I love my Parker to pieces, really I do…but lately, he has taken his status as a “mommas boy” to the extreme. He has always been extra clingy to me, especially when he wants to be comforted, when he wants to twirl my hair and snuggle up under my chin.
But now?
He wants to be with me all of the time. If I am in the kitchen, he wants to be picked up and will hang onto my legs crying furiously if I try to ignore him.. I was making jello today and I was so worried about maneuvering around the kitchen with a kid on my leg and a teapot of boiling water in my hand. Plus, I really can’t physically carry him around all day – he weighs about 31 pounds for heaven’s sakes and I am trying to avoid major back problems with this pregnancy. Another classic example happened today…he and Madi were setting up little play areas in the living room, complete with nicely laid out blankets and a collection of toys and books. He grabbed my hand saying “mine” (I guess that is what he considers me) and proceeded to drag me to his blanket so I could play with his toys. Oh yeah, and at meals, he will occasionally grab my arm and yank me over to his booster seat so that he can try to hang onto my neck while he eats his food. What a goofball…and this goes on all day long!
Sigh.
I’ll be honest…I haven’t checked out my What to Expect…Toddlers book to see if this is developmentally normal. It is much more interesting to self-diagnose, don’t you think? What I have come up with so far is that he is less independent than Madi (at least so far) so he needs more attention and that he and I have been spending a lot of time together lately and when he doesn’t have a break from me, he becomes even more clingy. So I guess that means I need to get out of the house or something, huh? Sounds good to me!
Well, maybe we can get to the point where he can still get his snuggling in, but I can also have some personal space…I can only hope.
