The Terrible Age of 2

I used to think I had the coolest kid around. When I got pregnant I knew there would be some adjustments but I thought Afton would be pretty cool with everything. I really used to enjoy going places with her, she was my side kick but ever since early January (after she turned two) she has been a nightmare that is getting worse, not better. I thought this would be a short lived phase or we just needed a behavior adjustment but this is turning out to be a lot more. The terrible twos are exactly what everyone says they are-TERRIBLE.

Another mom with a son five days older than Afton posted on Facebook last week that she jokingly wanted to give away her son. I sent the following message to her...

"I can totally relate to your posting about wanting to sell/give away Cohen. Afton since January has been getting worse and worse. Everytime we go somewhere (even with warnings and timers) she has huge meltdowns when it is time to go. I end up carrying her kicking and screaming out of EVERY store, library, museum etc that we go to. She does the same thing with just my husband or with both of us together.I know I love her, but I really do not enjoy spending time with her right now. I feel like I am ALWAYS mad at her. If she were a boyfriend I think I'd dump her. She spends a lot of her day in her room on timeout as she ignores me everytime I tell her to stop doing something. This is just such a miserable time!!! I am mourning the loss of control!!! Just before Pearl was born she ran away from me at Target...twice. The first time we were in one department and she took off squealing in delight. I was so slow and no amount of threats, yelling etc would stop her. Fortunately I found her but I was so stressed! Then a few days later also at Target she ran away from me again and literally ran out of Target and into the parking lot. Fortunately no cars were coming but I don't think I will ever recover from that level of fear!!!So in closing...you are not alone in your misery. And if you dislike his behavior all the more after the baby comes, also not alone. I think the sleep deprivation just intensifies everything. I'm grouchy, she's misbehaving and everything is changing. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that we used to have such a tight, buddy buddy bond and now I find myself barking at her and sending her to her room ALL THE TIME. I know I have to keep up the discipline for consistency but I don't like being the bad guy!!!"

When does it end? Does this last the whole year? I cannot tell you how guilty I feel for disliking my child so much! I truly do not want to spend time with her, and sometimes it's better for her that I am not around (i.e. lock her in her room because mommy needs to cool off so I don't hurt her)!