Please help me troubleshoot toddler

[blondieblonde]

I feel like I'm getting something wrong with our 22 month old DD. Typical day:

-- A breastfeed at about 6am
-- Up at 8
-- Refuses to eat breakfast, refuses to drink cow's milk - eats them with much encouragement/effort
-- Whinges and cries about getting in pram to take older child to school
-- Cries on the way out about not being allowed to walk home
-- Quite cheerful until about 1030
-- Offered snack and drink at 1030
-- 11am total meldown. If we go out to something in the morning she always cries loudly all the way home.
-- 1130 Screaming for breastmilk. Lunch. Calms down a bit. Cup of cow's milk and a breastfeed
-- Really hard to get down for nap

-- 2.30ish Wakes up happy. Nice afternoon
-- 5 Supper
-- 6 Refuses to get in bath. Cries
-- Stories with milk
-- 7 bedtime. Cries and complains and takes an hour to get to sleep.

Please help me - I'm at my wits end. She has always loved breastfeeding and we have cut it down now to 2 or 3 feeds a day, but she is obsessed with it. She seems always to be complaining, and says everything in a whinging whining voice x

The morning sounds awful. Up at 8, presumably nappy change, clothes, breakfast and out in about 40 minutes? Can you slow it down a bit, give her something to eat in the pram (porridge fingers, sliced pancake, fruit, beaker of milk) in the pram then let her walk home?

Then have a reasonably substantial snack after morning activities and a much earlier nap, lunch after nap? Which would mean she's maybe more ready for bed come bedtime?

Mine would only be that whiney if he was overtired. Is she getting enough sleep? Maybe she still needs more than one nap? One just before the 11am meltdown?

I like the suggestion about a snack in the pram rather than having to coax her to eat before 9am.

Has she always been like this or just become more irritable recently? Can she talk much yet? I think once they start being able to express themselves more with words it becomes easier.

She can talk quite well, but no sentences yet. But yes, she's quite advanced and is already doing things like trying out her potty. She helped me make a cake the other day! I certainly know what she wants except at these moments, where it feels like she doesn't want anything. You're right, perhaps I shouldn't rush her morning. It's just hard as the older one is also still young and so needs help getting ready. But the baby could perhaps do with less rush. As for earlier nap, it's so hard because we pick the older one up at noon (she's only in play school), which is exactly when the little one would like to sleep....

But I think you're right, she does sound overtired. I perhaps overestimate her, as she's quite big/old looking. I know I am judging some of it wrong & need to fix it.

Will she sleep in the pram? I'd say as above about breakfast, let her walk home then then when you're ready to walk back for older one then she'll maybe fall asleep in pram?
My 2.5 year old DD until very recently was ready for nap by 11, although admittedly she's an earlier riser than 8.
Also I find bedtime goes smoother if we've done something with the day, otherwise she's bored and acts up a bit. Even if it's just the supermarket or whatever

Yes - that's why I try to do fun things in the morning. I guess the other option is we could pootle about on the way back from school till about 10am, then home for a 1-1.5hr nap.

If she's anything like mine she'll enjoy a pootle as much as anything else. And yes will tire her out for a nap hopefully

Does she sleep between 6am & 8am?

I would try a snack in pushchair on the way to school - banana & a warm milk maybe.

Then home for a bath & nap.

I soon stopped evening baths as mine were to tired by then, & so was I.