Monster Baby
The pictures above have nothing to do with my post I’m about to write. I was too busy scrubbing spaghetti O’s off the floor to take pictures today. Plus, my camera has a lousy flash and all the things I wanted to take pictures of (like Baby Bug squeezing behind the refrigerator) were too dark and badly lit and turned out with a horrible case of the red eyes. I should take the time to illustrate something but I’ve had a glass of wine and my pillow is calling me.
Phew what a day! I feel pretty dumb complaining about it too because a lot of people who read this blog have THREE kids or they have a kid AND a job or maybe they take care of their old diabetic grandmother who sneaks into the kitchen in her wheel chair and steals bread with sugar on it (a story Toby likes to tell). I know I’ve got it easy and I don’t deserve to complain. But since this is a blog and it’s either complain or go to bed, I think it’s okay to ramble on just a teeny bit. As long as I don’t belly ache too much, right?
I just want to say that this week Baby Bug has turned a corner in development and she is peeling out at ninety miles an hour and leaving steaming hot tracks behind her. Goodbye Sweet Babyhood, Hello Terrible Twos! She is into EVERYTHING!!!! I used to think I had the house pretty well baby-proofed. I didn’t realize it’s not something you can finish. It’s an ongoing process that needs to be reexamined every six months or less! She’s found places I didn’t even know existed to go and get stuck in. The old barriers I put up to keep her out of danger zones, like behind the television where all the cords and speakers are, they don’t work any more. She is like the monster truck of toddlers. She just scrambles up and over everything with her knobby grippy feet, leaving broken glass and waste behind her. I might as well just go live in a giant warehouse with a cement floor that I can hose off.
I think what tires me more than this latest explosion of activity is how she doesn’t want me any more. She doesn’t want me to hold her. She wiggles out of my grasp this way and that like a worm on a hook. She doesn’t want to hold my hand when we walk down the street. She wants to run ahead and pick up muddy rocks and dirt. She wants to examine bugs and cigarette butts that lie dead on the side walk. I’m so used to her being an extension of myself, all tucked away in her little baby carrier smiling and being cute… that this latest growth spurt of defiance and independence has left me spinning. And she’s ONLY 15 MONTHS!!! Whatever am I going to do when she’s a teenager?
Who knows.
Is that too much belly aching?
Maybe I should have just blogged about how much fun it is to buy ladybugs at Home Depot and let them go. That’s what we did this weekend. I took another quick trip out to the sticks this weekend and my mom surprised us with a bunch of ladybugs that we got to release into her garden. Baby Bug loved it. She’s partial to ladybugs. Every time she sees anything red with black spots, she starts sputtering raspberries because of this movie that she loves so much. It’s so funny. Bbbbbbbssppllspspslt! Baby Bug loves her bugs.
15 Comments
jeanetta darley
is the ladybug doing more of a “nana nana boo boo” or is it more like a rallying charge?
SAJ says: I think it’s a “nana nana boo boo” unfortunately. I know! What am I teaching my child!
BeachMama
Mmmmm… glass of wine…..
Now that I got past the fact that I am drooling for a glass of wine at 8:22am, I have to let you know that you are not alone. Everyone goes through that new discovery stage with their kids. Some have it worse than others, but eventually the kids all come back to their Mama. They run around, investigate, get tired and who do they ask for? MOM.
Wait until you hit the majic number of 3 when they start putting two and two together and think they are old enough to do things they shouldn’t, it’s a riot I tell ya.
Love the ladybugs :).
Jessica
Yeah… I’m right there with you. When the Triplets turned 15 months I pretty much started drinking at about noon, at around 18 months I started at around 10a, when they turned Two, I talked to my MD about inserting a permanent IV line for the sole purpose of liquor insertion. I gave up on wine when the boys were about 3 months old. I found it wasn’t nearly strong enough… I could still hear most of the screaming, and unfortunately most of it was mine. I knew was in for it when the girls arrived…
On a more serious note though, childproofing is a kick in the pants… If there’s any questions you have let me know, I’m pretty much the child proofing guru. I would say try to rope off certain areas of the house and use those as SPECIFIC Baby Bug areas, but it sounds like she’s had free reign for quite awhile… That might not go over too well… Let me know if I can help!
SAJ says: I was thinking of you when I wrote that top paragraph… except I should have said people who have mulitple MULTIPLES!!!!! How do you do it!
Anny
That jacket on her is too cute!
Angella
You have every right to complain – ALL stages of kids is hard, no matter what the age or the number of kids. Your story of he exploring reminded me of when Nathan was that age and I had to leave the park because he kept finding cigarette butts and kept trying to put them in his mouth! Gross. She’s just exploring…and will continue to keep you on your toes for…oh…I hear it’s for the rest of our lives :)
Gretchen
With each child there’s a learning curve – for both the kid and the adult. The nice thing about having more than one, is they can keep each other occupied. Also, at least for me, by the time #3 came, #1 was a pretty good helper. Now, with a 7, almost 5, and almost 3 year old, they’ve become rather self reliant – which is both good and bad.
And if you can’t complain on your blog, where can you?
Baby Bug is darling.
Jessica
Oh dear. I’m pretty sure that my daughter reads your blog because she is following in Baby Bug’s footsteps (a few months later.) However, I don’t think I’m ready for this new stage. Perhaps, could you put up a warning (for when she reads this) that says, “Ellie, do not try this at home?” Thank you so much.
Sleepynita
Af far as baby proofing goes, you are so right it is never done. My 10 month old gets into, onto and over everything already and I find myself re-examining our baby proofing every 6 minutes (not 6 months) lately. Have fun!
OMSH
There are some ways that having more than one is easier – so don’t beat yourself up about posting about your day. :)
salliekat
how fun!!!!!! take your vitamins and enjoy. my “babybug” is 22…and started walking at 9months…..hell on wheels. my best advice? NEVER EVER underestimate your child’s ability to learn what you can teach. :-)
Leah
BB is so stylish!
Sistina
I’m in the same boat! Mine is almost 16 months and it happened about a month ago. I thought for sure something was wrong with her. Who is this person and what have you done with my baby? It’s gotten a little bit better, but I know it’s going to be a rough couple of years. Good luck! I’ll keep my fingers crossed we both make it out alive.
Carrie
You have my utmost sympathy. Has she learned the word “no” yet? All day today it has been “no no no no NO NO NO NOOOOOO!!!!!!” as he digs in the trash, picks up dirty cigarette butts, steals things out of the fridge. . . . you get the idea. I have no idea when baby proofing ends.
irish mistery
Oooh, to be able to cuddle again! I hear ya…but then how exciting to watch a little person emerging into the world…I love watching my son grow and even though my heart sometimes aches for a cuddle, I love that he’s exploring (now only if he would do it wearing a helmut and pads forever)…aah, the life of a mom.
Bethany G.
Take heart, this phase won’t last forever. When my daughter was about Baby Bug’s age, we’d just moved across the country and were trying to get unpacked and settled into a new house–talk about fun! During that autumn, I remember calling my mom at least once a week to cry and complain about how Annalie suddenly was into everything and I was so exhausted from chasing her everywhere and I couldn’t even take my eyes off her long enough to make a decent meal, etc. But then one day I realized things had changed. I’m not sure if she settled down or if I got better at working around a toddler, but sometime between 18 and 20 months I stopped having to chase her around, and could actually leave her in a room alone for ten seconds without disaster occurring. So hang in there, know that it’ll get easier again, and complain on your blog anytime! It’s a great way to get tons of sympathy and advice, if nothing else. :-)