Saturday, August 2, 2008

Very, Very, Very Hard Day

I have taken away Henry's naps and for the past week he has been fine with it...until today. I don't know what happened but he was a little monster and I planned a huge shopping trip all day long. I thought I deserved it since I spent all week doing things for him. That's apparently not what he thought. For example, we were at The Strip District and his most favorite sample ever, mozzarella and tomato salad, was on the counter and because he was in such a bad mood he said he didn't want it, but when I ate it instead he screamed bloody murder and I had to weave in and out of people waiting to buy cheese to get another sample. That's when it started and it wasn't even noon. When we were at Babies R Us he saw some shoes he wanted to check out and instead of just saying, "mom, I want to see those" he burst out into tears and completely freaked out before I could figure out what he wanted. Then when I showed them to him, he didn't like them anymore and continued to bawl his eyes out. After a while I couldn't handle him crying right next to me so I took him out of the cart and encouraged him to cry a few isles away from me which threw all the mothers in the store in a panic thinking he was lost or hurt. I had to reassure them that the situation was under control and as long as I could hear his distant screaming I knew he was okay! Ugh. My friend that was with us(poor thing) commented that "at least no one will kidnap a kid that's freaking out already!" haha. He finally calmed down but he acted like everything he wanted to do was okay. He was taking things off the shelves and thinking that I was just going to buy them because he wanted them, so when we put them back he threw more of a fit. I don't know where he got the idea that I buy him everything he wants. I NEVER buy anything for him. He also got up into the display window at Children's Place and the employees were coaxing him to get out while he was knocking all the manequins over trying to hide. We finally got home at 7pm, so about 8 hours straight of bad behavior and screaming. It was probably the worst day in months and if this is what terrible twos are like, I feel for the parents who really get it bad. The only thing that was cute today is that he collected a bunch of things at Babies R Us and when he gave them to me, he said that they were for "baby sister." I think he's really going to love her! Can anyone sympathize with me? Has anyone gotten to the point where they felt like it was hard not to scream at their kid or slap them into consciousness? When we got home I just put him in his room for 10 minutes and let him cry while I cried and prayed for patience and wisdom. When he saw that I was crying he started crying, "sorry mommy" over and over which helped me calm down and then we talked about things and he finally fell asleep. Nightmare over!....for today.

6 comments:

Jessica said...

oh, Amelia! I'm so sorry you had such a horrible day. You're a brave, brave woman for taking that nap away! I'm SO not excited for that day to come...

I had a weekend like that about a month ago, and completely lost my mind by the end of it. I always forget when I'm in those moments that "this is not how he is ALL the time" and "something is up with him" -- either he's getting sick, he's tired, or hungry, etc.

But it's SO hard to remember that they're not always like that and when they're throwing a huge tantrum in the store and you just want them to be quiet!

The other thing to remember is that baby #2 takes a HUGE toll on these little guys (especially at this age) and it can come out in odd ways. Even though he may talk about how much he is excited for a sister... deep down he knows that it's gonna rock his little world -- so he'll act out in all kinds of weird ways.

I LOVED the book, "Parenting Your Toddler" by Patricia Henderson Shimm -- lots of great, practical suggestions for dealing with this age.

Hang in there, though! I wish we were closer to swap mommy drama!

missandyd said...

Man that sounds crapy! I think that is so funny (Even though this is no laughing matter) that you left him in the next isle! I can't stand screaming. Max is getting his molers right now and man is he grumpy. I totally have to pray for patience every day! You did a good job it sounds like, I would have given up after ten minutes!
By the way I have been meaning to call you back but life got crazy and its not over yet. So in the next couple of days I will try and get a hold of you I promise!!

Brazil's Girl said...

Amelia,

Any mother who has had a 2 year old can sympathize with you. I went through something like this just a couple of days ago with Isaac in Park City. Unfortunately somehow they forget they can communicate and cry for anything and they must have everything they touch. It sucks...

We can only hope that when they turn three they start to realize the world is not just about them. Then a few years later puberty will hit and then we'll remember how easy they were when they were two.

Oh that's why women are special beings... Keep up the good work.

Ciao,
Ren.

julie said...

Amelia,
Oh man I can feel your pain on that one. It is so hard to keep composed. I am just glad that those crappy days aren't everyday.
So I tried calling you a few weeks ago but I obviously have the wrong number because someone who spoke Chinese answered. How are you? When are you expecting #2? I am so happy for you. I hope it's a good delivery. So my nephew Mckay & your sister Lucy are really good friends. Isn't that crazy? They were in the same ward and did tons of stuff together. My nephew is McKay Britsch. He is my sister's oldest son. Small world.
So yesterday in Relief Society we sang "Be still, My Soul" & it made me think of you and our fun times in the MTC & how you brought me out of my comfort zone when we sang that song together. Those where such fun times. Oh & I found a picture iof us holding the flowers that we got from the front desk. What the heck? We did some pretty random stuff. Email me your #. My email is juliannefinch@yahoo.com. We need to catch up! I hope you are doing well.

Brazil's Girl said...

Hey have you had your little girl yet? I'm sure I'm not the only one dying to see pictures of her!

Keep us bloggers posted, please.
Ren.

Sarah said...

Congrats on the new baby! Can't wait to see the pictures! Hurry up, momma! We want to see the beautiful babe.