Saturday, August 23, 2008

Thing 1 & Thing 2



Thing 1 (Langston Hadley) has officially been all over Thing 2 (Zora Gwendolyn) & therefore driving me NUTS! He loves her, protects her from other curious toddlers, must see her (esp. when she's sleeping or when he comes in from school), feeds her, "holds" her, "reads" to her,...but that is not all, no, that is not all. For some reason he also smacks her around. **And here I would like to insert that we talk to him quite a bit about what is good & not so good to do with or to sister. We also try to make him realize that he is a "big boy" to her; she looks up to him. He wouldn't want a "big boy" to him (& we name his favs, Uncle Spence, Josh, etc.) to be mean to him...he seems to "get it" for a moment, but he's 3 & that moment passes. Before she was born I would think, "L. might be jealous, but he'd never abuse Zora." Ha, ha on me. A few days ago he twisted her ear (she'd been crying for a while & I think he had ENOUGH...it was naptime on his 1st day of school, aka, worn out L.). He got a 1.time out 2.spank (which is rare in our house) 3.no story telling before nap. Later on that evening he punched her (not hard, but still...) in the tummy! I couldn't believe it! Who was this scoundrel & what did he do with that sweet boy that I knew?! Anyway, I resorted to the same 1.& 2. punishment, but 3. was loss of all toys for the rest of the night. This meant he played with a cup in the bathtub & an empty egg carton & small piece of plastic that is suppose to be a monkey tail (all he could find in his room). He's been better since then, so I think that the extreme discipline has worked for now. I know he's jealous (mainly about nursing time), but I've done all the things I know to do (read while nurse, let him "help," talk about how much Z. loves him/loves to watch him, remind him that she can't eat/do what he can...& more) & yet it's tough. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks/months, when she interacts more, he'll dig this whole having a sister thing & we'll stop the hate. The love-hate thing is rough for the parents. And I guess for the kids, too.

7 comments:

melanie said...

sounds like you handled it perfectly. What can you do? Daisy did her share of that too. And usually for no reason...just SMACK! and I was like, "Get behind me Satan! Where did that come from?" :)But you are a SUPER mom. I will keep watching you for advice...speaking of..i cant remember how I transitioned daisy to all real food and whole milk. Google is no help...any tips?

and send me the HU thing that B wrote. I have been meaning to tell you to send it and keep forgetting!!

The Penter Family said...

You may not agree, but that is hilarious!

Nina Long said...

Oh girl I feel your pain. Jake thinks Ty is a practice bag for tackle football. He gets at the end of the hall and tackles him like a football player. It's terrible! I figure this will only get worse before it gets better! *haha*

Sarah said...

I agree that you seem to be on top of the discipline. You are very thoughtful about how you handle L. We are currently dealing with how to start disciplining Aurie. She is a very stubborn little girl! Maybe we should have another chat soon.

Lindy said...

hey girl! I feel your pain! but now that my # 2 child about outweighs #1, it goes both ways!!! I am so baffled at how siblings can go from kissy lovey to head butting and kicking in 30 seconds flat! Sounds like you are doing all the right things, and L will learn soon! best of luck!!!

Emily Goodman said...

Didn't Barclay treat Logan that way? It may be in his genes!!!

Jessie said...

Oh man, that doesn't sound like Langston at all! Calvin is also not his sweetest little self lately. I think things will improve when they turn 4. Cal is pretty nice to Mi, but he gets so angry with me and melts down so much more lately. They must be going through some major development. It's a tough stage, much worse than the non-threatening fits of the terrible twos.
I feel your pain. Zora's tough, she'll be OK.
I'm actually relieved to hear that you spank on rare occasion, because I swore I never would, but I've had to use that horrible tactic too. It stinks, I hate it, but it makes a rare, strong point. I still can't condone it, but I now understand it.
Anyway, I think you're fabulous, as always. Tell L. we love him and to come visit us! Calvin needs him (and I need a Sonya fix).