Getting dressed = screaming nightmare - any advice?

[JumpJockey]

DD2 absolutely hates getting dressed. She's 15 months and ever since she became mobile enough to crawl away, dressing times have been absolutely hideous. She will scream, writhe, roll away, try to run off. This morning she screamed for 5 minutes solid while DH got her clothes on. She's too little to make it a game, sometimes will stand while she gets her vest on but nappies and trousers and anything that involves sitting or lying, she goes utterly mad. It's the same at pyjama time. I dread the start and end of the day because apart from this she is usually absolutely fine.

Any suggestions for what we could try to make the experience less horrid for everyone? I just get cross and end up being shouty mum :( Meanwhile we have DD1 refusing to get her clothes on until DD2 is dressed, so the whole morning routine becomes a massive delay. She went through a month or so of hating getting dressed, then went back to it being fine, so we've not really had to deal with this before.

This is a horrible way to start the day. Would you consider changing the process whereby you reward DD1 where she gets a new toy of choice after 5 mornings of getting dressed (try to get her to do it herself, if possible). This has worked wonders for us, however, our DSs are a little older, but it may be worth a try. DD2 may then see the excitement of who's going to be ready first. My DH and I sometimes join the race and we all end up getting ready really quickly.

Can you make it a game like peepo? As in, where's DD's hand? Where's it gone? Where is it? OH! There it is! (OTT excited noise)

Can you take her on school run in PJs? Bundle her up in a footmuff and/or coat or snowsuit.

Can you try to dress her standing up? I can't think of anything which requires sitting or lying at 15 months, apart from shoes & socks.

No idea, but feel your pain. DD is 10 months and acts like I'm flaying her alive if I dare to put a vest on..

Would love any ideas on how to not want to return her to wherever she came from :)

ooh, I could be writing this about my soon-to-be 14 month old OP...

It's really difficult-changing nappies when he's done a poo takes the agility of an olympic athlete. And he's taken to rolling as soon as his nappy's off.

I tend to dress him whilst he's sitting up. Is that an option for you? Some things are tricky (like doing the crotch poppers), but as soon as he's distracted sitting up, I can dress him almost normally..

:) at bertiebotts we sound very similar

Accompanied by "where's the hand?" "no mummy has not cut it off and fed it to the cat, there it is, look at the tiny intact hand...and the loud screaming, there's the hand" ad infinitum.

No games, no distractions, no anything.

Have everything prepared, do it as fast as possible and remember that five minutes after it is all over, she has forgotten the "trauma".

Seriously, it is one of those horrible phases that will pass and the only way to get through it is to shut your ears to her wails and do it. As fast as possible.

Can you get dd1 to show dd2 how it's done? My dd would do practically anything if it gave her the opportunity patronise her little brother!

We often get DD1 (3.3) in a "who can be dressed first, you or mummy?" race and that works fine for her if she's in the right mood, it's when DD2 starts to stress that she picks up on it and messes about. DD2's not doing a school run, they both go to nursery together so both have to be dressed in time for everyone to leave the house.

Peepo sort of games used to work, but there was a period when she just hated getting her nappy changed and it now seems to be a n automatic response that basically if anyone has to physically keep her in one place her (as you have to to do a nappy, she can't be running around for that part!) she screams. So it's less the getting the actual clothes on (must stop putting her in tights!) as the nappy change beforehand that leads her to get all stressed, then she just carries on really.

sorry, massive x-post there! If she would sit or stand still, we could try that, she just likes to run away as fast as possible once she's upright! Maybe we could get DD1 to help out somehow as DD2 definitely worships her sister. DD1 still at the age where she needs a certain amount of help herself, she can do most of it but often gets tops/trousers backwards etc.

Would it cause any major problems at nursery if you just took her in her night things? You could explain to the staff that she's having an odd phase about it and you want to turn down the stress, I'm sure they'll have seen it before.

Nappies are obviously not negotiable, but if you separated out the nappy change from any connection with clothes, then you might find in a few weeks you can change her clothes without a fight, so long as its not connected to the misery of the nappy change.

Or, as TheEternalOptimist suggests, just bite the bullet and get the screaming over with as quickly and efficiently as possible, and accept that there will be 5 minutes of screams that are unavoidable.

MuminScotland - they have no trouble with nappy changes/changing mucky clothes at nursery, so might be able to get her dressed I guess! I think they just have endless stores of patience, and I don't

I wonder if getting her in pullup nappies might get rid of some of the horror. She's in size 4s, will see if they come that little.

Jump
the nursery workers aren't better at it than you, but they are more detached emotionally, and take the screaming less to heart.

And I think that the DC are aware of the difference, even from a young age.

its just a phase, my dd is 16mths and exactly the same, i hate it :(

but all my boys were the same and grew out of it eventually, so i am remembering that!

I guess we know it's a phase, it's just that it's been going on for about 5 months now. She's going to be strong willed and rule the empire! (find that bright side, find that bright side )

I am getting DS (14 months) dressed in front of a mirror (a childrens' one which we stuck on the back of his door).He is standing and shouting at himself :o while I am putting his clothes on.

Oooh tootired I like that idea!

yes infront of a mirror is a good idea, my dd loves waving to the baby in the mirror! or as today its wet and miserable and we arent doing anything she is still in her pjs! i have changed her nappy and when we do school run she will have on a coat/snowsuit and be in cosy toes or under a blanket so it doesnt matter that she is in her pjs! you can soo tell she is a 5th baby

Just send her in as she is and get nursery to dress her. Dd went in to nursery today in her pyjama top, clean trousres and no socks as she wouldn't get dressed. I have on occassion taken her in vest and tights and handed over her day clothes. She will happily let her keyworker dress her.

I do wrestle her into a clean nappy but don't see the point in making the start to the day so stressful.

When DS was that age, I recorded one episode of Show Me Show Me off CBeebies and played the Miss Mouse song whenever I had to get him dressed/undressed/nappy changed.

It worked like a dream!

Agree that pull ups are probably the way forward. See if you can sell the nappies on to one of your friends.

My 15mo is just the same. DH has taken to putting bbc Iplayer on his phone and playing an episode of in the night garden and she will happily lay there for nappy changes.