Oh the trials of motherhood. I know that when you are living with a newborn and a 3 yr old not
everyday can be a good day. But sometimes you want to scream "Okay! Enough already. I give up! You little people win."
Take yesterday for example. The weather men had been predicting some snow. So, when I put Trey to bed the night before we talked about how he could build a snowman if it snowed while he was sleeping. Well, of course he remembered that when he woke up.
Unfortunately the weather guys were wrong and there was not even a speck of snow on the ground. That is what started the first meltdown of the day. I told Trey he could not build a snowman. You would have thought the world ended.
That melt down was quickly followed by the "I don't want to take my pajamas off" tantrum. And that lead into the "I have to potty, I don't have to potty debate."
The potty thing is very complicated. I strip him down in the bathroom to take off the pull up we wear at night. Usually he will then sit down on his potty and pee. From there we
proceed to putting on big boy underpants and discussing at length how we plan to keep them dry all day long.
On this morning Trey was already out of sorts and was refusing to sit on the potty. But when I tried to put his underpants on him he would sob " I have to potty" and then when I went to sit him on the potty he would sob "I want my underpants on". After going back and forth like this several times I finally got fed up and put his clothes on by force. By this time I can hear
Kayelynn crying in the other room and I
know that she is ready for another feeding.
Trey is still wailing as I start taking care of
Kayelynn. Just as I get comfortable in my chair and start nursing
Kayelynn, here comes Trey into the living room. He has found a way out of his overalls that I had dressed him in. He tried to take his shirt off but got his arm stuck coming up out of the neck hole and his underpants are tangled around his ankles. He is still crying...a very loud,
whiny, annoying cry. Now his
plea is that he
needs me to help him get his clothes on. I try to explain that I had his clothes on him and now that he has taken them off again he'll have to wait until I am done feeding his sister for help. Well, that results in him crumbling to my feet and sobbing again. The sobbing changes over to whining again as he tries to scale up my legs and down my back while I nurse the baby. He is very
persistent for attention and I am trying very hard to ignore the behavior.
Then he tries a new
tactic. He says "Mommy, I have to poop". This I have to take
seriously because of the recent potty training I don't want to backslide by him having an accident and on top of that he hasn't pooped for 7 days. (some strange toddler thing that I hear can happen during potty training). So, put the baby down and help Trey to the potty feeling excited that we could be about to have a pooping milestone. But, no. We get to the bathroom and he reverts back to the whining " I don't want to potty", "I don't want my pants on", " I want my pants on", "I don't want my pants on","I have to potty", "don't watch me","I don't want to potty",
ect.
I don't have much tolerance for this now and the baby is screaming so I leave Trey in the bathroom to have his meltdown alone. I pick up the baby who offers me a sweet toothless grin right before she spits up all over me. I wipe myself up the best I can and finish nursing the baby. I notice that two hours have passed since Trey's original snowman fit. Two hours of my life lost where I accomplished nothing. Well, I was having this moment with Kayelynn. She looks so precious when she is at my breast. I was taking it all in when I realized I was feeling something warm and wet against my skin. I couldn't get Trey to poop but Kayelynn had just had a huge diaper blow out while I was admiring her cuteness. Now I was covered in spit up and baby poo.
Laundry was overflowing from the hamper, my kitchen sink had dirty dishes piled up so high that they looked like the leaning tower of Pisa. The baby is screaming at the top of her lungs even though I am holding her and bouncing her. Trey stopped screaming by this time and was dressed again but still no poop. Trey was now hanging onto my leg so that as I walked, he was dragging along behind me. When I finally got him to detatch it threw him into another screaming fit. Kayelynn had quieted down. (at least they were taking turns screaming)
Trey decided to try throwing and hitting next which landed him in his room for a time out. I went to my room and flopped down on my bed. I needed a time out too. I couldn't stop thinking. I quit my job for this?! Really?! Seriously?! Was it to late to try to get my job back? I pictured myself begging my boss for my job back. Bedpans and blood might be better alternatives to this toddler hell I felt like I was in. I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes. There was Trey standing by my bed just inches from my face. He was smiling at me. He gets this really angelic look sometimes. "Mommy," he said, "I'm wanna be a good boy". I ran my fingers through his hair and told him. "Mommy knows you can be a good boy and Mommy likes good boys." Trey's grin got even bigger and he leaned his head against mine. "I wuv you mommy!" He said and he kissed me on the nose. " I love you too Trey" I said as I picked him up and snuggled him in bed with me.
Yes, I quit my job for this. : )
Trey felt like Kayelynn was getting too much blog time.
