Give me slap and remind me how exhausting, frustrating and boring small children can be. Please!

[OrmIrian]

I had a day off yesterday. So went to a nearby town to spend some Waterstones vouchers I had for my birthday. Now this is the town where I grew up so I have lots of memories from my own childhood, and DH and I spent a lot of time there with our DCs. I spent a few hours wandering around the shops looking at thing I didn't really want and couldn't afford getting misty eyed about time passing and LOs growing up so fast. I'd have to bribe my DD to go shopping with me now, DS#1 would come if there was a visit to a games shop on the cards and then only unwillingly, and even DS#2 is getting a bit fed up with it now. In fact it's a struggle to get them to go anywhere with their old parents these days.

No more trips to the park, no more feeding the ducks.... oh god Someone remind me about tantrums, misbehaving in cafes, nappies etc.

i am in the middle of it with a two year old and a six month baby

it is hellish

i will explode if i have to read postman bloody pat while bf and eating my cornflakes again

bet i feel the same as you when the time comes though

I have a 2 year old ds and a 4 month old ds, every place i go need careful planning, and invloves all that you mentioned tantrums, nappies, running off in the wrong direction!!

All this coupled with no sleep at night..... aam waiting for them to grow up a bit

Thankyou thankyou. Keep 'em coming

So far I am still feeling regretful.

Well int he last five minutes my dd demanded my toast so I gave it to her and made myself some more. She then threw hers to the dog and had a tantrum because I wouldn't give her my new lot. Enough to put you off?

I have a 3.5 yr old DS whose (sp?) favourite past-time at the moment is:-

Throwing tantrums
Has an answer for everything
Throws things across the room
Hits out
Sulks

did i mention that my six month old is a velcro baby who won't be put down EVER and ds is a bolter who has to be carried or he runs off....

And don't forget that there are no days off when they're little - if you do get time for yourself you don't wander around idly toying with the idea of buying some small nice thing - you race around like a lunatic to buy something, anything that fits before your DH rings you and asks when you're coming home.
And you feel as if one if your limbs is missing any time you're away from them.

and i have no car today and the garden isn't safe due to large open trench by the septic tank

swap ya

velcro baby! That's done it. That used to drive me mad.

Thankyou all for sharing your horror stories. Makes me feel much better

I still miss my LOs but only in theory. Memories are nicely filtered.

ormirian... the only thing that gets you through the toddler years is the knowledge that THEY END!

trips to the park always end in muddy kids whinging because of the cold who've probably at some point in the day either peed themselves, attacked another child, run off or fallen and screamed blue murder for 1/2 hour while all the other mothers stare at you as if you're torturing the poor child

and don't talk to me about feeding the bleeding ducks are my children really the only ones who try and dive in after the ducks, throw things at the ducks or run in the opposite direction to the ducks crying because they're scared of the freakin ducks?

and have you forgotton potty training? 2 years of blimmin potty training and dd still wets herself and now i'm having to start on ds1

the pair of them are trashing the place faster than i can clean and i can't let them out as our garden is a bog and they'll only get plastered in mud and try and get back in 5 mins later.

me and my daughter go to the park too but as soon as she threw her shoe into the lake for the fun of it, i took her by the hand and explain calmly that her fun will end here, right now because she did a naughty thing (no matter if i was on the way to the shop with her, and i will not be able to have my milk for the morning coffee because of it). a few of those experiences were enough for her to settle down and stop misbehaving. then the tantrums? folowing advices from other moms (she is my first child so still learning) i let her scream and shout in anger for a while, ask her from time to time if she would like to have a chat with mummy, no, fine, let her scream some more and then finally she would be the one coming and asking for a talk (this took many going back and forth to her room and asking in a VERY LOW, CALM voice for a chat) but it seems to be working. she seems to respond to the immediate consequences. little by little she starts to learn the fact that she needs to earn her rewards with good behaviour, otherwise there will be bad consequences, but that of course, meant i had to cancel a hell of a lot of things/trips/plans in order to show her it 'won't work' if she misbehaves.
am i a horrible mother?

no Jo, you sound like a lovely mother

I have horrible sciatica (sp?) from a velcro baby who screeched in the most horrible high pitched way unless he was carried round constantly. He's now 18 months and it's only just starting to improve.
I dream of your situation..

Having spent a day at the coalface of motherhood today (one DS is almost 4, the second is 14 months) I am a gibbering wreck. The paper I bravely bought this morning on the way back from nursery lies unread on the kitchen table, and all day I have been wiping noses, the kitchen table, and bottoms. I have had toys thrown at me, my clothes are covered in lunch and supper as usual, and am pinning my hopes on the weekend, knowing full well that by Sunday night I will be no more rested or calm.
Tell me about how you can read the paper or at least an entire article, tell me about your stain-free clothes, tell me about that day when you find yourself having to wake your children up and saying they're missing the best part of the day....!

SICKOFTHISRAIN I sympathise. My ds sounds like he was similar to yours. Only just improing really at 20 months but still tricky and very prone to tantrums/ crying outburts, especially in public.

Little toddlers are so hard and I know people tell you how lovely they are but I am living it right now. Maybe one day I'll look back with fondness but I doubt it! I adore him but I am so tired of having to plan everything and having to leave places because ds cries and has a tantrum. I am tired of cooking and having it thrown on the floor or a huge tantrum about being put in the highchair. I am not planning any more children just because hyowever much I love him, it is so monotonous!

That said.... he is rather adorable and very affectionate and when he says 'love yooooooo' it does make it worth while (almost!).