Now that Patrick is standing alone quite well, we feel sure his first steps can't be far away. With that milestone, he will officially be a toddler. Matt and I aren't entirely sure "toddler" is the correct terminology, though. Matt suggested the term "turdler" the other day when Patrick was showing some of his toddler tendencies.
It appears as though now that Patrick is becoming more vocal, mere crying will no longer get our attention appropriately. He hasn't figured out yet about yelling specific words to get the same effect. So instead, he found a perfect scream/squeal that is absolutely impossible to ignore. It's partially a loud, annoying screaming noise (think the most annoying sound in the world from Dumb and Dumber) combined with a squeal that I suspect only dogs can hear. It most certainly gets our attention, and it takes every ounce of self-control to ignore it. Our theory is that giving him what he wants when he screams like that will only encourage him to repeat it the next time he wants something.
Matt and I are also learning that the best way to approach most of his "turdler"-like behaviors is with a sense of humor. Although that's difficult with the ear-piercing screech, I found it easier to do when I walked into his room after naptime the other day. We baby-proofed his room flawlessly--so we thought--when we moved him to a toddler bed and he refused to sleep in his own bed, choosing instead to play until he fell into an exhausted sleep on the floor. He never did get to sleep during one naptime a few days ago. He discovered the joys of drawers, namely the ones in his dresser. Up until that day, he had ignored the dresser altogether, and we hadn't thought about the possibility of him getting into the drawers. Chalk that mistake up to first-time parents. Naturally, I walked into his room after his unsuccessful nap to find him standing at an open drawer with a onesie in one hand and a proud grin on his face. Strewn around the room were various articles of clothing and blankets. He couldn't have been more proud of the mess he'd made. Even faced with the inevitable clean-up, what else could I do but laugh?
Needless to say, we installed drawer locks on the dresser drawers asap (okay, Matt did).
True to toddler form, Patrick has suddenly developed a gourmet taste that is a mystery to everyone. Up until a few weeks ago, he ate just about everything we put in front of him. He had a few favorites but would eat anything. Then all of a sudden one day, a food he had liked a few days ago was intolerable. Since that day, it has become a gamble about whether or not he will eat what we fix him, even if he loved the food the last twelve times we fed it to him. We're learning a few tricks to persuade him to eat some of the disgusting food, such as giving him a spoon to hold (I guess it makes him feel like he has a bigger part in the feeding) or acting like we're about to eat it. If he thinks it's Mommy and Daddy food, it seems to go down a little easier. That's the other trick we learned: give him whatever we eat, if he can tolerate it. Whenever possible (i.e. whenever I don't have such a random and bizarre craving or specific food I can stand to eat), we plan our menu around what we think he might enjoy. Right now, that trick seems to be working. But if I understand toddlers and their eating habits correctly, that trick will only work so long before he finds a new way to frustrate us with his inconsistent eating habits.
It appears as though now that Patrick is becoming more vocal, mere crying will no longer get our attention appropriately. He hasn't figured out yet about yelling specific words to get the same effect. So instead, he found a perfect scream/squeal that is absolutely impossible to ignore. It's partially a loud, annoying screaming noise (think the most annoying sound in the world from Dumb and Dumber) combined with a squeal that I suspect only dogs can hear. It most certainly gets our attention, and it takes every ounce of self-control to ignore it. Our theory is that giving him what he wants when he screams like that will only encourage him to repeat it the next time he wants something.
Matt and I are also learning that the best way to approach most of his "turdler"-like behaviors is with a sense of humor. Although that's difficult with the ear-piercing screech, I found it easier to do when I walked into his room after naptime the other day. We baby-proofed his room flawlessly--so we thought--when we moved him to a toddler bed and he refused to sleep in his own bed, choosing instead to play until he fell into an exhausted sleep on the floor. He never did get to sleep during one naptime a few days ago. He discovered the joys of drawers, namely the ones in his dresser. Up until that day, he had ignored the dresser altogether, and we hadn't thought about the possibility of him getting into the drawers. Chalk that mistake up to first-time parents. Naturally, I walked into his room after his unsuccessful nap to find him standing at an open drawer with a onesie in one hand and a proud grin on his face. Strewn around the room were various articles of clothing and blankets. He couldn't have been more proud of the mess he'd made. Even faced with the inevitable clean-up, what else could I do but laugh?
Needless to say, we installed drawer locks on the dresser drawers asap (okay, Matt did).
True to toddler form, Patrick has suddenly developed a gourmet taste that is a mystery to everyone. Up until a few weeks ago, he ate just about everything we put in front of him. He had a few favorites but would eat anything. Then all of a sudden one day, a food he had liked a few days ago was intolerable. Since that day, it has become a gamble about whether or not he will eat what we fix him, even if he loved the food the last twelve times we fed it to him. We're learning a few tricks to persuade him to eat some of the disgusting food, such as giving him a spoon to hold (I guess it makes him feel like he has a bigger part in the feeding) or acting like we're about to eat it. If he thinks it's Mommy and Daddy food, it seems to go down a little easier. That's the other trick we learned: give him whatever we eat, if he can tolerate it. Whenever possible (i.e. whenever I don't have such a random and bizarre craving or specific food I can stand to eat), we plan our menu around what we think he might enjoy. Right now, that trick seems to be working. But if I understand toddlers and their eating habits correctly, that trick will only work so long before he finds a new way to frustrate us with his inconsistent eating habits.
Labels: Feeding, Fun Stories
2 Comments:
Macaroni and Cheese or Grilled Cheese Sandwich, both his Dad's favorites when he was a toddler.
Hee hee! I can just picture Patrick's proud look with clothes slung everywhere. He's so smart! :)
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