Oh, dear Sebastian. I love you but lately, you are making my job as your mommy really hard. Not even lately. Always. You are just a tough nut to crack.
Since he was a baby, Sebastian has always been my fussy baby. Still a good baby but definitely the fussier of the two. He had to be held a certain way, had to be rocked for a long time, had to be swaddled extra tight. I even wrote about his fussiness back when he was just a wee one. When I watch that video of him as a whiny 8-month old, I feel like not much has changed. He still cries that exact same way.
He loses his shoe. Cry.
I wipe his snotty nose. Cry.
The food looks suspect. Cry.
I take too long to get him in the swing. Cry.
I give his sister the yellow spoon that he wanted. Cry.
I won't let him go in the car at 8:30am for no reason. Cry.
Waiting at the the top of the stairs while I bring the baby down. Cry.
He can't reach his binky that he just threw. Cry.
I go downstairs to go to the bathroom. Cry.
Diaper change. Cry.
So, wiser moms, is there a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel? Or will he be whining that his graduation cap doesn't stay on his head?
Oh well...you know...we say things like "Use your words..." and "Is that how you ask nicely?" only about a hundred times a day. On the bright side, it does feel like a major mommy accomplishment when they suck up the cry and "ask nicely"...it just takes time and a LOT of practice!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I'm not the only one dealing with this. My little one does a fake cry/whine all the time. She'll nap out of it if I distract her, but then she'll remember why she is pissed at me and start it up again. Oh joy.
ReplyDeleteMy Melody leans towards crying and whining, but she's growing out of it. My husband's been really strict about it: whine, or cry without good reason, and go to time out until it's out of your system. As her self-control improves, the whining decreases.
ReplyDeleteHang in there.
Thanks for the laugh. I know it’s not funny but the visual image of the crying is just so funny.
ReplyDeleteI remember Tertia posting about this too about her boy Adam. http://tertia.org
I have no suggestions – I actually need to write about it on my blog too because Kendra has become a real cry baby!
He sounds like a very sensitive little boy. Hannah and Sophie are the same. He'll outgrow it to some extent as he's better able to more thoroughly express himself with words and better control his own reactions. At just shy of 5, they are still sensitive, but at least we know exactly what aspect of a particular situation is upsetting them because they can give us a detailed description and often tell how we can help them make the situation better.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite books on dealing with with this issue and other related issues are:
The Highly Sensitive Child by Elaine Aron
and
Raising your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
Hi - My twin girls are almost two and one of them, K, sounds a little similar to Sebastian. The constant whining and crying was driving everyone crazy. Around 20 months, I finally decided to try giving K a time-out every time she whined (or cried for no reason). I made sure she knew I wasn't angry with her and told her she just needed to spend some time getting herself together and she could join us when she was done. After even the first few times doing this, she became a totally different person. She rarely whines anymore and 100% happier (and we all are, too). Now when she starts to whine I'll ask her if she wants to stop or if she wants to go into a time out and she'll say "all done crying" and then actually stop!
ReplyDeleteI also make sure that if she's whining or crying for something that I don't give it to her until she stops whining. It sounds kind of harsh, I guess, but I don't want her to think that whining gets her what she wants.
Ive got one too... She's gotten better, now that she's older and we can reason with her a little bit. Ive resorted to time-outs for crying and whining for no reason, and it's helped. She calms down quicker, and Ive really noticed a change in her and less time-outs. Hang in there!!
ReplyDelete