2 year old and expecting again in April PLEASE HELP

Marie - posted on 02/24/2010

My son tried the temper tantrum thing around 18 mths or so & I IGNORED him. They want ANY attention whether positive or negative. My son found out real quick that it was not going to get him anywhere & stopped. He is now 2 1/2 yrs old & does not throw tantrums. Good luck, I heard girls are harder than boys when it comes to this. I am due with a girl in 4 1/2 weeks!

Amanda - posted on 02/23/2010

Sounds like the terrible 2's to me. Not a fun time....my lil one is 19 months and does the same thing! Patience...and if you have family close by get away for a break. I am also due in April...with my second girl. Remember girls also tend to be more drama queens than boys. I find that if I ignore her bad behavior & prase her constantly for all the good lil things she does it helps. We just have to remember to breath!

Autumn - posted on 02/23/2010

I agree with Natalie. My oldest, Daniel is 5 1/2, and my daughter Taylor is 22 months. I gave birth to my 3rd, Alice, on Dec. 4th. Children crave attention and usually they'll take anything they can get, be it positive or negative. We've gone through that a lot this year with Daniel in school. He seems willing to settle for negative attention and will misbehave in class to get his teacher's attention. At home he's great: sweet, sensative, very good with both his sisters, but I think that's in part because my husband and I work very hard to spend alone time each day with all the kids. When Daniel and Taylor act out I ignore them. Not completely of course, I'm always aware of where they are and what they're up to, but it's clear that we do not reward "bad" behavior with extra attention. If you want Mommy's attention and focus then you need to calm down and behave nicely. When Taylor gets into her moods, like you've described, when she throws little fits over the smallest thing, she's given a chance to calm down and if that doesn't work then we put her in her bed for a time out. That always works: she's alone in her bed, no Mommy or Daddy, and after about 5 minutes or so she's a whole new Taylor.

In regards to the new baby, I got pregnant with Alice while taking the mini pill and nursing still every day. We were surprised. My only regret was that by having Alice we were making Taylor a middle child. :) Again, I agree with Natalie's comments: get your daughter involved and do it in such a way that it empowers her and makes her feel closer to you and the baby. When we had Taylor we bought presents for Daniel that he was allowed to have when he came to visit us in the hospital. Plus, a lot of my friends are really great and when they came to visit me and the new baby they always brought stuff for my other two as well...even if it was something little it made a difference. Reminding them that you love them and that they are special too and that you once treated them the way you are treating the new baby is crucial.

Congratulations on your new addition! I hope your delivery goes well. Good luck with your daughter!! :)

Ashley - posted on 02/23/2010

Wow, same boat!!!LOl, My son turns 3 in March and I am due in April. He is something else....tantrums that make me crazy, he is very verbal for his age and tells you exactly how he feels!!!...lol. (I couldn't wait till he could talk..ha....what was I thinking) And now I am stressing about how I am going to handle him and an infant (son #2) and they tell you boys are easier to raise....hahaha. That's a joke. I think our key to #2 will be patience.....lots of it...lol

NICOLE - posted on 02/12/2010

oh my goodness nicole! i am a nicole too with a little girl who will be two in march and i am due at the 1st of may. lol so i need some advice here too. :) good luck and lets hope we can both keep our sanity bc my girl seems to be doing exactly what yours is doing AND my hubby is in the military and deploying in april so he will miss the birth and wont be home until the new baby is almost 3 months old. so again good luck to us both! :) :)

Stephanie - posted on 02/12/2010

I would suggest putting her in the corner for 2 minutes. If she gets out, put her back in it until she stays in there. I do a minute per/ year they're alive, and just put the timer on the microwave. My daughter is going to be a year old in a week and I'm due again with a boy in 39 days. My daughter listens when my husband says "no" but when I say "no" she smiles at me and points her finger at me and I can't help but laugh

Karen - posted on 02/10/2010

i have done that a few times .my advice is to make her feel special tell her she the BIG sister and mummys helper i found that to work well . i have also found that buying a present for the baby to give them helps .i have a 1,2,4,5 yr olds and currently 28weeks preg with twins so i have tried alot of different things but found this to work very well good luck enjoy your new bundle

Sarah - posted on 02/10/2010

Hi, my little girl has turned two about a month ago and i'm due in May. She has just started getting really sooky and really pushing me, but i think it's just cause she is bored. She has lots of things ect but i think she is just in the awkward stage of seeing how things work but not keeping up manualy or visa versa. let me know if you get any great help as i'm sure i'm heading into it LOL!

Liz - posted on 02/05/2010

My twins will be 2 in June and they're doing the exact same thing, especally my son. He's in to the phase of hitting me now and laughs when I try to correct him. I'm due in July so I'm hoping it's just a jealousy thing and it will pass after the baby is born.

I'm hoping that when the baby is born they will react a bit differently because I don't really think they trully understand what is going on right now.

Natalie - posted on 02/04/2010

My daughter is 25 months old and she is also in that phase that i absolutely do not like. She throws fits over things that aren't necessary but i also know that she's trying to find herself and establish her role in this family right now. She also can't verbalize what she wants the way she would like to. So her life isn't so easy at the moment. Poor thing, lol.



Anyways, i already have a 4 year old boy so i've been through this before. He was 23 months old when my daughter born and he'll be 4 1/2 when this baby is born. I'm expecting August 2nd.



The only thing you can do is get her involved. I tell her that Mommy has a baby in hr belly and i show her ultrasound pictures. I let her help clean the baby's room when i was setting up the crib etc. I'm not sure fi she understands what's coming but i also try out how she reacts to babies. I have a few friends that just had babies and she's doing really well around them. She's very careful and loving. It's so cute!

Make sure you spend enough alone time with your 1st so she doesn't feel left out. I know that's not gonna be easy but it's the only way you daughter will not feel left out and as if the baby is getting al lthe attention. She might act out in a really bad way.



I included my son as well when i was pregnant with my daughter. He was never really jealous of her, he always wanted to help me so sometimes i would let him hold the bottle or throw away a diaper for me etc. Made him feel important!