Toddler Issues

[Anonymous]

ME AGAIN! So our days of battling reflux might be over…but the terrible twos seems to have struck our household. Sarah has two major issues right now that I need some help with.

1) She is absolutely fighting every clothing change. Getting her dressed in the morning has become a war. She does NOT want me to change her diaper or take off her pjs. It has made my mornings very chaotic and stressful! Not a good way to start the day! Will this pass? Is there a better way to handle it other than wrestling with her to try to get her dressed? She typically loves clothes (especially accessories like gloves, socks, hats, coats, purses, shoes, etc…) Why the fight now?

2) Sarah has learned how to take off her pants and now her diaper. She mainly does this during nap time when she’s “supposed” to be falling asleep. Unfortunately, if there is poo in the diaper she will play in it!!! That has happened twice now at daycare! YUCK! I have resorted to buying some onesies to put on under her clothes. She has tried to get it off, but hasn’t figured it out (yet) So this has helped temporarily, but how do I solve the bigger issue? A few people have suggested she might be ready for potty training, but I really don’t think so. I guess I could try introducing the potty to her again and see what happens but I don’t know what else to do!!

We are seeing temper tantrums now as well and I’m trying my hardest to take it all in stride and realize it’s part of her development but WHEW I don’t know if I’m cut out for this!!

HELP!

[Anonymous]

Alex is doing many of the same things. I’m afraid that I’m no help in the clothing department. She has been fighting diaper and clothing changes for several months now. I’m hoping that it will end soon, but I’m not counting on it. I remember Kaelyn doing it for a really long time.

We have not had the diaper issue, but my sister nannies for twins that did the same thing. They ended up having to duct tape the diapers on for nap and night time. I like your onesie idea. Hopefully it will keep working for you.

Sorry that I wasn’t more help!

[Anonymous]

We have the same issue with changing him.. EVERY diaper change and whenever I try and get him dressed. I have no help here.. only sympathy 😉

But with taking off her diaper. My SIL had the same issue with her youngest. She would take it off and play with her poop and smear it all over the crib! So what I THINK i remember her saying was the she would but Onesie PJ’S on her inside out… the zipper kind. I also recall her trying to pin them together. Ducktape sounds like a good idea as well.

I wonder why so many of them like to do this!?? It will pass though… but I dont think potty training or something else will solve the “bigger” problem.. it just sounds like a phase that they will outgrow.

[hellbennt]

is it a warmth isssue in the morning? not wanting to get undressed from being all warm and cozy in pajamas? that’s how I feel, LOL!!!

I wish I had a magic answer…my answer is always a song– but really, a wake up song-changing diaper song- the sillier the better & if you make up hand movements (clapping, etc) to involve her in it, maybe it’ll help distract her as you do the things you need to do…

or maybe when you change her let her ‘pick’ from 2 things what to wear-again, being silly about it…

that’s all I’ve got

[Anonymous]

It’s been impossible to change Ariella’s diaper. I just stick something in her hand and sing a song or tell her a story. Not that it works every time but it does sometimes. The tantrums have been out of this world. She’s getting worse and worse every day as if she knows that the competition is only a few months away. Ugh…I have a feeling she won’t make it easy for us 🙁

[Anonymous]

Well, no advice here, but a funny story to make you feel better that it happens to everyone…..

When Griffin was about 2 he fought me tooth and nail about getting dressed and one summer morning on one of my days off, I had it so I let him go naked. No pull up or nothing! Anyway, we have a chair in front of a split pic window in the front of our house and he opened one of the windows and climbed up on the chair. Well I was in the bedroom putting clothes away and the doorbell rang and I heard this guy say “woah buddy, you don’t have any clothes on!”

It was a police officer and he was in the neighborhood b/c our next door neighbors purse had been stolen and he wanted to talk to all the neighbors. I stuttered around a lot trying to explain to a middle aged man why my 2 year old didn’t have a bit of clothes on at 10 ‘o clock in the morning.

He looked at me strangely and then left. But I bet all you mommies can understand!!!

