Hi all,
I recently had another girl (she is coming up to 6 weeks) but unfortunately her arrival has brought about A LOT of problems with dd1 who is 2 yrs and 3 months.
Sleep
Refuses to nap in afternoon even though she is absolutely buzzing with exhaustion...she does eventually crash after a great deal of resistance.
Night time is better but not by much.
Wakes up at the slightest noise and comes to look for us.
Almost daily up 6am even if goes to bed later
It didn't help we had to change cotbed to bed mode (same time as baby's arrival) as she kept climbing out and it became dangerous.
We did stop giving her dummy recently as her teeth were becoming pushed out but she took it really well and instantly forgot about it.
Aggression / Tantrums / Disobedience
She has always been strong and assertive but now she pinches, scratches and bites other kids and dd on a regular basis (particularly on face)
She throws tantrums without provocation all the time - Last saturday she actually woke up with a tantrum and was in a stroppy mood all day - until she went to bed.
She ignores what we say and repeats her bad actions no matter how we tell her not to - nicely and quietly or with a forceful shout and being put in the corner.
She does seem to respond better to our harsher methods.
OK, we understand that she has been going through A GREAT DEAL of changes and we have been very patient with her and giving her more love and time but we can simply no longer tolerate her bad behaviour.
My hub is back at work after taking a nice break to help out and when it's me and her, I feel like I can't cope - I dread what mood she will be in when I pick her up from pre-nursery and what they will tell me that she has done and to whom.
I know a lot of this behaviour is "normal" but when will it stop and please can I have some tips on managing them and keeping sane along the way.
Just to add, I am breastfeeding and getting very little sleep - I am shattered to say the least!
Many thanks in advance