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| This cracks me up. She was making cookies with me, but wanted to eat the balls of cookie dough. This face was her attempt at convincing me to let her do it. |
This is a summary for Brinley from 28-29 months old–so up until she turned 29 months.
SLEEPING
Sleep started off great and normal. Most of the month was this way.
Then Christmas break happened.
You might be thinking I am going to talk about major disruptions that made her sleep rough. Nope. I am talking about some weird switch that flipped that made it so she was like the sleep Grinch who loathed entirely going to sleep. Loathed entirely.
She would look for any possible reason to delay her nap or bedtime. She needed one more kiss. She needed her water filled up. She threw her favorite stuffed animal out of her bed. She threw her water out of her bed.
Here is the thing. She is our fourth child. We have a little bit of life experience and know to not get started with these little tricks. We clearly outlined how many kisses she would get and wouldn’t pass that number. We didn’t fill up a cup that was already full. We didn’t even pick up the things she threw out of bed–that was just too bad. Despite our consistency and literally never giving in, not even one time, she stuck with it. And she screams about it all. She is not happy that we are not giving in.
Equally surprising to me is that she just isn’t a tenacious person. She doesn’t test boundaries all day. She is one who is more obedient than your average child. She is sweet and says, “Yes, Mommy.” So it isn’t like I am dealing with a strong-willed child here–if so, this behavior wouldn’t be surprising.
The one thing I have found that helps is talking to her through her video monitor. After there is no parent in the room and she starts her little tantrum from being mad that we are not giving in, I talk into the video monitor and tell her it is time to sleep. She immediately calms down, says, “Okay Mommy,” tells me good night, and is happy as can be. And you might then jump to the conclusion that her fit is present in order to elicit my talking to her, but I gave it two weeks before going there and she would just scream and cry for 1-5 minutes–for pretty much every nap and bedtime.
One thing that I do suspect is going on is that she is getting her two year molars.
EATING
Eating is good and normal for her age. She has some meals she eats a lot and some she eats little. This is all normal for a two year old.
PLAYTIME
Playtime is good. She loves her independent play. She is quite pleasant in playing with her siblings. Everything is good here.
Brinley is obsessed with letters right now. She has her letters down well and the sounds they make. One of her favorite shows is Word World. She loves to take her magnetic letters and “build words” with them. I think it is hilarious.
LOOKING AHEAD
There are a couple of big things that need to happen soon in Brinley’s life. One is potty training. I didn’t do it before our vacation because I did NOT want a newly potty trained child for a 12-13 hour drive. I also didn’t think that sounded fun for the parks. She is talking about going potty quite often and wants to sit on the potty all the time. So I guess I should get on that.
Honestly, potty training is my second most hated thing to do as a parent. Sleep training is number one. When I got pregnant with Brinley, one of my very first thoughts was “I have to potty train another one!” I don’t know why I dislike it so much–it isn’t like I have had horrible experiences. Brayden was tricky our first attempt, but the second time he just got it immediately. The girls were easy. I guess I find it very taxing and difficult mentally to figure out how to teach a person to use the bathroom differently than they ever have.
The other big milestone is switching to a big bed. That will be fun. I am not sure what I am waiting for there. I guess I figure so long as she is comfortable in her crib, it is nice to have there. I am kind of thinking we might make the bed switch a March or April thing. I just have the spring in my head for that. You never know–I might one day wake up and decide that it is the day and it will be done.
SCHEDULE
This is her typical daily schedule.
8:45 AM–Wake up/Breakfast
9:15 AM–Get ready
10:00 AM–TV time
10:30 AM–Independent Playtime
11:45 AM–Help get lunch ready/hang out with me doing stuff
12:15 PM–Lunch
12:45 PM–Learning Activity
1:00 PM–Sibling play with McKenna
1:30/2:00 PM–Nap
4:30/5:00 PM–Wake up and Free Playtime
5:30 PM–Dinner
6:00 PM–Family Time
7:30 PM–Get Ready for Bed
8:00 PM–Bedtime
HELPFUL BOOKS
This list contains affiliate links.
- On Becoming Toddlerwise
- Wholesome Toddlerfood.com
- The Toddler’s Busy Book
- What To Expect The Toddler Years
(this is okay–I don’t love it)
- Super Baby Food
- So Easy Toddler Food cookbook
- The Wonder Weeks. (and a link to their site:http://livingcontrolsystems.com/)
- Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
- The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior–Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood
- Baby Body Signs: The Head-to-Toe Guide to Your Child’s Health, from Birth Through the Toddler Years
- Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby
- The Wonder Weeks
- http://wholesomebabyfood.com/
I love the picture! So cute! My little girl's face would not be that sweet, I can promise you that!I just finished potty training mine ( 27 months). She resisted at first, but I was firm, and she is doing a wonderful job now! Good luck with it.I'm going to do the big bed switch in April too! 🙂 Thanks for the updates on Brinley. I always love to hear how she's doing since ours are so close in age.
How exciting you are potty trained! It is so exciting once you are there! I bought a potty chair last week (I threw ours away after McKenna). We are one step closer 🙂