I'm DRAINED!!!!

I'm so emotionally drained today! I took 2-year-old DS to the pool today. We were there about 2 1/2 hours...about an hour longer than I would have liked. So when I told him it was time to go, he was not ready. When I took him into the bathrooms to change his clothes, he pitched the almighty biggest fit of his life. I wasn't even sure what to do because by this point, he's completely naked and I can't very well take him back to the lounge chairs to get the rest of our things without a stitch of clothing on. He's squirming and making it impossible to dress him and screaming so that my eardrums felt like they were going to pop. Then he slid and fell and hit the back of his head on the cement wall in the bathrooms. He stops crying long enough to register shock that he's bumped his head and then continues with his fit. When I got him home FINALLY and was giving him a shower I noticed red splotchy marks where he bumped his head. I took him to the hospital for Dr. Daddy to take a look at it. Daddy thought it was fine, no big deal.....but I am so completely drained from the fit and the worrying I did over the bumped, bruised head.

Re: I'm DRAINED!!!!

I'm sure you are drained! That sounds like a doozy.

FWIW:

he's completely naked and I can't very well take him back to the lounge chairs to get the rest of our things without a stitch of clothing on.

Next time that is exactly waht I would do. Drag him out naked. There's no one who hasn't seen little kid nakedness, and no one (in their right mind) who wouldn't get that it's b/c of his fit that you're doing it. If it helps snap him back into reality before tossing enough of a fit to hurt himself, all the better.

There's an old story (about 6 months or so) about Nellie finally just putting a naked Anna in the carseat to go pick up her sister. Sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do.

[Momo]

:thud: I'm sure these are a couple of emoticons that are befitting of the outing melt down!


:therethere:

That made me laugh! Which is good b/c I'm so close to crying right now. Did I mention that at the pool were 3 moms from the school where I teach? That was another factor in not dragging the little guy out naked. The moms at my school are so gossippy! I could just imagine them at the next soccer game talking about me and my naked, screaming toddler at the pool. EEK!

[madeintaiwan]

Re: I'm DRAINED!!!!

I'm sure you are drained! That sounds like a doozy.

FWIW:

he's completely naked and I can't very well take him back to the lounge chairs to get the rest of our things without a stitch of clothing on.

Next time that is exactly waht I would do. Drag him out naked. There's no one who hasn't seen little kid nakedness, and no one (in their right mind) who wouldn't get that it's b/c of his fit that you're doing it. If it helps snap him back into reality before tossing enough of a fit to hurt himself, all the better.

There's an old story (about 6 months or so) about Nellie finally just putting a naked Anna in the carseat to go pick up her sister. Sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do.

I second what Jenn said. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. My kids know fit or not they're going to do what I ask them to do and if they don't no one is too grown to be put into the football hold and taken to where they need to be. Especially when safety is an issue.

Sorry you had such a day. Glad that he's alright.

[DCJenn]

Here's what I say about the other moms: F 'em, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I've done the football hold of hysterical child more than once. (nearly happened today at the grocery store)

and nekked teaches consequences better than you could talk about them!

What a day.

Just know that all of us w/ small people have felt your pain... my mother's cure for everything from cramps to a bad day with a toddler: two ibuprofins and a glass of white wine.

Jenn

[Phoebe]

Glad to love those meltdowns. Hope you got some rest and the remainder of the day was uneventful.

[houseelf]

I'm so sorry that this happened to you. These are AWFUL.

Does it make me a total troll to admit that I'm also some what relieved that I'm not alone?

DD threw a DOOZIE of a fit at the Children's museum...hitting, kicking, biting. She threw her head onto the pavement and gave herself a bloody nose. So I place her in the aforementioned football hold, try to walk calmly out of the museum with a hysterical blood covered little girl. I'm sure people wondered about the source of her accident. She hasn't thrown one of these in awhile. I don't know what is up. (I did notice that they got terrible the two weeks right after our move).

Seriously, what do you with this. It makes me nervous to go anywhere..
How do you all with multiple kids go anywhere? Kris, this is your cue to pipe in and say, "Well, Kendall's behavior is clearly the result of bad parenting. " For the most part I can count on decent behavior from my older child, except for the normal kid stuff: nagging, forgetting to use his silverware properly, sneaking in some teasing of his sister.....

ARGH.

Can we get these two together for a play date?

Kelly

:hey:

That was me, I put Anna in the carseat without a stitch of clothing and went on my merry way to run errands. FWIW, I knew I would be getting her out of the car. It was mid-December and the car was a little chilly when we left. She told me she was chilly. You think? Maybe you should have put clothes on when I asked!

Can I say it for you, Kelly? Clearly, Kendall's tantrum is the result of bad parenting. BTDT. I usually try to inform the audience a bit by what I say to her -- really, I'm her mom. Which does kind of make me wonder because I've told my kids to yell and scream if someone they don't know tries to take them somewhere....

[houseelf]

The ironic thing about many of DD's tantrums...they are the partial byproduct of characteristics that are admirable and will take her far. She once threw a fit because SHE wanted to fasten the buckles on her carseat all by herself as opposed to mom doing it to expediete the process. Kendall is also the child who stands up for herself and ...ah...articulates her wants and needs rather than running to mom and crying about it. She is very bright and energetic. On the flip side, when the weather turns stormy, you'd better batten down the hatches. She is my child who needs some external limitations place to protect her.

In contrast, my son, who had fewer tantrums during the twos, needs more prodding. His desire to please people can hurt him and makes him more prone to peer pressure. (This is hard for me to watch because it took my thirty years to get over this myself). I *try* to keep this global picture in mind when I struggle with DD, but holy crap, this is just one more instance which reminds me that parenting is not for the faint of heart.

Kelly

Kendall sounds a lot like Bryn and to a lesser degree like Anna. I feel your pain. We have had the same seatbelt issue here. The nice thing is that Anna can now buckle herself in to her carseat by herself. Those characteristics do mellow and become a lot more positive.

[houseelf]

I'm hoping that Evelyn turns out to be Ms. Mellow Yellow, stereotypical third baby for you? This "girl power" thing, while wonderful, is exhausting.

Kelly

We're not off to the right start on that. Her new obsession is pulling up. She is 7 months. Little Miss Determination. I have good practice under my belt.