Help...Me...

[AnaKhouri]

So far this morning Khan has pulled the vacuum cleaner over on top of himself, bumped his head on the table, tried to stand in the bathtub and nearly fell, bumped his head on the crib, bumped his head on the cabinet, torn apart the novelette I am revising and scattered it across the living room, pulled a bunch of magnets off the fridge, dragged a ton of his books off his shelf, tore the cover off one of my cookbooks, dumped over the cat's food and water and threw the remote off the couch, popping open the back so the batteries came out.

The time is now 11 am.

Husband left at 7:30 to go to a conference in New Hampshire. Until Friday.



I try not to let Khan watch much TV, but thank God for Curious George on PBS, is all I can say.

[Aethian]

Oop Khan is missing Daddy. And I think he's thinking that if he has to go to a big noisey place cause he hurts...Daddy will have to come see him.

[RetailWorkhorse]

...boy, when THAT fails he's gonna be so disappointed.

QUICK! Call Daddy on the phone and let Khan talk to him. That always made me feel better when my Dad had to travel for business.

[RavenStarr]

I have 3 boys so I know exactly what you going through. Looking back I sometimes wonder how I still have my sanity. Trust me this won't last forever. I know it seems like it will but it won't. You will get through this with flying colors.

My boys are 19, 17, and 11. Some of the stuff they did when they were little oh my goodness. The 19 yr old Mchael when he was 3 tried sticking a flathead screwdriver into the electrical outlet. I managed what would have normally taken 6-7 steps to get to him in 2 steps and knocked the screwdriver out of his hand all the while screaming at him.

The 17 yr old Chris when he was 2 ate a small light bulb leaving the metal part behind.

The 11 yr old Dakota. He wasn't quite 2 when he got hold of a small glass and busted it on the coffee table. This resulted in 1 stitch in his finger.

[AnaKhouri]

I'm learning. The first time he fell off the couch I freaked out, cried for 30 minutes, dragged him to the doctor to be checked out (he was fine). Now he's crawling/pulling up, he bangs his head on things so frequently that I'm just like, "Again? You're okay." >pat pat<

[r2cagle]

Actually.....

Sounds normal. From the time my boy learned to get around (9 months), my house was (and still is) being destroyed. If he can't take it apart, throw it around, drag it with him, hurt himself at least 6 times, it's not a normal day.

He's going to be 5 next week.... if I let him live.

Yeah, I swore to not let my kiddo watch alot of tv... now I'm begging him to sit still for 30 freakin' minutes and watch cartoons on public television. GIVE ME 5 MINUTES OF PEACE FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Hang in there. It does NOT get better for a few more years. At least at 3 yrs, you can start reasoning with them.

*edit*-- And, here is where you mark the start of your slow descent into madness.

[Kogarashi]

Welcome to parenthood.

The best recommendations I can give are to call Daddy at least once a day so Kahn can talk to him (sometime around lunch is good, as well as bedtime), and to take him outside as much as your own schedule will allow. When you're the only parent in the house for a few days, you have to spend a little more time than normal doing kid-only stuff. Unfortunately.

Hang in there. You'll do fine.

[Binky]

ahhh the joys of children.....

[Der Cute]

shitmykidsruined.com So you don't feel bad.

And think this way: if he wasn't doing these investigative things, he'd not learn anything.
as long as you're informative on electricity/metal issues and You Don't Go Near Da Stove, you should be fine.

Got any old tupperware around? Some dirt/sand/rice? Sit WITH him and play with him. Have the Little Green Men make an army and see if they can attack his Fort. Make a Fort with the cushions and tell him that We Are doing this Because Daddy's Out, This is NOT a Normal Play we are doing. Make that fort (blanket over table) and have a campout inside the house.

If he's good, reward him (he picks dinner?) but if he gets the lipstick on the drapes, it's lights out.

My sister colored her whole damn face up to the hairline with a brand new never used lipstick. Stained her face. HAH.
She got me one year by giving me an f'd up haircut.

Cutenoob

[pitmonkey]

When it is quiet be very scared. They get in the most trouble when they are the quietest. Also has he got his first black eye yet? I was so concerned when my first got a black eye because of what others would think. Most just asked what she got into.

[Jangles the Moon Monkey]

My son had a massive tantrum yesterday and ran into the bathroom where he's decided he has his quiet time to calm down, had another one while in there and somehow managed to lock himself in. Luckily daddy was home and he got to have fun kicking the door in. Boyo thought that was brilliant fun and tried it again about 5 minutes later.

[Jester]

The two best babysitting tools ever invented: duct tape and locking closet doors.






What? I'm an uncle, not a father!

Also has he got his first black eye yet? I was so concerned when my first got a black eye because of what others would think.

I still remember my first black eye. I was in kindergarten. On the playground we had a jungle gym/monkey bars that was basically a letter "C" laying on its side. And a lot of us kids would play in the sand under it. But the other kids were smart enough NOT to stand straight up while other kids were swinging above them. Me, not so smart. WHACK! Someone's foot straight to my eye.

I keep telling you people I'm an idiot, rememeber? This is not a new thing!

[AnaKhouri]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately he's only 10 months old so he doesn't really understand daddy being away or special playthings or that stuff.

Today my day has consisted of:

>Khan crawls toward electrical outlet<

Me: NO.

>removes him from outlet, distracts him with toy/book.<

Repeat. endlessly.

And he's not acting out, he's always like this. Just now I don't get any break since Husband is gone.

We always go to the park every day but it's supposed to rain the next few days.

[r2cagle]

So... you're beginning to eye the duct tape?

I'm sitting here typing this as my child is playing with his Iron Man toy that is blaringly loud.. right beside me!

Seriously, I can step into another room and within 45 seconds, he follows me. He may be playing by himself, but he just can't seem to do it without me being in the room? And in 30 minutes when it's bedtime... I'll be tripping over that dang toy.

I wish mine was small enough to put in the walker and just let him play. sigh

[dalesys]

My wife found our beginning toddler on top of the refrigerator... and his older siblings hadn't put him up there because she could see the drawers pulled out for steps.

The same kid would attempt to stand up under the table... repeatedly.