HORRIFIC
HATED
SCARY
DREADED
I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT
TERRIBLE TWO STAGE!!!
Dun dun dun.
*Cue scary horror flick music*
I'm hoping and praying that this was just a bad couple of hours due to um, urn, lack of sleep? Teething? Anything?
*Please, for all of you mothers of older children, let me think this for now. It helps me cope. :)*
Seriously though, it could have been a one-time thing, right? Ok, maybe not one-time, but one-time as in "not part of the terrible twos" thing. No? I'm delusional? Ok, thanks.
I can honestly say I've never seen my child act that bad. Here's the story:
We were at Cracker Barrel. (Ok, I realize now that was our first mistake. Cracker Barrel on a Sunday at noon? Yeah, bad idea.) It was crazy crowded, and we had the worst server known to man. Levi was perfectly content with his trains and books until the food got there. Then, out of nowhere, he wanted out of his chair. And I mean, NOW! But he didn't want to sit with me. Oh no, he wanted DOWN, as he told me over and over again in that whiny pitiful little crying voice. Once I made him sit back down in his highchair (the one without a strap-second mistake of the day), he actually ate a little bit. Granted, he only wanted his chicken if it was dipped in thousand island dressing, but hey, he ate. And then, BAM, the brat side came out of him like I've never seen. He was inconsolable! After an internal debate, I took him to the bathroom. We "talked" and I made him sit by himself for a minute. He seemed sorry (gave me a sweet hug) so we went back. It took all of 30 seconds for him to lose it once again. Now the internal debate (and external) really got going. Do I take him out, making everybody around me happy, but ultimately giving him his way and not helping anything? Or, do I make him sit there, making everybody miserable but teaching him that he is NOT the boss? I did a compromise: We went back to the bathroom for another timeout and a "talk". This one seemed to work because when we went back, he was much better. It took all of my willpower (and pride) but we stayed. We didn't stay much longer, but we stayed.
(Mom: 1, Baby: 0)
I realized after we left, I had become "that parent". You know the one where you're in the restaurant, and the kid is being horrible, and you wonder "why doesn't she just take him out?". Well, this is why: I refuse to give him his way just because I'm embarrassed. He was not yelling. He was not crying uncontrollably. He was just whiny. It was probably so loud in there that nobody else heard it. If I'd honestly thought he was bothering anybody other than the poor people at our table, I probably would've thought longer about taking him out and never coming back. But as it was, it was rough.
I seriously hope this was just a bad couple of hours. After his nap, he was Mr. Sweet again, hugging me, kissing me, and laying his head on my shoulder. How can I resist a little boy who wanted nothing but my hand as he fell asleep that night?
I have to admit, we've had it pretty easy. I mean, he's always been a good sleeper. He gave up his bottle and paci without a fight. He's a laid-back and happy kid. So, yeah, I'm spoiled. I think there was a part of me that thought my sweet little angel baby would never act like this. Boy was I wrong!
But look at this face? Is it not the sweetest?
For now, I'm going to write it off as a bad day and move on. However, I won't blame a single one of you if you don't want to go out in public with us for a while. :)
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