Completely exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically from

[tiapam]

doing DD's school dropoff with DS in tow. He would not wear pants or shoes. At that point I decided not to even try a jacket. I tried calling someone to watch him instead but no luck. He cried, kicked and bucked all the way, got halfway out of his carseat. It was awful both before we left the house and the ride which is only three blocks. It didn't help that someone else dropping off looked at me like I was a monster or a moron when she heard DS screaming in the car. Why do people give looks like that when the parent obviously is having a hard time?

I cried all the way home and started shaking, too. I am calling the pediatrician today. His problems seem like more than usual 2YO issues to me. :(

[jgenie]

:hug: I've been there except it was DS1 giving me the trouble while I held onto DS2 for dear life.

[arivecchi]

Oh no. :( I cannot even imagine. Can you stroll him to school? DS2 is a big pain about a lot of things but he loves going out for stroller rides. I think that would be easier than dealing with a car ride? Just trying to think out loud here.

[Minnifer]

Ugh, sorry it was so tough and draining! :hug:
It didn't help that someone else dropping off looked at me like I was a monster or a moron when she heard DS screaming in the car. Why do people give looks like that when the parent obviously is having a hard time? And I have to say this drives me nuts - people giving these looks when we KNOW every parent has had to deal with something like this - WTH?!

[tiapam]

Oh no. :( I cannot even imagine. Can you stroll him to school? DS2 is a big pain about a lot of things but he loves going out for stroller rides. I think that would be easier than dealing with a car ride? Just trying to think out loud here.

Unfortunately he makes walking just as difficult and unpleasant. And I can't trust DS to not pull something on me and I am not physically capable of carrying him for long distances - especially when he is thrashing. Even if he would go happily in the stroller I don't think our sidewalks are clear enough yet to get through. I would love to be able to walk more since it's so close but DD's school hours are not conducive to a leisurely walk to school as we need to eat lunch *right* before. So the unpredictability is part of the problem, I never know when he will happily do something or put up an all out battle.

I called the ped and have a new bitch. When I call on Feb 14th and you say the 21st is available, that generally means FEBRUARY 21st, not MARCH. If it's March, then you need to SAY March. Ugh, his appointment is March 24th.

Right now, he is happily playing downstairs by himself. I told him he needs to wear pants when we go out later. He said no pants. I repeated myself and he said.. Okay. ARGGHHHHH.

[WatchingThemGrow]

:hug:So sorry - just brainstorming here, as I am also the parent at wits' end trying to get the 3yo and 1yo back out of the building after dropping DD off every morning. People keep saying they recognize me from dropoff, and I'm like, "GREAT. I'm so glad your first impression of me is panting, swearing, feeling like I'm going to hurt someone at 9am." :waving4:

Wondering about the pants...are there a few pairs you can lay out and let him choose? pajama pants that are comfy? a favorite color? Let him wear them every day if necessary... Hope the 21st - I mean March 24th comes quickly for you.

[egoldber]

Is it a carpool drop off? Do you have to walk her in or do you stay in car? If you're in the car the whole time, I would let him ride in the car with no pants. It won't kill him. :) I recently let younger DD ride an hour in the car on a car trip without pants or a coat because she wouldn't wear them. She was cold and by the time we got to the first rest area she was ready to wear her pants. But yes, my ILs thought I was crazy and we got a lot of strange looks at the service plaza. :o

[niccig]

Is it a carpool drop off? Do you have to walk her in or do you stay in car? If you're in the car the whole time, I would let him ride in the car with no pants. It won't kill him. :) I recently let younger DD ride an hour in the car on a car trip without pants or a coat because she wouldn't wear them. She was cold and by the time we got to the first rest area she was ready to wear her pants. But yes, my ILs thought I was crazy and we got a lot of strange looks at the service plaza. :o

We did this in reverse. DS insisted on wearing jeans when on vacation and it was nearly 100F and really humid. First day we had this huge battle over it, and finally he wore shorts. Next day, he insisted on his jeans. I let him and told him I would have a pair of shorts in the diaper bag if he got too hot. Sure enough, he got hot and changed. For the next couple of days he insisted on jeans, and would change later on in the day, then he started to just wear shorts. It wasn't worth the battle and the awful start to the day.

Can you carry him to the car with blanket wrapped around him, keep blanket on him in the car if you don't have to get out. Being able to choose which shirt/pants also helped DS. I didn't force jacket either, but made sure we had it with us. Sometimes he just didn't get cold. If we were visiting family and playing in snow, then he had no choice of course.

It was also a short-lived phase.

[MamaMolly]

What about being super silly? Hand him a tu-tu when he refuses to wear pants, and be totally straight faced about it. Sometimes they just want the battle and you can distract them by being a goof.

And a pox on the other mommy for the stink-eye. Not cool. I can't imagine that she's never been there, and if she's really never been there, then she must slip her little angels sleeping pills in their wheaties.