There's a Newborn in the House

There's a newborn in the house, and he's waking up at 1, 3, and 5 a.m.  Sometimes he lets us sleep a good 4 hours uninterrupted, but then we had the tot to give us a wake-up call at 5:59 a.m.  Thoughtful boy.

Speaking of the tot, he's been acting a little off lately, which we have been mostly categorizing in the "TANTRUM" files.  It's been a daily thing, these annoying breakdowns, which I'm sure will pass eventually.  And if they don't, I'm moving to Finland.  They're pretty unbearable when you're nipples are sore and raw and you're post-partum hormones are making you want to punch and hug simultaneously.

I started noticing the strange change in his behavior about a week after we brought his brother home from Labor and Delivery.  At first, there was no change at all.  He seemed to be fine, just hanging out and doing his normal thing.  We both figured he was just waiting it out, seeing when this baby was going home to HIS mommy and daddy.

When the baby stayed, the tot started getting squealy.  He started crying at any given moment for what seemed like no reason at all.  He also started getting more tenacious, stubborn, and would hold his ground until it came to a showdown between parent and tot.  Tot usually loses, but I must admit to giving in on occasion.  What can I say?  I felt bad for the little man, dealing with this littler man invading his space.

The tot also started lying on the baby's pillows, saying, "Sleep...sleeeeep!"  He's also been trying to crawl into the baby's bassinet while saying the baby's name, which at first I thought was adorable.  Now, I think he may be trying to eat the baby.

But mostly, it's just the screaming fits of inconsolable crying that gets me down.  I know he's going through a change.  I also know he's 18  months.  People always complain about the "Terrible Twos."  But really, it's the terrible 1 1/2s you need to be concerned about.  Two is easy.  They can talk and communicate fairly well.  They understand consequence and reward in a somewhat cognitive way.  You can reason with a two year old, if you have the patience for it.

However, 1 1/2?  Not so much.  Add a newborn brother to the mix and you get an explosive combination of confused jealousy and uninhibited resentment.  Fun for all!