Seriously, is there an App for that?

While being pregnant with our second child together, there are times I shake my head and think… “What have it gotten myself into!”

Our 5 year old is one of those kids society had deemed as “Strong Willed.”  Nicely put, but in reality she is Stubborn As Hell!   I am thinking it needs to be called what it is!

Those who know my daughter sigh and shake your head because you have seen with your own eyes the amazing will of my child.  Some of you read “Strong willed” and may laugh and think… yeah right, how bad can it be? And that is okay, because a 5 year old who tops the scales fully clothed at 28 lbs doesn’t seem like the type of kid to give you a run for your money, but she totally is.

So, to help you mom’s get a good laugh, (and lover your compliant children a little more) I have included several stories of my difficult child.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent (me!).

I will start with where I should have KNOWN I was in trouble, and end with the most recent antics.  Of course, this is just a sampling… not every story I have… I need to save some for later blogs.

During my last trimester of pregnancy, I had gestational diabetes.  So 2 days a week I would spend in the clinic hooked up to the fetal monitors.  They needed a continuous 10 minutes of heart readings in order to “confirm” she was healthy. Elyzabeth had made it well known that she did NOT like the fetal monitors.   Every time they would get the monitor just right, she would move and we would have to start all over again.  A 20 minute appointment started lasting closer to 2 hours.  Apparently, she did not feel it was important for us to know she was doing okay.

Shortly after delivery, the nurses brought her back to me and instructed me on how to swaddle her.  After screaming for 5 minutes, she had worked her little arms up and out of the swaddle, where she proceeded peacefully fall asleep.  Several more times the nurse came in and repeated the same process.  Swaddle, nurse leaves, baby screams, baby achieves freedom, baby falls asleep.

Finally, I said, “She doesn’t like be swaddled.” 

The nurse looks at me like with that, oh poor mommy, you don’t know what you are talking about, and says, “All baby’s like to be swaddled.”

“Fine,” I said, “but you can’t leave.  If you are going to swaddle her, you need to stay in

here and see what happens.”

So the nurse, with her attitude and goal of proving me wrong, swaddles Elyzabeth.  And as Elyzabeth begins to scream the nurse’s eyes start getting really wide.  As Elyzabeth frees herself and proceeds to fall asleep the nurse looks at me in disbelief.  “I have never seen such a thing!” she says, shakes her head and leaves the room.

Fast forward a couple years:

While at work one day, I get a call from Daycare, “Ummm… I need you to come get your daughter.  She is being very horrible and I can’t control her.”  Great!  My 4 year old has been Kicked out of Daycare.  So, I leave work and go to daycare.   Once I get there, I find out there were all sorts of mayhem going on.  Hitting, screaming, throwing food, and stripping (a common “temper tantrum” for Elyzabeth).  So I proceed to pack her up and take her home.  Unfortunately, it took me 45 minutes to get her into the car seat.  After having to physically hold her down and buckle her in, I finally was on the way home.  We live less than 2 miles for daycare.  However, 4 blocks into the drive and Elyzabeth has squeezed her way OUT of the car seat and is now STANDING on the car seat.  And lucky, lucky me… Mr. Crystal Police Officer is in the car right next to me.  

Really?!? Like the day can’t get any worse!  So I pull over in the Pizza Hut Parking lot and proceed to “force” her back into the car seat.  But this time… I tighten the straps! 

Finally, as we pull into the garage at home, she is again OUT of the car seat. 3 hours later, with no more improvement on her behavior Dad FINALLY gets home.  As soon as he walks in the door, I promptly put on my coat and leave the house.

I think you get the drift.  She is very very stubborn.  However, even with how stubborn she is, she is just as sweet.  

When we told her she was going to be a big sister, she was super happy!  She told everyone she came in contact with (including the waitress at Applebee's.)  And when we go shopping, she is looking at toys to buy for her new brother or sister.

And there are days where she says the sweetest things and just make my heart melt.  Where she will randomly come up to me, give me a hug and whisper “I love you” in my ear. 

So I need an app! 

An app that will instantly turn my stubborn child into that adorable angel that everyone else sees.

An App that will remind me of the good girl during the kicking, screaming and flaying fits.

An App that will let me see her 10, 15 or even 20 years down the road to remind me that the stubborn kids are the ones that are driven, ambitious and successfully.

An App that reminds me to look in a mirror, because I was that stubborn child once upon a time.