I forgot to mention in my previous post that there's a flip side to Isaac's rebellious stage: while sometimes he acts like a defiant teenager, at other times he acts like a helpless baby. Literally.
We have read him a few books about the intense needs and limited abilities of newborn babies, hoping to prepare him for his impending sister. Instead of relishing his new position as an independent and competent big brother, however, he seems to have concluded that babies get all the good stuff . You know, they do get carried everywhere, they get rocked to sleep, people feed them, and so forth. And perhaps his conclusion was reinforced by the high expectations we have for him as a big boy, and so he envies a baby's lack of responsibilities -- no one expects a baby to control itself! Either way, he has been pretending to be a baby.
He crawls on the floor, he eats in the high chair, and he chews on teething toys. These baby episodes don't last long, and they are mostly done as play, not true regression, but there is a dark undercurrent. Today he actually stood at the sink and cried because he claimed he didn't know how to wash his hands by himself. And this morning he fussed because I wouldn't give him milk in a bottle. (At least he didn't ask to breastfeed!)
I'm a little worried. If he's acting like this now, what will happen when the baby actually arrives?
No comments:
Post a Comment