Well folks - Let.Me.Tell.You. - taking care of a newborn is NO PROBLEM compared to PARENTING a toddler. Seriously. For the past week everything that comes out of Ava Grace's mouth is NO and she wants to do the opposite of everything that we tell her. Now - in her defense she is not like that all of the time. She is such a sweet and fun loving little girl. Her personality is like none other and she will CRACK you up!! She will have you laughing so hard you won't be able to stop!!
I know it's just a "phase" - or I think it is. But, I still can't let her constantly get her way and think she rules this house. So... who did I turn to??
NANNY 911 OF COURSE!! I mean that woman KNOWS HER STUFF ABOUT PARENTING!!
I watched several episodes online today and this is what I learned. It really is common sense but it's kinda hard to stick with it when the going gets tough.
1.)STAY CALM - this is super hard for me and the hubby. But we talked about it and we are going to try really hard to just keep an even tone with her when we she misbehaves.
2.)TIMEOUT - we are already doing this but I found some new techniques with the timer and everything.
3.)BE CONSISTENT - this is SUPER IMPORTANT. I think we just couldn't find something that immediately worked with her so we jumped around from incentive charts and stickers, to timeout, to the sad spoon. So we decided that we were going to strictly do TIMEOUT for an entire month and then evaluate how it is working.
4.)BEDTIME - she needs to go to bed on her own in her own bed. She does sleep in her own bed but gets up at 3 and comes to our room like clockwork every night. And I have to lay down with her until she falls asleep and half the time I end of falling asleep at 8 with her and I never get to spend time with the hubby.
So... do you wanna hear my success for tonight?!?!?!
She got put in timeout twice. Once for backtalking and the other for refusing to wash her hands before dinner. She sat there for 3 minutes each time letting me know that she did "not like the timeout chair!" - which was perfect with me. I stayed calm and set the timer. Then when the timer went off I explained why she had to do timeout and if she was quiet then she could get up. She got up and went straight to the sink, washed her hands, then came to the table and ate 2 plate fulls of food! Yes - 2 plate fulls!! I praised her for her good eating and she got her 4th sticker on her Good Eating chart! (Only a few more and she gets a trip to ChuckeCheese and she is SUPER EXCITED about that!!)
So... How did bedtime go?? Well let me tell you I AM STILL SHOCKED AT THIS MOMENT!!
Nanny 911 said to just put the child in their bed over and over again whenever they get out and eventually they will get the point that you are the boss. Well, that's EXACTLY what I did and it only took 30 minutes and she is ASLEEP in her bed by herself!! She got up about 4 or 5 times and turned her lights on. I just kept turning them out and put her back in the bed. I did find her nightlight and turn it on just in case she was afraid of the dark. Now - she might get up at 3 tonight but I feel like we are on the right track. She really didn't have a tantrum about going to bed. She just kept getting up and standing at her door saying "Mommy will you come back?" Talk about BREAKING your heart! She's such a sweet girl! The last time I put her in the bed I think she was finally just giving up and she said "Night Night I lub you!" and that was it. Now she is snuggling with her Dora Pillow and her blanket! :-)
The hardest thing is being consistent!! But me and the hubby are both on the same page and that is really our main goal right now! :-)
And Ava Grace is not the only one comfy in her bed. Look at this sweet baby! She played hard outside with us this afternoon and is one tired puppy!
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