The baby is the easy part...

[Miss Juice]

but the two-year old is killing me.

How are you other mamas with toddlers managing? DD is 26 months and I am really nearing the end of my rope. She is just everywhere, into everything, every minute. I can't keep her occupied, and there's a lot more yelling happening than I would like.

argh - nak, baby fussing, 2yo out of sight gotta run.

suggestions and commiseration welcome!

[coleslaw]

Just quickly, my 5.5 yo is driving me insnae, but she can express herself on occassion to say that she misses me and gets a stomach ache when she can't be with me. I try, try , try to remember that when she is acting not like herself and driving me nuts, but other than hat, no advice. I'm right there with you! :

[bass chick]

I'm right with you. My 27 month old is a darling and not much work, but has been whining a lot and asking to be carried/held a lot, or saying, "I need something" and when I ask him what he says "I don't know" I know he just wants more comfort and cuddles. The baby is very content, but only when he is being held, so my dilemna is that there is only one of me to comfort my sons. Ds has also had some regression with the potty and I yelled at him a couple days ago and when I told him I had to clean him up, he protested by throwing a tantrum (he has only ever had one tantrum before that) and I didn't deal with it well....I dragged him up the stairs and screamed back at him when he screamed at me. Then I pushed him and spent the next few minutes comforting him while the baby cried because I wasn't holding him. I have been reacting terribly and feel so guilty. Sorry....no advice....just some company for you.

[MamaRabbit]

It does get better. Mine are exactly 2yr apart. Those first few weeks were crazy with the adjustments. Extra love and attention from daddy or a friend could help maybe.

[broodymama]

I hear ya, mama! I'm in the same spot with my 23 month old DS.

I'm just taking it one hour at a time, trying to keep my head above water.

[carliec76]

I here ya..Cadan and Kailin are exactly 2 yrs and 2 weeks apart. Luckily Daniel is taking FMLA for a couple weeks but Cadna is way more hyper and needy. Daniel is having a hard time with him (but he always does) Cadan wants booby all the time now and cries about things more. I feel real bad for him but the first day he wanted Kai to "Move it" now today he actually held her on his lap. So everyday he likes her a little more then the last.

[cjcolorado]

I can definitely commiserate, but also let you know that it seems to get better with time. My husband has been very focused on paying more attention/time to our daughter. We've also enlisted the help of an 11-year old girl from next door to come over and play with Hannah a few mornings a week. She also still goes to Montessori school two days a week (a holdover from my part-time work schedule last year that we've decided to keep budgeting for since she enjoys it so much.) I don't know if any of those things are options for you--even just having someone come take your toddler to a special "play day" at a park or zoo or friend's house for a bit might reduce some stress for all of you. We are now hearing far fewer tantrums and "Mommy/Daddy hold MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!" episodes.

[Still_Snarky]

We're going through the same thing. My 31 month old is driving me crazy! : She's wanting to nurse more often than the newborn. I'm trying to give her more attention, let her nurse when I can but she's definately having a late reaction to her new baby brother!

[turtlemama77]

We're still struggling a lot here, too. dd (19 months) has such a hard time understanding that she sometimes needs to wait. I feel like there's always someone crying, either the baby, dd, or me! I'm trying to remember that this is a huge adjustment for dd, and trying to be patient with her, but when she's hitting/pinching/hollaring at me or the baby, it's really really hard.

I have to say, it's getting better though, just a little. If I can honor her requests to nurse (even for a few seconds) or if I can cuddle her or play with her she seems more calm.

Lunchtime is a freaking zoo though. ds seems to need to nurse more often around that time and isn't content at all being put down. dd is hungry and crabbing at me (even though she has a snack tray out all morning!). I'll have to work on a solution to that.

Hang in there, everyone!!

[Jade2561]

I'm so there- have been watching alot of TV at my house lately.

