Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Then she turned...

Have you heard the phrase that tells you that two is bad, three is worse, and when they turn four, everything is better?  I heard that so many times when Rachel was two years old and throwing her strong-willed temper tantrums.  Well, that was so.not.true. with us!

Everything, since birth, has been a power struggle for Rachel.  She came out not wanting to breathe and that was a sure sign that she was basically going to do what she wanted to do!  She was a really good baby but refused to breast feed.  When she turned 18 months old, the terrible two’s began!  She was such a challenge and that was the time that I found out I was pregnant with my second daughter.  I asked my husband what we were thinking!

Rachel used to throw fits about EVERYTHING. She would bang her head on the floor and scream until she would turn purple and sometimes until she would vomit. We tried to potty train and that was also going to have to be on her terms. She turned out to be so incredibly independent. Then, she turned three…

We were waiting for the worst possible scenario. We thought, okay, any minute now, it is going to blow up. But…THANKFULLY, she was a delight!  Age three was a breeze compared to age two. I think the difference was that we felt like we were able reason with her. She could talk more and we could teach her calming techniques which really seemed to help. Then, she turned four….

Now, granted, we have only been dealing with the four year old behavior now for four months but that is long enough!!!!! She became sassy and a know-it-all. It is literally driving me crazy! She does not listen at all. She gets in trouble at “school” and just has problems with communicating how she is feeling. We are working on it.

I suppose every stage is going to have its challenges but we are hoping for something better for the 2nd half of this year and for the “fives!” Oh, and we would like to NOT have a repeat with child #2!

Rikki Hester is a social worker at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital and Mom of two girls who keep life interesting.

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