my 8 month old is an asshole.

[Anonymous]

She was a PERFECT baby from the very beginning. Great nurser, sweet temperament, happy to play or to just sit by herself, slept through the night at just a few weeks old, etc., etc. Now at 8 months that has all changed. She wakes up in the night for no apparent reason other than wanting to be held or wanting to scream. She gets mad when it's naptime. She will eat solids only if she is fed; anything else is immediately thrown on the floor. She whines constantly if I am not doing exactly what she wants at any given moment. I have gotten really fed up with her a few times and yelled or slammed an object down in exasperation and she just laughed (better than whining, at least). Are most 8 month olds like this? Am I going to see my sweet, happy little girl again or is she just going to be difficult from here on out?

[Anonymous]

Like mother like daughter.

[Anonymous]

Most kids go through an asshole phase and then emerge as sweet as ever. Until the dick phase.

[Anonymous]

You're kidding, right?

An 8th month old is an asshole?

If it's really too much you can always drop her at a firehouse and not face charges of abandonment.

[Anonymous]

Yup, welcome to having an actual baby OP. Don't know what was wrong with yours in the beginning, but it's over now. Enjoy the memories!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids go through an asshole phase and then emerge as sweet as ever. Until the dick phase.

This.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's normal - totally normal, hopefully just a phase for your DD. When's the last time you got some "me time"? Every couple of months, I start to loose my mind, easily irritated by normal baby behavior and all it takes is 2-4 hours out with a girlfriend to come home happy to see my little girl. When I'm happy and can deal with her little fits better, she's happy and cries less. It's a beneficial cycle.

Do what you need to take care of yourself. Check out for a few hours, even a day, and then come back stronger. It's normal and fixable. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Oh, they only get worse too. She's gonna be a huge c-word when she's a toddler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup, welcome to having an actual baby OP. Don't know what was wrong with yours in the beginning, but it's over now. Enjoy the memories!

Oy. It is amazing watching her become more independent, but it was SO much easier when she was a newborn or even a couple months ago. She has been learning to crawl and is starting to get the hang of moving forward this week instead of just backward/in a circle, and has really been working hard at it. Any chance that could be related?

[Anonymous]

Don't worry, OP. Pretty soon she'll go back to being content to have no interaction or help from mommy again. Then you can neglect her again without all this drama, and just prop her up on some pillows with a bowl of mashed peas and go back to your wine drinking as before.

[Anonymous]

So what exactly did you think it would be like to raise a child? She's not a baby doll, she's a HUMAN. You can't just turn her off when you're done playing.

Talk to your pediatrician to get some recommendations for early childhood development books. Seek out some parenting classes, and if need be, a good counselor/therapist so you can see past the end of your own nose and be the mother that your child deserves. Because your attitude is toxic and unrealistic, and if you don't adjust your expectations STAT you are going to look back and realize you screwed up some of the most important developmental years in your child's life. Getting angry and slamming objects at an 8 month old is not healthy behavior. Surely you know this already?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly did you think it would be like to raise a child? She's not a baby doll, she's a HUMAN. You can't just turn her off when you're done playing.

Talk to your pediatrician to get some recommendations for early childhood development books. Seek out some parenting classes, and if need be, a good counselor/therapist so you can see past the end of your own nose and be the mother that your child deserves. Because your attitude is toxic and unrealistic, and if you don't adjust your expectations STAT you are going to look back and realize you screwed up some of the most important developmental years in your child's life. Getting angry and slamming objects at an 8 month old is not healthy behavior. Surely you know this already?

+1

I want to be empathic, OP, because parenting is a tough gig. But really, did you consider at all the bolded phrase above? I don't think most people are fully able to grasp the emotional reality of what that means until they're in it (I certainly couldn't) but you have to know it intellectually beforehand and then embrace it wholeheartedly once your child arrives. If you can't do that, you find the resources that will help you get to that point. You owe it to your child.

[Anonymous]

This will pass. Don't start yelling and slamming. She isn't trying to be contrary. She's years away from that. Get some help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. Pretty soon she'll go back to being content to have no interaction or help from mommy again. Then you can neglect her again without all this drama, and just prop her up on some pillows with a bowl of mashed peas and go back to your wine drinking as before.

I have spent nearly every minute of her 8 month life feeding, playing, snuggling, babywearing, diapering, bathing her, etc. There is absolutely no neglect here, but I used to be able to sit next to her and fold laundry, or scarf a bowl of cereal here and there while she played. Those things have been infinitely more difficult recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry, OP. Pretty soon she'll go back to being content to have no interaction or help from mommy again. Then you can neglect her again without all this drama, and just prop her up on some pillows with a bowl of mashed peas and go back to your wine drinking as before.

I have spent nearly every minute of her 8 month life feeding, playing, snuggling, babywearing, diapering, bathing her, etc. There is absolutely no neglect here, but I used to be able to sit next to her and fold laundry, or scarf a bowl of cereal here and there while she played. Those things have been infinitely more difficult recently.