Toddler keeps kicking my bump!

[lollipoppi]

Not on purpose obviously!
He is 20mo and going through a terrible tantrum stage, including hitting, head-butting and kicking which i am trying to get under control, naughty step/ do NOT hit ect
But the worst is when I'm changing his nappy, he kicks out and often kicks my little bump! I'm only 16 weeks and baby is well protected by my pre bump flump but it bloody hurts!

Any advise on how to deal with this or just general toddler tantrums when pregnant?

I ignore tantrums so long as he is safe I walk away until he calms down and comes for a cuddle. If he gets to breaking point though I am able to bfeed him calm so that helps!

Nappy wise have you tried changing wet ones standing up - surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it! Can't kick out then..

The only other thing I can say really is try to remember he is just a baby still (I struggle!) and be consistent in repeating don't kick calmly each time then moving away.

I also found that talking a lot about the baby on mummy's tummy, encouraging him to stroke and talk to it made him more careful - e.g that will hurt the baby, be gentle with him/it/her... depends on how his empathy is at 20mths though.

Hope thats of some help

Thanks bearhug,
Changing a nappy standing up, I'm actually laughing at how complicated that sounds but I will give it a go!

The tantrums are so hard to deal with at the moment, but I and keeping consistent and calmly saying don't kick / hit ect

I like the sound of making him more involved with the bump he is quite loving believe it or not when he wants to be!

It is very easy to forget he is still a baby himself he seems so grown up already

Have the same issue - I'd be reluctant to change standing up as depending on their balance, they can obv get more power into the kick. Just make sure he's not high enough to give you a real wallop.
We've introduced the concept of "baby" and needing to be gentle and it's slowly working. You need to be consistent though - your partner/minder will need to be equally strict about the kicking. It does cause some minor confusion [DH is not too happy about his "baby"] but I figure as the bump gets bigger it will become blindingly obvious that there's only one baby in circulation.