Sunday, May 27, 2012

Well Split Me In Half!

That's what I wish I could do.  It's so hard at the moment with James being in London and Nate teething really badly.  He wants held A LOT and cries for a lot of the day.  He fusses taking a bottle so giving a bottle takes a lot longer than normal and it's sods law that Ollie wants to play as soon as Nate starts a screaming fit.  It's horrible having to tell him to wait, that I'm busy... that I can't play with him because his brother is upset.  I'm not entirely sure what to do in those situations.

Until now, parenting two kids has gone ok.  I've been lucky in that Ollie was very understanding when Nate came home.  He was rarely jealous or put out and was so well behaved but this last week, in between bouts of ADORABLE behaviour.... his behaviour has become worse.  I don't know if it's James being away so much that has unsettled him, or if Nate needing so much attention at the moment is the problem.  He was upset yesterday when Nate hadn't stopped crying for a very long time.  I'll not go into details of the naughty things he has done, but they are definitely out of character.

I'm not sure how to change things at the moment with James away for another week.  I'm hoping Nate's teething calms down (or a bloody tooth pops through!) asap.  When Nate has been napping I've been making more of an effort to do something special with Ollie... sitting quietly and snuggling together and reading as many books as he wants etc.  I don't want him to feel like he is less important etc.  I do tell him every night before bed that he is so special and important to me and that he is the best big brother Nate could ever wish for...I don't know if I am doing enough though.  I think Ollie and I need to go on a date (and get Nate minded!)... hot chocolate and the cinema come to mind!

How do you divide yourself between a little one that needs immediate attention, and an older one that needs you there for them too.  It's hard to juggle!!

5 comments:

  1. hugs! That is definitely rough! Have you ever heard of Amber Teething beads? Supposedly they really help. My friends all swear by them. I didn't know about them for my first two, but I've already put them around Jocelyn's neck. We'll see!

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  2. My little man was a very clingy baby from the moment he came home until he was around 6-9mo. He's still a Mummy's boy but, thankfully, doesn't want to be held 90% of the time anymore.
    Amy struggled a little with how much of my time Liam took so I tried to make the times he was asleep and we were on our own extra special..playing 'football,' glueing, sticking, making, baking, all those kind of things. I found keeping Amy amused while I was feeding the most difficult and I got round it by asking her to bring books over and lay them on the sofa next to me. She would turn the pages and I would read her stories as I fed Liam.
    I'm not going to lie, it's difficult, but when Nate is a little older and a little more independant (when he can interact more with Ollie too) it will get much easier. Hang in there :) x

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  3. I see you wrote this at 4 am, so perhaps you were up in the night with the teething. I was lucky that our little one didn't suffer too much that way and, as luck would have it, I couldn't have any more kids so I haven't had that feeling of being "torn". Probably as Shay says it will get easier, so hang on in there.

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  4. It is hard to juggle, but I keep a stash of four or five different toys that come out when I need to devote extra time to the little one, that way the older feels like he has something special, too.

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  5. Hmm it's a tough one for sure. Do you have a sling you could pop Nate in when he's feeling especially cuddly? Are there nap times you can devote to Ollie? Are there any things Ollie and you can do that Nate is too little for? Definitely look into the sling idea if you can, mine has been a lifesaver x

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