Is it pregnancy or just everyday dealings with a 2yr old?

[Clarity]

I love my dd but right now I feel like I've been poked, prodded, pulled on, swatted and just touched WAY too much for my sanity. (Hugs are fine, thank you)
I feel just awful telling dd - DO NOT TOUCH MOMMY! but I need her to stop grabbing at me for a couple of days. Yesterday, I resorted to "no touch mommy if you can't be gentle" because I feel like she's been swatting/hitting at dh and I more lately. (She knows better...but correcting her isn't working at the moment. She seems to be doing it just to because we're telling her to "no hit".)
I wondered if it was pregnancy induced intolerance because I've had less tolerance for my husband touching me lately too. Yesterday he gave me hug and didn't quite LET GO when I was ready and I felt just as insanely irritated by that.
I think I need a vacation from my family. :(

[brittone2]

I love my dd but right now I feel like I've been poked, prodded, pulled on, swatted and just touched WAY too much for my sanity. (Hugs are fine, thank you)
I feel just awful telling dd - DO NOT TOUCH MOMMY! but I need her to stop grabbing at me for a couple of days. Yesterday, I resorted to "no touch mommy if you can't be gentle" because I feel like she's been swatting/hitting at dh and I more lately. (She knows better...but correcting her isn't working at the moment. She seems to be doing it just to because we're telling her to "no hit".)
I wondered if it was pregnancy induced intolerance because I've had less tolerance for my husband touching me lately too. Yesterday he gave me hug and didn't quite LET GO when I was ready and I felt just as insanely irritated by that.
I think I need a vacation from my family. :(

I'm sure it is a bit of both :) Sharing your body with a living growing being is wonderful, but sometimes it is overwhelming, especially with another young child. I'm not pg but my DD can sometimes be grabby or gets into hitting phases (she's 18 months).

In young kids, it helps to tell them what to do. Some things I've read suggest they can't think in the negative (so if you say "no hit" they just hear hit!). Instead of no hit, you can try saying "give me a gentle touch" and then take her hand and show her how. I know my DD responds better when I do that vs. telling her not to hit. (it isn't a 100 percent thing but it does help her reduce her hitting).

[ShanaMama]

I know how you feel! My DD is a year older but also can't keep her hands off me. I think she picks up on my feelings- the less I want to be touched the more she touches me.
No real suggestions, just :hug: - very gentle ones!

[Ceepa]

I know just how you feel: DC climb on me during the day, and then when I sit down in the evenings the cats sit on me, and then when we go to bed DH likes to spoon. AAARRGGHHH!

I am so touched out some days I want to scream.

Can you engage DD with non-touching activites? A puzzle? A tea party? Building blocks on the floor? Coloring? Maybe she's just looking for a way to connect with you and these would help.

[Clarity]

Beth, that's a really helpful suggestion, thank you. I even tried it already when visiting dd's daycare at lunch today. I enlisted one of dd's fellow classmates show her how to "touch mommy gently". That seemed to go over well - heaven forbid another child earn her mommy's attention! LOL

[brittone2]

Beth, that's a really helpful suggestion, thank you. I even tried it already when visiting dd's daycare at lunch today. I enlisted one of dd's fellow classmates show her how to "touch mommy gently". That seemed to go over well - heaven forbid another child earn her mommy's attention! LOL


Glad it worked well for you today :) I only know that tip from reading the GCM site from back when DS was small. Now that I have a much more physical/active 18 month old (DS was more mellow in comparison ;) ) I need to remind myself sometimes to use affirmative statements to show her what *to* do instead of what not to do. I'm used to talking to my now almost 4.5 year old, and sometimes I have to readjust and remember that my little one doesn't always get me saying "don't do X." Sometimes she just hears the "X" part and does it. And does it again and again ;)

Like I said, it doesn't work 100 percent of the time, but I find it does help a lot (showing her how to give the pets a "gentle" touch, showing her how to give family members a gentle touch, etc.). When she's feeling really saucy and keeps hitting, I usually just put her down and say "hitting hurts" and walk away for a few seconds. I usually can get through to her without having to do that, but when she's being persistent, I just try to demonstrate that people don't like to be hit without getting upset with her (although it is hard when she cracks me in the head on occasion ;) )

[Clarity]

the less I want to be touched the more she touches me.
:yeahthat: I just need to take a deep breath and let it go. Yesterday I had to sit in the backseat with her in the car and I thought I was going to scream - she had octupus arms! I even told her so to which she replied "no mommy, Octopus at the zoo!" Gosh, she makes me laugh even when she drives me crazy.

[Clarity]

Oh, no way could dh spoon right now...no no no way. LOL. You must have the patience of a saint!

[sarahsthreads]

I know how you feel! My DD is a year older but also can't keep her hands off me. I think she picks up on my feelings- the less I want to be touched the more she touches me.
No real suggestions, just :hug: - very gentle ones!

Yep, 3.5 year old DD here and it's the same. She definitely wants to touch more the more I feel like I need personal space.

OP, I think a lot of it is the pregnancy, I know it is for me. I'm just hot all the time, and having a small furnace try to climb on my lap, poking sharp little elbows and knees everywhere in the attempt, makes me want to NEVER sit down. I'm trying very hard to remember that she *needs* to sit with me sometimes and invite her to do so when I'm feeling more tolerant of it, so that I can encourage her to do other things when I can't stand the touching anymore and not feel quite as guilty.

Good luck!
Sarah :)