read about this age says to ignore the bad behavior, but that is easier said than done when you are in public. I am afraid I have no words of wisdom. I give Zoe things to keep her hands busy in the store (get stuff off the shelves she has never seen before and let her explore it) and I give her snacks, but she is a constant grazer at home anyway.

[mrschelseap09]

Jun 6, 2012 12:17:31 GMT -5 amellis2 said:

I think the fake napping certainly has something to do with it. I know I feel like a monster without a nap! Do you do, "Ok, naptime is from x time to x time." or is it more "naptime starts at x time and ends whenever she wakes up." I know that my girls will usually want to take a nap at a certain time of day - and I let them sleep for about 1.5 hours (they only take one nap a day.) Then either they get up or I get gently wake them (so that they are not sleeping too much.)

If you tell her naptime starts at a certain time, and doesn't end until she actual falls asleep, maybe that will let her actually fall asleep instead of hanging out and pretending, kwim? Or tell her that she may not get up until she actually sleeps, so she can hang out and be quiet all day if she wants, but she has to fall asleep.

I don't have older toddlers, so I'm flying by the seat of my pants, but that's the first thing I thought about.

Lila is taking 2-3 naps a day. She wakes at x time and then goes down for her first nap 1.5-2 hours later. She starts getting fussy at 1.5 and is in bed by 2. Her naps normally last 1.5-2 hours but sometimes she will stay up and play and then start crying because she pooped. I clean her and she goes right back in the crib until she "naps". Sometimes she can be in there for 3-4 hrs. She never fights me because she loves spending time with her bear, Owen.

Sara: As she starts to get older you will start noticing that she actually does have a schedule where she starts getting fussy and needs a nap. One day it just clicked, "Omg, every day she is SUPER cranky 2 hrs after she wakes up". I started taking her to her crib and laying her down and now its her nap time. She is normally ready for #2, 2 hrs after she wakes up from her first. Its special to her now, because she truly loves going in to play with her blanky and favorite bear.

Kate: She is turning me into an alcoholic. I swear the second that H walks in the door, I pass her off and open a beer. Wine has gotten too expensive. lol

Jen: Lila takes 2-3. I do my best to ignore but I feel like I am a bad mom when I am walking around shopping, my kid is screaming, and I am not even looking at her.

Lila has almost zero patience for restaurants anymore. Shes good in Panera and other places that there is a ton of traffic because she flirts with everyone but any type of "waiting to be seated" she lasts about 15 mins before she is trying to climb out of the chair. I know that she just wants to explore and its probably my fault for letting her walk to and from nap time and to and from the car at the house, but damn! It is unbearable. She also has to have the keys to open the front door, I have started taking her through the garage. LOL

[jennifer8080]

Kennedy kind of established her own routine, but I've noticed that its harder and harder these days. It's also really hard to take her out to eat, because like Jen said, she wants to get down and crawl all over. You better order her food the minute you sit down because you have a small window of time. And you better hope she's hungry and really slow with eating, so you have time to shovel your meal in. Her personality has definitely changed lately, and there are some days that she's just "that baby" but she's getting two molars so I'm not sure if it's an age thing or related to teething.
hopefully is is just a phase and will pass for you!

[mrschelseap09]

Lila has been "that baby" quite a lot lately. Surprisingly she was amazing yesterday for my birthday when a friend took us out for lunch.