Now he’s almost 4 and dressing himself….. With a lot of encouragement! You’ll get through it!! As for the taking off the diaper! Never had that experience fortunately!!

[Anonymous]

I am already fighting Cooper for diaper changes and clothes so I am of absolutely no help… I just hope it gets easier from here. My dad loves to tell the story of how when I was a baby he heard me laughing in my crib after my nap and when he came in to get me… I was naked with my poopy diaper smeared all over me the crib and the walls and how he just took me and the crib outside and hosed us off…. The joys of parenthood…. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I feel so much better knowing that I am not alone! I mean, I KNEW that toddlers were supposed to be temperamental…it’s just still reassuring to hear it from other people!! The clothing changes have gotten a little better, but she still has her moments.

Laura, I think you might be right about wanting to stay warm in her pjs. She loves her one piece slippered pjs that zip all the way up. When I go to try to change her diaper or attempt to take them off, she pulls the two sides of the pjs back to the middle and says “zip please”. (well, it’s more like zip peesh, but I know what she means!) Then keeps saying PLEASE until she realizes I’m not going to do what she wants and the tantrum erupts.

The onesie trick has worked well so far. Sunday she didn’t have one on so I just kept a close eye on her in the monitor during all naps. She didn’t even try to take off her clothes. Although, as soon as I relax and think she’s “over it”…she’ll prove me wrong!

Anyway, thanks for the sympathy and support. Your responses really did make me feel a lot better!

[Anonymous]

Hi Amy, I feel your pain about the getting dressed thing. Seth is so bad sometimes, I feel like I have put in a day’s work before we even get out the door! He fights me on everything! He hates having his diaper changed too. When I tell him it’s time to get his poopy changed, he tells me he is still going and runs off!

Anyway, I have started letting Seth sleep in his shirt that he will wear the next day if it is a comy one and that at least helps a little bit. I guess this may not work for you since you have the other problem too!

Another thing I have had to do, is start buying all of his clothes with things on them that he likes like basketballs or characters and then I talk up about putting on the ‘cool basketball shirt’.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

When Alexis was that age she loved to be naked! We had a dinner party at our house we even had a teenage baby-sitter to watch her during the party. We all thought she was sleeping, the baby-sitter went to the bathroom and the sneaky little girl climbed out of her bed and came downstairs, in front of everyone in the living room took off her footie pajamas and proceeded to take off her diaper and ran thoughout the entire house, DH and I were in the kitchen the farthist room away so we did not see the actually removal of clothing, but all we hear of laughing and comments such as “Boy, does she take after her Daddy or what?” most of the guest were our old college friends, DH was a frat boy so I guess she is just starting her streaking period of life a little early. My Best friend and Alexis’s Godmother was in the room and I asked why she didn’t stop it, she said it was just too funny and she just couldn’t stop laughing, she couldn’t even attempt to try to chase her. My motified baby sitter was so upset when she went back into her room and she wasn’t there, she ran downstairs in a complete panic since Alexis was missing since did not even pay attention to the pieces of clothing by the staircase or all the people laughing, she was just tearful trying to find me! Needless to say she got paid really well that night, and I don’t think she was willing to baby sit again! I guess it was a party that nobody is going to forget and also birth control for many of our friends since they did not have kids yet! Taylor hasn’t been doing anything like that yet, I just can wait until she does, since she is quite delayed in reaching her developmental milestones, if you classify that is a milestone! I’m just hoping for the day the come soon that Taylor does the exact thing, I think I would be jumping for joy and grabbing the camcorder since it would be a big accomplishment! Good luck! No advice, sorry just a another story to share!

Alexis’s mom2007-12-06 21:03:09

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard of some people putting diapers on backwards (tabs at the back) and then they are harder to take off! Fortunately neither of my kids has tried to take them off themselves, but I’ve certainly gone through the tantrums of not wanting to have the diaper changed! For Ben, I found it A LOT easier to switch to pull-ups. They are quicker to change (as long as not a poopy diaper) because you can just pull them off and pull a new one on without having to lay them down, etc. They may also be harder for her to get out of at naptime because there aren’t any tabs to pull?

Good luck – you are not alone!

[Author]

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