I was expecting Katherine to regress a little when Squeak arrived but for some reason it is already happening.
- She sometimes wants me to change her clothes while lying down on the floor like a baby.
- She will crawl across the floor and say "I'm a baby".
- She sucks her thumb if she sees a baby or a picture of a baby sucking her thumb.
- She will pretend to cry like a baby and say, "I'm a baby".
- She found a pacifier and has insisted on using it for the last 24 hours. I keep trying to put it away but she keeps asking for it.
- She wants to eat baby food. I am actually not opposed to this because she does not eat many veggies so if she will eat squash baby food she is welcome to.
- She will stand in the middle of the floor and go to the bathroom, even if I just asked her if she needed to. This is the most annoying because these are not accidents but intentional. I will ask her where she is supposed to go and she says, "in the potty, not in the panties", yet she just did exactly that.
It has been suggested that she can sense that baby sister is arriving soon. Maybe even she can tell subconsciously from the change in my hormones. Like I said, I was expecting this behavior once Squeak was here. I know most siblings will act out in some way to get attention. I just did not expect if to start a month or two before the baby came. Any suggestions from my experienced friends are welcome.
2 comments:
I'm sure you are managing things wonderfully. Two things that helped me with Holden: 1) intentional one-on-one time at the start of each day (15 min) and after his nap, and 2) trying to maintain a consistent schedule so he always knew what was coming next in the day (consistency with him seems to really help him feel confident and secure about things).
When squeak gets here, you'll find all kinds of ways to involve Katherine and that will make her feel important.
You are doing great. She has heard you talk about the new baby so she knows it's coming. Yet, she doesn't really understand all that is going to happen. Kids learn so much through their play, particularly when they can get several of their senses involved, which she seems to be doing. When you can, try to play along with her. Treat her pretending to be a baby just like you would if she were pretending to be a dog. You can say things like "Oh, you're pretending to be a baby. Yes, babies need to ____ because ____."
Of course, just like it might not be okay for her to pretend to be a dog at dinnertime, there will be times that it's not okay to pretend to be a baby. Peeing on the floor is probably one of those times! I'd remind her that you need her to use the potty like a big girl. If she wants to pretend to be a baby she can ____ or ____.
Good luck and we can't wait to meet Squeak!
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