Help me survive the terrible twos
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| My 23-month old is a hot mess. Whiny, clingy, tantrums for any and all reasons, hitting, throwing, terrible sleep (waking up and screaming in the MOTN and again at 5am for the next hour until we come get him), the works. We set boundaries and are consistent in enforcing them. I am so tired, and my patience is wearing really, really thin. I remember a similar phase at exactly this age with my older child, but I think I blocked most of it out. Can anyone remind me how long I can expect this to last, and strategies to get through it? I find it really hard to cope when I'm exhausted and see no end in sight. |
Anonymous
|
No advice but here to commiserate. My 22mo DD is in some sort of wicked sleep regression that feels never ending. I don't remember any of the other regressions to be this bad or last this long. Every night is a gamble these days and when she does wake up, she's awake from midnight to 5AM when she happily falls back to sleep just in time for us to get up for work. This weekend she also decided to ditch her nap. I was happy to return to my quiet desk this morning after 3 sleepless days and nights.
I know it's a phase and I wish I could give you some magical advice. If you do get some, please share!! |
Anonymous
| another "no advice, but commiserate" post. fortunately -- knock on wood -- sleep is okay. but hot damn, she's throwing a tantrum every 10 minutes! (probably not literally, but feels like it.) she had some problem with the pants i put on her this morning, i wouldn't put on sesame street 5 minutes before we're to leave, and i had to put her in a car seat. |
Anonymous
| 25 months here and we're on the other side of it now. It started around 20 months for us, if I remember correctly. Stay consistent, set your boundaries, and hang in there! You can do it! |
Anonymous
| Check from her molars coming in. A little Motrin might do wonders. |
Anonymous
| Read No Bad Kids. Helped me a ton at this stage. |
Anonymous
| I found 20-22 months really, really rough for some reason. Since she has turned 2 she's been a real delight. Like something went off in her head and the tantrums really subsided. She is now 25 months and a genuine pleasure - I hope the same for you!! I listened to the audio book of No Bad Kids and while I didn't agree with all of it, there were some really good tidbits in there about staying calm in a storm... |
Anonymous
| My girls are almost 2 so about to get back into it myself--try using "1 2 3 Magic". We used it with my son, really was magic, good luck! |
Anonymous
|
Mine lasted about three months. So awful. Everything was a fight.
She has been delightful from about 25 months to now (2.5 years). And FWIW nothing really helped- 1-2-3 magic, boundaries, etc. We ended up just kind of enduring it and now we are on the other side (I know we will have more of the bad times, too!) |
Anonymous
| I have an almost 27month old DD and I’m starting to feel like have sweet little girl again. My husband jokes that I’m not bringing home the right kid from daycare because she’s been so nice and calm. Hang in there! |
Anonymous
Ours was also exactly 20-25 months. Brutal while we were going through it, but relatively short in the long view of things. |
Anonymous
| There's not much you can do other than be consistent, try to enforce boundaries while still being loving, and wait it out. I found the 3's to be MUCH MUCH harder than the 2's so it's all relative. |
girljoe
Member Offline
Member Offline
|
Losing sleep is rough, but there really isn't a set time for children to get thru a stage like that. Each little blessing is different.
It sounds like you have tried lots of things and you're consistent. Good for you, I lack consistency so I applaud it in others. Have your tried to give him a snack or a glass of milk or something like that? Maybe he wakes up angry because he's hungry. I'm sorry that your sleep is disturbed and I will say a prayer for y'all to get thru this stage quickly. |