Oh of course there is a part II. That little episode couldn’t have been all that was in store for me. Eventually I needed to clean up the house so I cranked up the music and proceeded to go from room to room while Mason ran around like a crazy person.
It’s nearing bedtime and I need to get him changed and through bed time routine. He’s hyper. Hard to talk to a hyper toddler. I chased him through rooms to put him into jammies but remembered that I needed to put hydro-cortisone cream on his eczema which was hugely flared up when I got him on Monday. We are day three of treatment and it’s 75% gone. So I get a jammy top on him and go to change his diaper. I get the diaper pulled off and while he’s running around half nude…dinky exposed, he goes straight into his playhouse. I go in to get him and he bonks me on the forehead with a toy car.
Now I have to get angry, this behaviour is definitely not acceptable. I won’t spank him though, I just don’t feel its necessary nor the right type of punishment for hitting. I try to put on a super mad mommy face. He is laughing, which makes this more difficult as I’m trying to convey that he has ‘hurt’ me. I pull him towards me trying to get a reaction and I say that he hurt Mommy. “I’m sorry” he says but I’m not really convinced.
He starts to laugh harder, I lay him on the floor trying to get him to look me in the eyes (something he always avoids). I pin his arms down to stop him from flailing, he’s laughing hysterically now. I hover over him and look him in the eyes. God he’s cute. This is hard. I try not to giggle. He thinks this whole exchange is hilarious.
Mason! That was not….
My pants feel warm. I look down…he peed on me.
He has urine on his leg as well.
Lovely.
Not sure now what to do.
So much for disciplining him. I need to diaper him before the rest of it comes out.
I shed my pants and go to fetch his diaper and shorts. He’s taken off down the hall. Nude bum running towards the bedroom.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Not the first time I’ve been peed on him.
It’s now bedtime which I don’t want to tie in with a time out. The moment has passed and there is no point continuing with yelling him. He knows what he did was wrong.
I am short with him, get his teeth brushed and off to bed he goes. No story. I tell him I love him and sweet dreams. The door is shut and the wails of “mommy” proceed. NOW I’ve got his attention and he’s upset. He wanted a bed time story and cuddles and I really want to go in there and give it to him but if I resume our routine like nothing happened, he’s not going to get the point.
Am I being too hard on a 2 year old? The tears are the crocodile variety. I know he’s not terribly upset.
I’m exhausted. It’s 8:02pm, it will be at least an hour by the time he’s calmed down. Longer if I don’t manually calm him. The ‘let him cry it out’ doesn’t work on Mason.
Sigh.
This is where being a single parent is really tough. I need my partner to help me out, reinforce my discipline methods.
For a moment I let myself cry, give in to the moment and then I’m off to calm my angry son, sing a song and let him drift off to sleep in the comfort of Mommy’s arms.
Deep breath in…deep breath out.