Toddler Fears and other fun milestones!

Right around the time that Leah turned 2 we started to notice odd behaviours - specifically she started to develop some real and quite irrational fears of things.  It started with the first snowfall of the season.  Leah had been too young the previous winter to even remember the snow so we were all excited for her to experience it for the "first time." We bundled her up and headed outside expecting her to delight in the winter wonderland that had appeared overnight.  Instead she screamed and cried and uttered the mantra that we would hear repeatedly for the days and months to come - "I don't like snow!"

The truth is - I don't like snow either so I really didn't think it was a big deal until I started to notice the sheer panic she would feel at the thought of going outside.  She didn't just dislike the snow - she was terrified of it. Along with her fear of snow she started to be afraid to go to bed.  Admittedly this was the fear that really got our attention.  Leah is one of those kids who has always been a great sleeper.  From a very young age she would go to bed around 6:30pm and we wouldn't hear a peep from her for 12 hours.  When our blissful sleeps started being interrupted we knew we had a problem and so I took to the internet and was amazed to find that there are dozens of articles that talk about "toddler fears" as a real and valid milestone. 

According to Dr. Heather from babyshrink.com "Toddlers often develop these quirky preferences and fears, seemingly all of a sudden. Partly it has to do with their growing awareness that scary things CAN happen."  

We found that the best way to deal with Leah's fears was to first acknowledge them and then reassure her that she was safe.  We worked through Leah's fear of going to sleep by getting her a night light and leaving her bedroom door open a crack.  Those little changes along with a pile of reassurance have helped her work through her fears and now we're back to a normal sleep pattern.  

As for the snow - the kid lives in Canada so we had to tackle this a little more "head-on" by finding things that she would enjoy doing in the snow like shovelling.  So I got out her beach toys and let her have some fun in the white stuff and little by little she has adjusted to the snow.  Does she love the snow - no - but she can now go outside without having a complete meltdown.  The truth is she may never love the snow - there's lots of us who feel that way too!

"I don't like snow!"

The Terrible Twos have come to town!

So my baby girl turned 2 on December 2nd.  We had a wonderful "Dora-themed" party which included a cake in the image of her favourite TV character.  The guests followed suit with many Dora-inspired gifts and overall it was a wonderful day.

As 2 was approaching for our little Leah I have to admit that I was noticing the things that we seemed to breeze past with Cooper - namely the things associated with the Terrible Twos.  Most notable would be the emergence of the temper tantrum.  There was a stretch there in the early Fall when I believe Leah spent more time in melt-down-mode than she did eating or playing.  Just the slightest adjustment or alteration to her schedule could send her off like a rocket.

And she she cries, she really commits.  No matter what we do the kid can cry...and cry...and CRY!  And not the wimpery little stuff...my husband once described the sound as compared to what it would sound like if you were skinning her.  Awful!

Unfortunately this meant that for a short amount of time I have to admit that I didn't really enjoy my time with Leah and I found myself leaving her at daycare until the last possible second so that all I'd have was about an hour before we started bathtime.  I wanted to like her...I kept looking for the littlest things but the truth was she stressed us out.

Leah seems to be building a bit of a Dora collection!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

The terrible twos have arrived!

This is when the rubber really starts to hit the road in parenting.  As much as it would have been easier to let her eat a cookie for dinner or to just plunk her in front of the TV we had to hunker down, be firm and remain consistent.  Every time she screamed because she didn't get her way she was asked to go sit in time-out on the step.  After a while she would go there willingly and we'd all calm down and regroup.  I can already see that the outbursts are lessening and the harmony of our dinner hour is being restored.  That's not to say that things are without flaws - just moving in that direction and sometimes all you need is that little glimmer of hope to keep doing what you're doing.

The Peanut Allergy - A New Chapter

In November we had our little Leah tested for a peanut allergy following a reaction she'd had to peanut butter the month before.  I was very anxious about the test because I didn't really know what to expect (not to mention the fact I was afraid for the outcome) and had been told that it can be quite painful for little ones.  Add to that a not-so-friendly receptionist who required both Peter and I to be present at the test to "hold her down" and by the morning of the test I was quite anxious.

Add to all of this the fact that my little Leah isn't always great with managing change and new experiences - especially of the medical kind and it was a stress-invoking day for me!  

I decided to spend the morning coaching Leah about what would be happening that day.  Since she was not even 2 yet I had to really simplify the situation.  I told her "We are going to see the Doctor today and that he was going to put some medicine on her back and that she'd have a lay on her tummy for a little while until the medicine went away." I repeated the mantra over and over again until she could say it with me.  

And as is often the case - the experience went well.  She didn't need to be held down, the prick of the needles didn't phase her at all and she was perfectly happy to sit still (on my lap and not on her tummy) and watch Dora until the test was complete.  The down side was of course that within 5 minutes of the test her little arm started to react to the peanuts and thus a new chapter has begun in our lives.

It's hard to say how Leah would have reacted had the test been like the receptionist had indicated.  I'm glad that I took the time to prepare her so that she could manage her own anxiety.  As language develops these types of things may become easier although with our little Miss Leah you never can tell!