Big emotions help!?

[cephasyahushua]

My newly 2 year old has always been a happy guy, listens well, early talker so he can communicate, never really had tantrums or they were easily dealt with and I was able to help his big feelings with the color monster book, asking him what color he felt and saying when he’s ready for a hug and he’ll ask for hugs and they resolved quickly.

However, he came down with a cold last week Tuesday and he has not been a happy camper since. He’ll have big emotions when waking up and tell us to leave and close the door but cries if we do, so I stay in his room and he’ll tell me he needs space and tells me to leave but I tell him I’m going to stay as we need to wake up. Then he’ll ask for a hug I give him a hug and he yells no hug and pushes me away then cries for a hug. Asks to be carried I carry him he yells he wants down then cries as I put him down asking to be picked up again. I’m 8 months pregnant and can’t keep that up. This goes on with everything. He’ll ask to watch a show then no show. Ask to play with this toy then no I don’t want this toy then cries and continues back and forth. He can’t seem to make up his mind on what he wants and gets mad over every little thing. He used to be happy all the time.

Any tips on what’s going on?! We went to the Dr and Dr said he’s recovering and on the mend. He’s more or less over his cold, no ear infections, his nose isn’t clogged and he’s not coughing anymore but he’s still not happy. He’s sleeping the night 7:30pm-7am and napping 1.5-2 hrs during the day so I think he’s getting enough sleep. His appetite did go down while sick but he’s still eating a fair amount as he’s a big eater.

 

[salmadrid]

@cephasyahushua I’m sorry you’re going through this, it’s so tough especially while pregnant. This could be a number of things; still feeling sick, having an off week, feeling like the new baby is coming (they can sense these things), molars coming in, etc.

All I can tell you is this is a phase, it’s super hard when you’re going through it but I promise it will pass and he will not act like this forever. Maintain your boundaries, be loving but firm and pray to god that it passes quickly. All the best!

 

[tombe]

@salmadrid This is the advice I also needed today. I am 37 weeks pregnant and my 2.5 year old son (less communicative than OP’s) has at least one molar coming in. He’s been throwing fits about all sorts of things (toys on the floor that he wants me to pick up for him, wanting to be back outside after bringing himself in, etc) and it’s been hard to keep up physically. He’s also taken one nap in the past 3 weeks and gets super fussy at night as a result. He also sleeps from 8:30 - 7 am pretty well, at least.

While some of this is probably related to teething, I think some of it is also just testing boundaries and new emotions as he grows. I’ve been trying distractions and gently talking him down or, that failing, keeping him somewhere safe until he calms down.