Monday, September 22, 2008

Frustrated......

My two year old monster is back. Today she has thrown tantrum after tantrum for no good reason. Well her other two year old molar is halfway out so I am assuming it has something to do with her crabbiness, but come on. If you look at her wrong she gets a sour look and a loud whiny scratching your nails on a chalkboard type of whine. If you put the sippy cup lid on or if you don't put it on, if you cut the apple or you leave it hole, if you look at her or if you look over her, either way it is tantrum time. It is driving me insane. Today at lunch she threw a tantrum because I wouldn't let her take of her clothes in the restroom. She wanted to take them off because they were wet from my hands lifting her to wash her hands...... give me a freaking break!

I am seriously about to lose my mind. And it isn't just me she is ornery with, her dad, her brother and her Mimi have elicited the exact same reactions as well. Today my mom walked in the our house and she started immediately, not sure why. I just figure it must be so hard to be two.

And the whole time she was whining this morning all she whined for was her paci. Her pacifier that a few weeks ago was only needed for naps and nightime and she was so okay with that. Now she wants and sneaks the damn thing all day long.

I know we have switched to a big girl bed with absolutely no problem, potty training was a breeze, we weaned from the boob to a bottle in three days, we took the bottle away in three days (of course she has never drank milk again), she went from sleeping downstairs in the room next to ours to upstairs all the way across the house by herself with no problem, at she gets in her bed at night and for naps on her own sometimes requesting to go to bed or to take a nap.............so why is this pacifier so damn hard to get rid of.

I know the paicifier is just a way she uses to sooth herself, I really do get that. I get that her mouth probably hurts, but the damn pacifier is killing me. When I see toddlers in US weekly with them in their mouths I think they look ridiculously too old for them and then I realize they are younger than my child. I have listened to others tell me it was time to take it away and thought to myself, back off, it is my child I will do it when I am ready. And I am ready, but I am scared to death to do this. Maybe because it will screw up her nap routine or her bedtime routine and with one child not sleeping very well, I am scared I will have two not sleeping and that will be way too much to handle at once.

I have heard the suggestion of cutting it until it was gone, well that resulted in a puzzled look and a request to "go get a new one mom!" Followed by a full blown tantrum that I just couldn't deal with. The real problem is I can cut the damn expensive pacifiers all I want, but Noah still has his and she thinks nothing of just taking it from him. So I guess the answer is to just take it away from both, but do I have too!?!?!

Noah likes his even more than Meredith likes hers. What the hell am I going to do? We leave for Disney in less than a month. We will all be sleeping (hopefully sleeping) in the same room, it would be stupid to try to do this now right? When should I do it? Does anyone have any advice for this? I will go back to beating my head against the wall now, I feel like I have been doing that all week! The bottom line is whether Meredith is old enough or ready to get rid of it yet, secretly I am not. I know with every change I enforce upon them, comes with their own change in their behavior. I have to take the good with the bad and really I hate change it is no wonder my kids do to. Any advice appreciated.

8 comments:

The Owen Family said...

I say don't worry about it until after Disney. I took Logan's away 8 days before our Destin and California trips, only to give it back during the first trip, the first night. So then, I waited until there would be nothing like that standing in the way. I finally did take it away and it went surprisingly well, took him longer to fall asleep but no real crying/tantrums. The hard part was the naps b/c he could not settle himself,so he just would play in his bed for about an hour or longer and never fall asleep, but never real major crying. I only took his away b/c he was chewing them into pieces and I was afraid he would choke on the pieces. My cousin, let her little girl have hers for bedtime, only when she was actually in her bed until about age 4. It didn't really seem to hurt anyone, her teeth look fine, and eventually she just grew out of it. I am not a dentist, but I say...if her teeth are not bucking out and she isn't going to choke on it like Logan was then no worries. I did his for safety reasons.

laurie said...

She is just exercising her brain!!! That is why you are so smart! You too loved you bink, and we tried many times to take it away only to run to the nearest K & B to buy 10 more!!!! inhale, exhale you will know when you are both ready!!!

Cat@3KidsandUs said...

I wish I had advice for you, my inexperience would say to just yank it for both...but we all know it's never that simple. I never gave my kids pacifiers so I'm not a ton of help

Jess said...

I understand the whole Conserving Sanity thing, believe me. :) My nephew had his pacifier until almost 4 years old. He had it only at night time/nap time. His teeth are great and he has no mental trauma from the experience. He is a healthy little genius! I say go with your gut and definitely not before Disney! Eeegads!

Olivia said...

No advice, just encouragement. Meredith is a great kid and she has a great mom. No one is keeping score on this paci thing but you. She won't go to Kindergarten, graduate high school, or walk down the aisle with a paci--so go easy on yourself. You will remember this trip to Disney forever. I guarantee you won't remember in next year how old Meredith was when she gave up that paci. Have fun and tackle it when you get home. Or after Christmas. Or when the next baby is two:)

Blair said...

I say listen to the Special Man..."Let 'er have it!" (Remember those commercials??).

My niece had her paci until she was 4. Even then, she was hell to break her of the habit. She is 6 now and totally normal...well other than a fashion diva, but I am pretty sure that had nothing to do with the paci.

We took Charlotte's away and I still wish she had it. While our night time routine has gotten easier, nothing beats the paci - it was just so EASY!! Today at school was her first nap in well over 4 months. And she needs her naps!

I am with Olivia, no one is keeping score but you. And even if others are keeping score, it is your child and you get to decide how you want to raise her. If a paci keeps your sanity, then give it to her. A sane mama is better than a crazy one!

I say google paci and long-term use and see what comes up. If the only problem is teeth, chances are she will need braces anyway.

Chin up. You are a great mama!

Shannon said...

I'm dreading this exact situation. Jax never cared for pacifiers, but Baylor is 100% addicted to his. I know I'm going to be bald from riping my hair out when we try to do away with them.

mandi said...

Thanks ladies for all of your advice. I'm going to "let her have it!" as Blair said. I will let you all know how it goes down. It is such a small battle that I really don't need to win right now.