It must run deeper than the terrible 2's. . .

Peyton has grown up with N and M, a set of twin cousins that were born just a couple of days apart from him. Unfortunately they don't live closer, but fortunately, they do live in close proximity to Disneyland, so it's still a WIN. The Twinnies' Mom, D, is a big Kid at HEART! I don't know if I'd ever have enough guts to do this on my own, let alone with the kids in tow! (See below.)

Since we left the Happiest Place on Earth, it's been all about a "NOT so Happy" Gracyn. . .So, here are some seriously HAPPY pics the last day of our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. And then we returned home. . .to a very regressed,not so happy, Gracyn. What went wrong? We knew being in a hotel room, away from home and the pattern of life might shake her schedule up a bit, but after being home for 2 weeks now, there's still NO improvement or signs of returning back to normalcy. When will the normalcy return? We hit 6 months and things were great. One step forward and several steps back.

Peyt and Grace with Auntie D and M. N raced them down on his tricycle!

 

 

 

The 3 Musketeers!

 

Just the boys!

 

Gracyn has been clingier than ever. She throws a screaming, crying fit, every time she doesn't get her way. We've been working on Daddy changing her diaper, which was going fairly well. Until Saturday night. Daddy changed her, and I stayed close by, reassuring her that she was "okay" - The family therapist was very much in favor of this. Me jumping in when she cries send the message that Daddy can't do it, so I stay near, and comfort with words. So you're thinking, okay, a 2 year old having a fit, what's the big deal, right? Well, she went into a tailspin and lost it. Literally lost it. For third party input here, my dad said it was like Taiwan all over again.

Gracyn becomes hysterical. Peyton jumps in and hits Daddy with a fist telling him to stop - he thinks Daddy is hurting her - but he's not. I jump in, and immediately tell Peyton not to hit Daddy. He's holding her and trying to comfort her out of her breakdown. Peyton doesn't get it, and starts to cry, telling me he doesn't like to hear Gracyn cry. I'm touched, concerned, and overwhelmed all at once. I finally jump in after having both kids crying, for what seemed like forever, and took over Gracyn. Told DH to go ahead and take Peyton to Grandma and Grandpa's - he had a planned overnight stay to spend some time with them.

Gracyn is back to the state of conflict - she's calling for me, I'm right there trying to hold her but she pushes me away. And then she gets up and wants me to hold her again, and that works for a second and then back on the ground crying. She looks at me with those blank eyes as if she has no idea who I am, although she's calling for Mama. I think she was wanting me to comfort her, but was mad that I let Daddy change her. Or, she wasn't calling for me, when she was yelling for Mama, but was expecting someone else's comforting arms. She cried, and screamed, and cried and screamed some more, she kicked and pushed, stared into space, and went into her "catatonic state." She finally calmed down, stopped crying, and then I held her as she fell asleep. But when she calms down, it's like out of no where with no trigger. She just snaps out it.

Poor baby. It's so hard. If I were to give into her every whim, she wouldn't throw her fits, and I wouldn't run the risk of her tail spinning into a full blown "episode" as I have referred to them before. But she's 2, and very much in her "Independent Terrible 2's" phase, and she needs boundaries and limitations too, right? So, sometimes when she doesn't get her way, it's a normal "fit", well, normal for her - a little more intense than what I'd consider a Terrible 2's tantrum, and she returns to herself shortly thereafter. But since we've returned from the Happiest Place Earth, her tantrums have turned into so much more. She's been not so happy.

But don't get me wrong, there are good and normal of the day where you'd think I were making this all up - she appears happy and calm and comfortable in her environment. Are we the only ones to feel like we had finally "arrived" - bonded and adjusted after 6 months home, to suddenly feel as if we regressed to month one? I'm beside myself. Completely beside myself. My patience is running thin, and I have no idea how to help my daughter. Is it a phase? Is she just now getting comfortable and showing her true colors? Is it a chemical imbalance? Will it pass? Where did we go wrong? I really do think this is more than just the terrible two's. Remember my post about It runs deeper than the terrible 2's? (Click to refer back to the original post.)