Help with One Year Old!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Help with One Year Old!
15
Thu, 04-08-2004 - 8:25am
Hi everyone, me again.

Okay. My dd is just driving me batty. She will not play with her toys for longer than 2 mins...she won't even watch Seasame St or Animal Jam for longer than 3 mins. She is always clinging to me crying, wanting me to play with her.

Or READ to her!

The book thing is getting out of control. I am on the verge of hiding them....I almost think that the reading is not as good for her as we thought. It's just me providing entertainment for her (much like the tv would) and she gets to sit on my lap. She crawls at me all day dragging a book saying "This, this".... I cannot get ANYTHING done.

Help? Or is this just the way it is? Right now she is dragging an issue of "Food and Wine" towards me....she'll look at pictures of food I'll never cook and go "Mmmmmmm".

Goood lord.

Melissa

Meldi

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Avatar for lori_mcbride
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2003
Fri, 04-09-2004 - 2:02pm

Melissa (((HUGS))),


I know how hard it is...I really feel for you!!

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having a baby

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2004
Fri, 04-09-2004 - 3:32pm
just my opinion here... i have a 1 y.o. also (she is 14 months). but she is my 4th. because she is my 4th i don't have the time to sit down and play all day with her. so she has never gotten real clingy to me. it sounds bad, but ignore her. i mean that really sounds bad. don't go to her everytime she cries or needs attention. she'll understand that after a while she needs to help herself or entertain herself. all the toys in the world won't get a clingy kid off you. just be persistent, use a firm voice, and tell her 'mommy needs to cook' or clean, or whatever it is. does she still use a playpen by chance? if not, maybe put her in her room to play for a while. she might cry at first, normal. after a while she might get used to that. just my opinion though.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Fri, 04-09-2004 - 3:35pm
Melissa,

That is soo funny. My husband says the same exact thing to me. Doesn't it just pi$$ you off? Take care.

Tanya
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2004
Sat, 04-10-2004 - 3:05am
Hi Melissa,

It is tiring, isn't it? My dd is 20 months old and most days she drives me crazy, too. I feel guilty if I can't (or don't want to) play with her, but the more I do play, the more she expects me to. I also find that if she is being "good" I am not nearly as tired as on the days where she is clingy and whiney. I can't imagine how tired you must be because of the pregnancy as well as an active toddler!

My husband also gave me the "you have it so good" comment when I was on my maternity leave and I tuned him in pretty quick! I let him watch her for one whole Saturday while I went to a city one hour away to destress and have the day to myself. By the time I came home he was going nuts so I asked him if he'd like to spend all day Sunday watching her, too. He's been much better about it ever since.

As for your friends, I am sorry that you don't hang out with them much anymore, but being a mom gives you the opportunity to make a whole bunch of new friends and I guarantee you with a couple of kids running around there will always be a lot to talk about! If there is a community playgroup or gymboree class in your area, you should consider going. It will be nice to get out of the house and visit with other adults, and by the time your next baby arrives you might have a few new friends in your circle.

It might also be a bit different with your next baby, as far as the clinging goes. Sure, you will have more work with another bum to change and another mouth to feed, but when the new baby is the age that Aspen is now, they will have each other to play with.

Babies are only babies for a short while. Just take it day by day and before you know it you will be watching them jump through the sprinklers and swinging on the swings ... you will have your time back and might even forget about these difficult first years.

~Jolene

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Mon, 04-12-2004 - 8:03am
Thanks again everyone.

The weekend was better. I did cry on Saturday (again! I just couldn't believe it!) My husband was talking about playing soccer on Thursday nights in a men's league and that in and of itself didn't make me upset, I was just thinking, "I would LOVE to play something!" I still work out at the gym everyday but pregnancy has such limitations. And it seems like a far-away time when I will be back to normal again. He listened more this time, but did say that he thinks I should talk to someone else, like I might be really depressed. I think I'm just tired. That's all. When I am too tired I truly feel horrible. Like the tears are at the front of my eyes and will roll down no matter what.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the support.

Here she comes with another book. We thought she would like to play with all her Easter toys, but no.

Melissa
Meldi

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