Lauren Bonk: New-baby setbacks

Life with Lucy has been pretty awesome so far. A little frazzled and a little sleep-deprived but definitely awesome.

That being said, her arrival has brought a few… let’s call them setbacks to our household.

Before Lucy, Charlie had been hurtling pretty steadily along the potty-training trail. A few times a day, the phrase “POTTY COMING!” could be heard, followed by frantic footsteps to the bathroom.

Now, I honestly can’t remember the last time he actually said that. This is a bummer because A) it was pretty cute, and B) this means that we’ve been cleaning a lot of pee off the floor. It’s incredibly frustrating.

Charlie had also started not hating sharing his toys. I wouldn’t say he had come to the point where he actually liked it, but he had pretty much stopped slapping toys out of his friends’ hands and screaming “NO LIKE IT!” He was especially good at taking turns. Even if I couldn’t get him to outright share, I could at least convince him to take turns. Now, taking turns, of course, means that it’s always Charlie’s turn. Sharing means that everyone must share with him. Seriously, any progress we made in the sharing department has gone out the window. Toys are now ripped from fellow toddler fingers, and hitting has actually reared its ugly head.

The worst, though? The worst is the whining. Before, when Charlie wouldn’t get his way, he’d yell a bit and then cry and pout. I could usually just let him cry through it until he got it out of his system, but now he’s making it pretty hard to ignore. (I swear, I’m not horrible. I’d tell him, “I’m right here if you need a hug, but sometimes we just need to cry to feel better.”) Now, though, something as simple as asking him if he wants toast in the morning results in GIANT WHINING WORLD WAR THREE TEAR EXPLOSION. Why?  Because, obviously, he wanted Cheerios.

Luckily, after hanging out with a friend in his age group, I was able to witness some similar behaviors. Not nearly as extreme as Charlie, but it made me feel better to realize that it might be a developmental thing, too. There’s no doubt about it, Charlie is definitely having a difficult time adjusting to the new baby, but I think that his developmental changes combined with the sibling is creating the perfect whining storm.

He’s super-sweet with his sister, though, and that’s definitely comforting. I know it’s all very normal, and that this, too, shall pass. I’m just going to have to work on my whine-tolerance level. Deep breaths, right?

Lauren Bonk is an Omaha mom who is married with two children. Read her Fridays on FruitaMoms.com.