[birthdancedoula]

We are actually doing alright~ my almost 3 y/o is a little challenging at times but my real issue is with my 7 y/o who thinks he's grown up...every time I put the baby down he's right there, picking her up...sometimes chasing after his bros holding her! She'll be sound asleep and he'll pick her up and say, "but mommy she was really awake and wanted to be held."
I guess he's a future AP daddy in the making!

[JennInSeattle]

At home markers and placemats that wash off with coloring pages or books are helping with at least an hour a day and I've been scheduling playdates with Nathan's friends from church that are his age and I do that once or twice a week and I take him to Wednesday night service (they do a modified pre-school there for the kids his age). So taking him out of the house and letting him play with his friends is really helping both of us, I get to talk to grown ups and he is able to really run, laugh and play.

[Mama2 '05'06]

Boy, can I agree!! Anybody want to adopt dd? She's 14 1/2 months old and just learning to talk. She is walking and getting into everything. I am very tired of the 'let's dump everything out and scatter it around and then "help" pick it up game'! From books to toys to her crayons it all gets dumped and scattered and then she is delighted to have me sit on the floor and make a game of picking up the mess. She cutely covers her mouth with one hand makes big eyes and says 'uh-oh'. The baby is fussy sometimes and when he fusses and needs my attention then she pulls something else and wants the attention. At least things are looking better and we are getting it together. At least 2 times a week I have my sister come and play with dd for awhile and I go to my mom's so she can play outside with her 3 Aunts and Uncle and I can rest in the house or swim in the pool with her. I am thinking we will wait a bit before adding another baby to this house!:

[MsGrizzle]

My 6 yo was actually a pain the first month. He was depressed basically. He moped around, said things like "you're spending more time with the baby than me" and didn't want anything to do with ds2. Now in the past week we are seeing some improvement. He actually wants to hold him, kiss him, etc. At one point, he was waking up 5-6 times per night because he needed us, was scared, etc. I snapped one night and said "You wake up more than a one month old!" Ugh. He seems to be almost back to normal. He keeps saying things like "A baby needs to be held all the time." and "Boobs are made to feed babies" so maybe I've got another future APer here too!

[Still_Snarky]

Jenn! You're back! There have been a couple threads (here & here) asking about you in the last few months! Hope everything has been okay. Nice to see you.

[Still_Snarky]

Stupid double posts... :

[aydensmama]

me to me to, ds#1 stayed with my mom for a night last weekend...and ds#2 was a breeze! It is the whining that will break me

[homemademomma]

we are doing okay- i have a 2 1/2 year old, and dd is 6 weeks old now. i just engage ds as much as possible during the day- dd stays in the sling, and ds and I do as much fun stuff as we can. i have found it also makes a big difference if i dont try to put ds off when he needs to nurse at the buttcrack of dawn- if i can bite the bullet and nurse him for a few minutes ( i very much dislike nursing him ) then the whole day seems to go better.

bedtimes are horrible dp works nights often so that means ive got to put them both down myself. i've been able to keep up our normal routine, except that if dd is still awake at ds' bedtime, i can't lay down with him. ds cant fall asleep unless i lay down with him, so this means that i usually resort to watching a movie with him- he usually will fall asleep during the movie. i feel really bad about it, but i guess in the scheme of things its not so bad. it will get better, im sure, as dd gets older and starts to have a vague schedule of her own.

[beautyful]

Right there with you. The girls are exactly 28 months apart, and this is the first week I've been alone with them. Much coffee has been consumed, since they both nurse about equally during the night meaning that I have to nurse dd2 to sleep, nurse dd1 to sleep, change dd2's diaper, and then nurse dd2 back to sleep.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Jade2561

I'm so there- have been watching alot of TV at my house lately.

Here too. It's so nice out but I feel like I'm trapped inside with one boob hanging out all day. The really fun stuff we could be doing now (pool, painting, etc) are all activities that require too much supervision for me to handle alone And when DD1 gets bored she starts doing things she knows are not ok (hitting the cats being her #1 choice) which ends in me yelling :

Sucks. I need a clone.