2 Year Old Woes

I took the Big Guy, my little boy, to the doctor for his 2 year old well-care appointment today.

My pediatrician, who I swear is the BEST pediatrician ever, asked me if he's been difficult lately? Ummm...lemme think. Yeah.

Yes, he's been a big ole pain in the butt lately. He cries ALL the time. He cries because he wants waffles and I'm serving cereal. He cries because I cut his muffin in half and he wants it whole. He cries because I say no. He cries because I refuse to hold him while I'm drying my hair. He CRIES.

I've tried to give the guy a little space. We've got a lot of chaos around here lately. A friend and her 2 year old little girl have moved in with us for a bit. He has to share his toys more than he's used to. He gets in trouble for hitting. But, he still has to cope. I don't know how to stop the crying (and I've tried everything), so I have to cope. So I do cope...and I wait for this phase to be over. So when the doctor asks "has he been difficult lately?" I had to stop and think. Is he difficult...Yeah, he's difficult.

"Well, maybe it is because he has a sinus infection" she answers.

...


How did I not know that? Because he's always been a cry baby; it has just been worse lately.

The doctor went on to check his private parts, like she always does. I commented to her, a little embarrassed, that there was a speck of something on his scrotum that I could not get off. I thought it was a bit of feces that was being stubborn, but I really scrubbed at it and it stayed there. "Well, that's because it is a mole" she responds. Wow. Could I be any more of an idiot today? It didn't occur to me that a mole starts out tiny, like a spec, and could just appear out of nowhere. Instead I just scrub my poor boy's scrotum trying to get it off...no wonder the boy cries.


I've been taking the Big Guy to swimming lessons twice a week. He cries every time the instructor touches him. It has been 6 weeks of lessons and the instructor has been accepting of his screams of protest, but I think she's getting tired of it. Today she asks me "Does Cade spend time with anyone else? Does anyone else ever take care of him?". I started to tell her that he occasionally is babysat by his aunt or grandmas...but I knew that wasn't really what she was asking. What she really wanted to know was whether Cade was a cry-baby in swimming class because he was unused to anyone else interacting with him (or commanding him around) except me. Somehow that makes me feel like I've ruined my kid by spending too much time with him. Well...I guess I'd rather ruin him by too much of my attention than by not enough.

Wouldn't it be nice if Cade stopped crying when his ear infection clears up? That would be amazing, but I'm not going to count on it. I think I'll just buy the swim instructor a set of ear plugs.