Demanding Diva

My two year old is very demanding, and today it was bothering me quite a bit. Being preggie and tired and emotional doesn't really equip one very well to deal with the mood swings and demands of a toddler. With KD's Daddy gone a week now I think we both are feeling the void. Its nice when he is home. He is able to help me out and help me cater to our little princess' every need or whim. With him gone I am feeling the single parent pressure. She is going to have to learn to deal with some disappointments.

This is how the day goes "Mommy hold me." I pick her up. "I want juice, I want snack, I want crackers, I want chicken, I want orange." Yes, these demands are all in one string and I have barely a chance to get a word in edge wise. I say, "You want juice?" KD, "Yeah!" with a big smile. I say, "Say please." KD, "Pleeeaase!!" I get up to get her the juice. KD in the living room starts to rattle off her other requests, I am in the kitchen and about to go nuts. KD then says, "Mommy hold me!" and starts to whine... I want juice, snack, orange! I yell back, "I am getting it! I can't hold you and get your food at the same time!" I know I shouldn't yell back, but I am getting frustrated. The preggie hormones make me feel like I am PMS-ing, getting really emotional and irritable. At this point I am wishing JD was home to help out. But he will be gone for another month, so I know that isn't going to happen. KD then cries about something in the other room, "I dropped it!" she perhaps dropped a toy on the floor or a cracker and the dog is now scooping it up... and she doesn't want to get off the couch to fetch it. I usually say, "It's okay, go pick it up." or "The doggie has it now, oh well. I am getting you juice and chicken."

This routine is constant. After she gets a few foods in front of her she demands a new food. I say, "Finish your chicken. No cookies until you eat your chicken." She takes two bites and is on it again... "Cookie?" Ughhh, it's exhausting sometimes. If I give her juice she now wants milk. There is just no pleasing her, and I think she never stops eating! My goodness! I swear you would think I am starving her to hear her ask for food all the time. Even down to the last minute before bed time she is asking for another snack and a refill on her milk or juice!

I am watching the clock closely to see if its time for her nap yet or time for bed. I can't wait to get her asleep so I can have a peaceful moment to myself. And usually at her nap time I need a nap myself! Before its time for her to go to bed I am already falling asleep on the couch as she sits on my lap and eats her 100th snack and downs her milk, while watching PBS Sprouts or Nick Junior. I am lucky if she lets me get away with a little snooze too. Pretty soon she is off the couch and wants me to play with her and Mr. Potato Head, or get up and dance to the silly song that is playing on Yo Gabba Gabba. I can't wait until JD is home again and he can field the runs to the kitchen for the 100th time or take the second round of dancing. Like I said, she is going to have to learn to deal with some disappointment.

I can't hold her and prepare her food (some things I can, but not all things) and when my belly gets bigger I won't be able to do much picking up at all. And I can't run after her through the house to play tag for 15 minutes and then do a silly dance for a half hour, and I am sure that is not going to improve with the pregnancy. And I am not willing to give into every demand or whim. She is going to have to get use to only one or two food groups at a time. I am NOT getting up and down all day long to fetch her food when she hasn't finished what I just gave her. This toddler is going to be giving me tantrums and getting time outs and I am going to be at my wits ends for a bit until she gets the message! Poor girl... poor preggie ME!

I do have my in-laws down the street to help me out. Opi (the name for her Grandpa) and Grama are helpful. Tonight I made an SOS call to them when I just was fed up with the, "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna..." and her crying when she didn't get her way. I was in no mood for the whole thing. I was about to blow my top, and that is not good. I am not a good Mother when I start to lose it. Yelling and spanking are not things I want to start doing, especially in an emotional state. It's not fair to KD either for me to behave that way. She won't understand why I am so irritable or why I am blowing up at her. So, it's good to make that phone call and get the help before I get to that breaking down point. If I can't be calm and talk to her quietly, and just let her know she is due for a time out in a composed manner, I am not in a good place. She responds well to me when I am calm and when she is merely threatened with a time out. If I am about to yell at her, or I do yell at her, then the SIREN in my brain starts to go off and I know its time to call in the troops to help.

Ok, I feel better now after venting. Hopefully tonight I will get a good night's sleep and feel refreshed and revived and have a new perspective on things in the morning. I hope I can get these preggie hormones under control, dig in and be the good Mommy my toddler deserves, and pull in the reins on my little "Demanding Diva." She will be happier and I will have a more peaceful household. All will be well.