I know it's only been two months since our last parenting hurdle -- the whole "eating" thing -- but it feels like eternity since we've had a real parenting issue. Don't get me wrong because J still has tantrums -- though a mom-friend is skeptical about classifying my son's behavior as a "tantrum", but that's beside the point. J stands up in his high chair when he's done eating (dangerous and disrespectful), turns his face away from food and repeats "no no no", cries when we can't go outside, cries when he wants to be picked up, cries when he doesn't get picked up, cries when he doesn't want to go to the car…Ok, maybe these aren't "full-blown" tantrums, but they can still be annoyances throughout the day.
I'm not saying that parenting has suddenly become a cake-walk, but I'd have to say that the last two months of parenting have been pretty great, considering the list of difficulties in the first paragraph. I can attribute it to J's increasing ability to communicate his wants/needs, the hubby and I getting on the same page about disciplining, having a little experience under our belt, and having a wonderful community of parents (you!) to offer up advice.
This may be the calm before the storm of "terrible twos" and "terrible threes", but I'm pretty happy with the break in "parenting" and being able to enjoy being a parent!
When were your "good months of parenting"?
And because I love sharing photographs, J's current favorite activity is pretending to nap everywhere.
Both photos: Canon T1i | Manual | 50mm | ISO 200 | f/3.2 | 1/200 sec | SpeedLite380EX
Show some love. Leave a comment below and I'll definitely respond!
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Originally posted at expandng.com - The good months of parenting
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Originally posted at expandng.com - The good months of parenting
there definitely will be good days and bad days of parenting.... glad that lately, things have been smooth. :) getting the kids to eat is always a hurdle for me.... adam's so much better than he was when he was younger... but now i have to get alex to eat more. all she wants to eat is rice and chocolate... lol!
ReplyDeletemaybe little j is going to be an amazing actor one day? haha... very cute photos of him. :)
have a great day!
parenting will always be hard whether they're 2 or 16! we didn't really have the terrible two's or three's but have had some special days when kayla decides to be defiant all.day.long.
ReplyDeletei found the first year really hard (well, i also had some things working against me) but as soon as she started talking, things just got easier because instead of trying to figure out what was going on, i could simply ask her and we work it out together. them being able to communicate goes a LONG way and certainly makes it easier for everyone.
i also figured out that kayla likes to make her own decisions and can be stubborn with her decisions (hmm, wonder where she gets that from? LOL) so i give her choices that i'm ok with and she can pick between the different options i present. this has diverted LOTS of possible meltdowns especially during the morning as she's getting ready for school. she likes to pick out her own outfits so i get some options together that are weather-appropriate and she can pick which ever option i present and can mix/match. she's come out of her room wearing all kinds of bizarre combos from the options i presented but i don't mind - that's what she feels like wearing so that's what she wear. once she didn't want to take off her pajama pants (they were pink princess) so she wore them to school LOL! i didn't mind because it was spring and chilly outside and those were weather-appropriate so i let it go.
There are good times and bad times. I have figured out with L that frustrating behavior from him usually happens during growth spurts. And the terrible 2's were not terrible, it was the 3's that were awful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when I don't take care of myself all the little things seem to bother me more and I end up getting mad and yelling at them more. I try to work out every day and get enough sleep, and we all know how hard that can be!
so glad to hear that you've had an "easy" 2 months. sounds wonderful and J looks like such an angel in those photos.
ReplyDeletethe past few weeks have been challenging for us. C is 11 months old and is starting to get a mind of his own (well perhaps he always had a mind of his own, but now he's really starting to act on it!). every diaper change is a struggle. he arches his back and refuses to get into his car seat and high chair... where has my easy baby gone?!
any tips on how to get him to stay still on the changing table or entice him into the high chair would be appreciated. we've been giving him fun objects to play with at these times like remote controls and cell phones, but i'm sure that'll only last for a few more days. eeks.
enjoy these "good months of parenting" -- i'm glad there's light at the end of the tunnel! :)
Those pictures are SO cute! Enjoy the good months! It seems like once you feel like you have the hang of things, these little ones change or surprise you with something new. The 3's are definitely fun but very challenging too. They are more assertive and there is a lot more negotiating and testing of limits!
ReplyDeleteLoL .. he's pretending to nap in that first picture?? He looks like he's knocked out!! hehehe .. so cute~ We, like you, are experiencing the same things with T, as he just turned 17 months yesterday~ It's hard as first time parents to understand that our todlers are just growing up, and that's what kids their age do. They don't know any better .. and it's our job as parents, to teach them ... but like everything in life, it takes time to learn .. and they're not going to pick up things as fast as adults do, so we as parents need to be patient .. which also takes time learning to be!! Someone very wise told me .. if you can't learn to be patient with your children, how do you expect your children to learn what you're trying to teach them.
ReplyDeleteUntil toddlers have words to communicate what they want or what they're feeling, oftentimes, crying is one of their only forms of communication. It's largely why I refused to adopt the cry it out method for sleep ... because, to me, ignoring the tears meant I was ignoring my son's attempt to communicate. Totally tangential. I will say, though, his crying has definitely turned the corner from a helpless cry of need (that stops when the need is met) to the sort of toddler tantrums that are endless and difficult to stop. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI love that he pretends to nap. That is so cute. Right now, Baby C is pretending to blow her nose. They are so funny at this age.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you have had a couple of easier months, parenting has its moments, ups and downs, and moments of easier, harder, and sometimes that happens all within 5 minutes LOL. Anyway, you know how old my urchins are so, sorry, I just can't remember that far back LOL
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was an abnormally good baby and is still an awesome child. I did pop her butt a couple of times and we always work on respect and manners. Those photos are precious, too!
ReplyDeleteI love the pretend sleep pics. I'm glad things have been mellow the past few months. It makes complete sense that he is trying to communicate so gets your attention anyway he can.
ReplyDeleteImagine how it would be not to be able to talk to each other? I think I'd be throwing stuff and turning my head too :-)
He sounds like a wonderful kid to me : )
ReplyDelete