My Little Monster Phase

Parenting is HARD!!!! I don't have to tell most of you this, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Each phase has its trials, and the phase we are in right now has left me down-right frustrated.  I am at a parenting loss and I feel like our 16 month old has taken all my common sense and flushed it down the toilet {along with the toothpaste cap and the cardboard toilet paper roll}.

Newborns are a challenge because they cry and you have NO IDEA WHY {and then you realize, there really isn't a reason sometimes}.  They are up at random hours of the night to eat and poop and cry and you are exhausted and want to throw something across the room {hopefully not them}.  But you survive because you are still in the honeymoon phase.  Plus you adopt a motto {our motto was, 'SHE WILL NEVER REMEMBER' and my girlfrien Jen's motto is, 'EVEN STUPID PEOPLE FIGURE THIS OUT' hahaha} and just muscle through it.  And just when you are beginning to tolerate this phase...

They learn to sit up and sort of get around!  But that leaves them frustrated because they aren't fully independent yet, so they want you to play with them NON-STOP!  This leaves you exhausted and praying for nap time to hurry up and arrive.  But you get through it by inventing fun little games you can both play and eventually you figure out how to get them to play by themselves {even if it is just for a little while}.  Just when you are beginning to get use to this phase...

They start teething! If they had been sleeping through the night, they are back up every couple of hours again.  Kind of like the newborn phase, you are exhausted and want to throw something across the room. But you get through it armed with baby Motrin, teething rings, and cold washcloths.  Just when the teeth are broken through and you are clearing out of this phase...

They become mobile! Locks must go on all cabinet doors, decorations must be placed on high shelves, pads must go on corners and (if you are smart, unlike me) baby gates go on stairs.  This leaves them frustrated because they want to be independent, but you took all their fun away.  But you get through it by giving them one bucket of toys and 2 drawers in the kitchen that they can play with so they are content again.  Just when it is becoming bearable to be in this phase...

They become CLINGY! Being just your shadow isn't good enough, they want to be a permanent fixture on your body!  Standing next to you while you pee isn't enough, they want to sit on your lap.  Holding your leg while you cook isn't close enough, they want to me on your hip.  AND THEY WHINE!!!  But you get through it by either learning to do everything one handed with them affixed to your body, or getting some really good distractions going (like Dora or handing her chips to eat).  And just when you are beginning to master this phase...

THEY TURN INTO A TODDLER!!! A 16 MONTH OLD, OPINIONATED, HEADSTRONG, MONSTER!!! And it leaves you completely flustered, baffled, perplexed and questioning every ability you have ever had. 

My monster throws temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way.  Her favorite word has become NO. 

When I ask for the hairbrush so we could clean up and go downstairs she screams "NO", pulls away and slams the cabinet shut.  When I take her shoes off when we are in the house, she screams "NO" and lunges for the shoes. When I take my phone away from her in the doctor's office she kicks and screams while strapped in her stroller.  When I take her book before nap time she BIT my thigh {this has only happened once over a week ago, but it broke skin and left me NONE too happy}.  When I give her hot dogs and strawberries for lunch {I am such a mean mom huh...it's not like it's tuna salad}, she REFUSES to eat them and shoves them off her tray {she literally went all day without eating because she refused to eat what I was giving her}.  When I spanked her hand after giving her warnings about not turning off the DVD player she laughed and did it again.  Then, when I spanked her thigh she cried but looked at me and did it again!

This phase is going to have a lot of tears {on both of our parts}, a lot of pain {mostly for her, but I'm not completely heartless, it hurts me to discipline her too}, and a lot of testing {she tests her boundaries and I test just about every discipline method I can think of}.  But in the end I am going to win...I am going to break her...she is going to be obedient, and loving and respectful...she is, she just doesn't know it yet...because I said so {hahaha} and because I love her and I want what's best for her! {I wonder where she gets her stubbornness from?}

And just like all the other phases, I know with a TON of prayer and God's grace, we will both make it through...just in time to

INTRODUCE A NEW BABY {AHHHHH}!!!