Am in for the terrible twos?

[ange7894]

My daughter Zoe will be 15 months old in a few days and Im already wondering if I'm in for a nightmare of a toddler when she hits 2. She used to be this super happy baby. She never woke up crying, smiled all the time, and was just so laid back. Lately she's whining constantly, even wakes up whining, is super stubborn with food (she refuses to drink from a sippy at home, but will do it in daycare), and is starting to hit when she's frustrated. We never discipline her by hitting, so I'm baffled where she learned this. Her eating habits are driving me insane. She used to eat anything I gave her, or at least try it without hesitation. Over the last month or two she's become super picky and will throw everything on the floor, even stuff she used to scarf down. It makes dinnertime a battle because I never know what or if she's going to eat.

She's still generally a happy baby, and she's very loving and affectionate. I'm just totally thrown by her spurts of bad behavior. I feel like I did something wrong

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Very normal behaviour. At 15 months, I take she's got little or no speech? It may well be that she is frustrated at not being able to tell you exactly what she wants. My toddler is 2 and can tell me exactly what she wants so very rarely whines.
The food thing - i strongly believe that is them asserting their independence. If you put some food in front of them then the only way they can show their independence is by refusing all or part of it. A bit like them refusing to let you dress them.
It's all normal for her age, don't buy into the whole 'terrible twos' thing - my 2 year old is easier to live with and more fun to have around than she ever has been!

 

[ange7894]

Thanks for the input. As far as her speaking, she blabbers ALL THE TIME and she can say a few words (or her version of them lol), but her vocabulary IS limited. She doesn't seem too frustrated about speech, but I guess it makes some sense. I'm trying to be patient with the eating, but it's hard. My husband and I are super picky eaters and we both hate that about ourselves. I'm terrified of her following in our footsteps because it's so limiting. I see this behavior and immediately get freaked that she's already on the road to hating so many foods.

Now that you mention the frustration thing... I can't help but wonder now because when she was an infant she was super whiny and fussy, but her sleeping habits were horrible. At night she'd sleep literally for 20-30 min spurts. When she started to sleep through the night her whole demeanor changed. That's when it hit me! She was so frustrated and tired from not sleeping well all that time. I hope you're right. Maybe it really is just frustration. Thanks!

 

[RJsMum]

Bare in mind as well that the "terrible twos" actually happen WITHIN the second year...which means...NOW, not when they're two, necessarilly. DS has his moments (17 mos) and when he doesn't like when something isn't going his way, BOY does he let us know. It's nothing we've done because we don't coddle him or give in...it's just a part of them testing boundaries and as the other poster mentioned, asserting a bit of independence.

Much like the teenage years...you just have to ride it out with them. I find distraction/redirection to still work a treat in most cases.

 

[ange7894]

Thanks. That's reassuring to know that the "terrible twos" happens now. It's so funny to me... just when I think I have it all figured out she goes and changes on me