2.5 yo is so much work!! just want to vent a tad, please?

[allmine]

She's my fifth, so this isn't new to me (wink) BUT I'm at 100% here folks and I am really wanting to vent.

She is into everything all the time. climbing, spilling, etc etc...yes, we have babyproofed the whole house, but STILL, it's HARD.

I feel sort of desperate. She doesn' tlike her highchair. she doesn't go in cribs. I'm dreaming and having visions of long car rides with her in her carseat right now!! it's that bad! she loves to play with dry beans and scoops and bowls but makes the biggest mess all over the dining room wtih it. She loves playdoh. she loves to play in a dishpan of water with rags and scoops and plastic bowls, but she is WEARING ME OUT.

I can't keep up with her and everything else on some days. It seems almost impossible.

She will NOT go behind a gate wtihout climbing the furntiture. no lie!

Does anyone understand?

[NaturalMama311]

I can totally relate, ours is the same way (she is almost 2.5).  She is such a little monkey, loves to climb on the arm of the sofa and jump off (which scares the crap out of me every single time!) and she gets into everything.  We just had another baby 5 weeks ago so she's really been driving me nuts because I just can't spend the time I used to watching her every move.  I feel like I'm constantly telling her, 'no, stop that', 'no, don't do that', 'no, stop jumping on the dog', 'no, put that chair back' - she just recently learned to move the kitchen chairs to the counter to help herself to whatever food she has decided she wants to get

The only thing I've found to help me keep my sanity is a letting her have some tv time   Unfortunately that's the only way I can get her to sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time!  Since DS was born she's been watching WAY more tv than I would like her too but I figure some tv time is better than me yelling at her all day!

[hjdmom24]

I can soooo relate! My son has reduced me to tears a few times in the last few weeks. He is my fourth so you would think I would be able to handle it by now especially since when I really think about it all of my kids were this active and destructive at this age. Today while I was trying to soothe the baby I babysit he took out cream cheese from the fridge went to my room and covered several toys, my carpet, my bed and himself in it! He was out of sight for 2 min total. I do not like tv for little ones by find myself encouraging him to watch it so i can get 5 min of peace.I think I also have a hard time with him because he views me as a human jungle gym constantly trying to climb on top of my head or hanging on my back when I stand up. I am so touched out by the end of the day I am kinda grateful that I am single..even though I never get to sleep by myself for more than an hour..that hour is heaven! All that to say you are not alone!!

[ellemenope]

2.5 is hard.  I can't say that DD gets into things at all, but she still gets under my skin sometimes.  We are in this horrible phase of verbal sparring.  The arguing!  The back chat! 

I hope I am still allowed to vent here.  It has been building up for about a week.  I am about to explode.  I have never ever felt so at a loss regarding her behavior.  Lately when she is upset with something I say, she blows raspberries and shakes her whole body back and forth until she falls down.  It lasts all of 2 seconds, and that is it.  She gets up and gets over it.  She never cries or tantrums, she just has these odd outbursts and gets on with it.  It is temporary insanity.  It makes her look crazy.

She also picks her nose constantly.  And, she eats the bounty.  I have had a lot of discussions with her about this.  It is completely compulsive.  She cannot stop.  I have noticed that she does it when she is most nervous, bored, or stimulated.

She also has to eat snow.

She has to eat the salt at the restaurants before we get our food.

She is a very sweet and mild-mannered child.  Part of me feels guilty for complaining.  She is so good.  I actually have found myself complaining about how she wants to hug me so much.

She has to hug me. 

But, I think what is really depressing me is our sleep issues.  Putting her to bed is like pulling teeth.  Seriously, you'd think our bed was a vat of acid or something.  Even the hint of bedtime reduces her to pleads of staying her 'execution'.  Giving up naps has made my day so much easier, but it seems to have made bedtime twice as volatile.  I am so sick of feeling like I am squelching her life every time we go to to bed at night.  I know her natural sleep patterns would have her go to bed late and sleep in later, progressively until she had us getting up at noon.  But, there is NO way.

Hjdmom24-You are actually the reason I posted here.  I wanted to say I totally know what you mean about being single.  My husband is out of the country for a few months, and I miss him dearly, but I do savor my few hours ALONE each night.  My body seriously buzzes after putting this 2.5 year old down, and I just need to sit in silence and decompress from the day.

[allmine]

well, it is good to not be alone and have others understand. Gosh, we love these kids , but sometimes you just want to be able to shout out a good vent now and again.

She doesn't have much of an attention span for TV. Sometimes she will watch something, but not more than a tad a day. I hate to admit that I beg her to watch her fav stuff at times and she just won't. That when I pull out the box of beans or dishpan of water and sit next to her with my macbook. I feel I'll go crazy at times. Or, I'll sit next to her in the bathroom while she plays in the tub. It's like, can time go any slower and I have this child on my hands that needs constant entertainment and I have one million things to do!!!

ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ellemenope]

Allmine, your DD reminds me a little of my DN who just turned 2.  She does not miss a trick.  She is always in your business, and getting into things she should not be getting into.  We joke that she has radar or x-ray vision.  My sister came into the house with a plastic bag fall of candy, and DN could like sniff it out.  She has been caught so many times up on the counters eating Cheetos.  She is very demanding.  She once pointed to a treat I had and said, "I want that in my body," lifted up her shirt and pointed to her tummy.  She does not take 'no' for an answer.  It is just something people tell her before she figures out a way to get it herself.  She also rarely asks for anything.  She just helps herself.  I don't know how many times her hand has come out of nowhere and just dug into my food.  IME this is not normal.  DD would never...But, then again DD does things that my sister never has to deal with.  We are all dealing with different issues.  You are not alone.  You sound like you are doing a great job meeting your DD's needs. ( I also put DD in the bath for a break.)

Thank you for your post.

DN also will not sit still for even a minute to watch TV or read a book.  (meanwhile, I am trying to stop my DD from watching CNN in the waiting room.  FWIW I think it is great if your kid has no interest in TV.)

[allmine]

Thank you so much for understanding. Yes, my dd is VERY much like your dn. I have tried to set boundaries and she just doesn't heed them. For instance, I would literally  have to hold her down to keep her laying on a bed even when she is exhausted and needs to rest. I can't make her lay down even to watch something most days. She will not nap. Hardly ever has, in fact, even from newborn stage up. She still nurses and that is the ONLY relief I get some days. She will stop to nurse but tother than that she is go go go and into everything and she literally can't "get" that some items around the house are truly off limits. She will use anythhing as a stool and climb to get to any other item she wants or sees, in spite of me trying to set boundaries in appropriate ways and babyproofing. I can't turn my back on her for a moment. She is only like one other of my other four dc in this regard. Heaven help me. it's helped to vent.

[MrsBone]

I don't really deal with this with my 2 year old, but that doesn't mean that he won't hit a stage like that soon. I just keep telling myself that this is the way he is right now, that he may not always be an easy toddler. Because quite frankly, he is easy right now. I think I'll get payback with the next baby due in may..she's a girl too. I have a feeling she'll be a little spitfire. We'll see! Just wanted to offer a virtual hug :)

[goldingoddess]

This is very interesting to me because this is how I felt when my little one was 20 months, but it has gotten progressively better and now at 2.5 I feel like life is EASY in comparison.

[allmine]

yes, it goes and comes. At 16 months to 20 months I thought I would pull my hair out daily. Then, she started getting easier for a couple of months and then it seems the last couple or three months have had us back in crazy mama land. I'm not really sure what causes things to feel so hard, but they sure do.