This morning I woke because Connor decided that I am a "horsey" (I don't know where he picks up "horsey" - I say "horse" - oh wait, I think it's MIL) and jumped on me to play.
We played a bit and then he told me he wants to "eat eat" and I went to make their Weetbix.
D dressed Kendra before breakfast so she was all fine. We normally do both kids and then eat but this boy is very impatient when he's hungry (like all boys?) so we feed asap.
So then the "fun" begins.
Connor announces that he's made a poo and so I told him that I'd change his nappy and dress him.
Well, it's like trying to contain an eel.
A very slippery eel who SCREAMS at the top of his voice for no reason other than the fact that he doesn't want to stay still for a minute to get dressed.
I'm scared that he'll hurt his head on the chest of drawers under the changing mat because of all the thrashing so I start screaming for D to help me.
We've now decided that kicking is not on (I joked the other day that it's a good thing I'm not pregnant because Connor kicked me so hard in the abs, thrashing around over a nappy) so I smack him on the leg if he kicks me.
It's so loud that Kendra comes running to check on her brother.
She gets nervous so she starts sympathy crying (yes, they still do it - very annoying and LOUD) so then we tell Connor, "please calm down. You're upsetting Kendra."
He listened to us and stopped, and so Kendra then stopped.
The minute she stopped crying, he picked up where he left off.
Aaaarghhh!
So this is our life.
D is much calmer than I am and took the boy and the clothes to the sun room to dress him once he'd had a change of scenery and stopped the crying.
But this is crazy.
We argue about whose turn it is to change Connor because no-one wants to deal with all that crying.
(Not even poo nappy arguing!)
The crazy thing is Connor isa ray of sunshine 98% of the time.
Does anyone else have this going on? Any tips/ suggestions?
(Kendra never fights with us about having her nappy changed or clothes put on)
In other news, here's a little something I did today with the binder rings. I don't save all Christmas cards, only ones where people write really nice messages or the ones with photos (it's always nice to see how the kids grow from year to year).
I was decluttering in the lounge (it is the worst organised place in this house!!!) and found the stash of 2010 Christmas cards.
I tossed most of them and kept 6.
Easy, contained, organised.
What's the least organised room in your home?
PS our friends on the cover are from Australia :) and there are also cards from Texas, South Dakota and Oregon, and of course, South Africa.
PPS 4 days til the babies are 2. I am so unproductive these days because they are so cute my heart hurts :)
Both of the boys don't mind, but I remember some of my older kids going through that phase.
ReplyDeleteAll four of these kids seem to strip as soon as we walk in the door- the girls get into nightgowns and the boys want to be only in a diaper.
I don't know that we've gone through anything quite like that, but there have been some challenging times on the diaper table, particularly with the girls wanting to reach their hands down into the "mess". Gah!!!
ReplyDeleteI often try to engage the girls to get their minds off being changed. Put your hands on your ears...where's your elbow...how do you sign 'squirrel'...
I read on another blog one time where a mom was struggling to dress her kid. Someone suggested she let the kid try to dress himself. I don't do much of this, honestly, but it may be worth a thought? At least get his pants started, and ask him to pull them up, etc?
Good luck, Marcia! Deep breaths!
And four more days??? :) :) For me, the second birthday wasn't nearly as hard as the first. I CRIED almost all day on the girls' first birthday (not in front of them, but every moment they were asleep). I only shed a couple of tears this year. I think it's because the second year was so much FUN...I really felt like I was more "in the moment" and that I enjoyed it all.
Oh, and love the Christmas card collection! [Glad you found your binder rings!]
Don't worry - the getting dressed thing is pretty much universal as far as I can tell (although by a small mercy it does seem to go through phases of intensity).
ReplyDeleteThis is something from my archives that I think you might enjoy. ;-)
http://louisa123.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/its-funny-because-its-true/
Jack hates being changed but since he is only 3 weeks we let it go :)
ReplyDeleteI can't remember with the other 2 but I know Kiara HATES putting warm clothes on. It's a constant battle.
The most disorganised room has to be Kiaras room followed by my laundry room.
I LOVE the idea with the Christmas cards!!!
That's actually quite a nice idea with the old Christmas cards. Joshua went through that - mostly with the nappy changes. I used a changing mat on the bed so he couldn't hurt himself.
ReplyDeleteMmmm...Joel not so much. He loves his nappy and brings me a fresh one if he needs a change. Loves his clothing too! He brings them to me to help him if he struggles.
ps...is it possible that Connor maybe wants to try and dress himself? Maybe you could have him choose what he would like to wear? Give him 3 options and he can choose one or something like that.
oh, and my most disorganised room is the one in which Joshua sleeps. Honestly? I have given up.
I've got one of those "screamers" here too! (Yes, it is my son) I have no suggestions...sorry! I am praying he grows out of it soon or get's potty-trained soon! LOL
ReplyDeleteLOVE...LOVE...LOVE the Christmas card book...I may have to "scraplift" that.
:)
Love the cards...what a cute idea!
ReplyDeleteThere are days when A & M don't want to get dressed or have their diaper changed. Usually it's when they are tired or have just got out of bed. Right now, their thing is to cry some mornings because they want to "leave jammies on!"...so Fridays are now "jammie" day, and they don't have to change unless we have to go somewhere. : )
Can't believe C & K are almost TWO!
Oh that's a cool idea for cards - I am so going to do it.
ReplyDeleteL fights when we change his nappy, but after talking much about it ,he now only cries. I switch hte heater on to change them in this cold.
Maybe try to get him to dress or undress himself? It will take a load of patience, but maybe that's the issue?
Well at this stage of my life I can only talk of my grand babies...and they would just love to go through life naked if possible. Dewan is the only on that will except a change at the mo...and only when he has a dirty nappy.
ReplyDeleteMy least organised room at the moment is my lounge...that is where some of my son's furniture are stored while they are building...so nothing can be done to remedy it.
That Christmas card thing is CUTE!
ReplyDeleteI did have this issue for a while, but then I streamlined it. They RARELY stay in their jammies upon waking up. We typically get them dressed right away...they also started to enjoy picking out their own clothes. That decreased the fighting a lot. I wouldn't let them pick everything out, but I would say, "here are the shorts you're going to wear, you can wear this shirt, or this shirt." Give it a shot!