Miss Fussybutt. That’s the nickname we have been using for the little angel that is our daughter. She has begun walking and babbling which we are over the moon for. But now all of a sudden, she is cranky, fussy, sassy, and throws the cutest, little tantrums. I mean the child isn’t even 20lbs yet and she can hurl a toy clear across the floor. We were just getting on track for her sleeping in her crib for 5 plus hours which is a miracle in itself. I can count on one hand how many nights I’ve slept all night long without having to get up every 2 hours and she came to us a year ago. So you can understand my excitement that we were pushing 5 hours or more of blissful slumber.
Toddler regression is a real thing. I had no clue what has changed in the last few weeks that would make the cuddliest, sweetest baby turn into Oscar the Grouch in the snap of a finger. I thought maybe the teething was bothering her but she hasn’t gotten any recent teeth in so I was stumped. I turned to google because you know, google knows everything. There on the screen were the words Toddler Regression and it all clicked. She was having developmental regression. She was learning to walk and learning to talk more which in turn means that could be affecting some behavioral issues. She is progressing in other areas which mean behaviors can change. The babies little bodies are learning all these new things so some areas of development may take a backwards step but that is completely normal. This commonly happens around milestones such as crawling, walking, and talking.
After looking this up, I felt relief. I wasn’t doing a bad job as a parent. I’m just a new parent that didn’t know and understand what this little baby was going through. I have to multi-task a million things a day but I never thought about how much work it takes a little one to start mastering new skills. All I can do is be patient, shower her in love, and read up on upcoming milestones so I know what’s to come and be prepared.
So don’t beat yourself up if all of a sudden your baby is Miss/Mr Fussybutt. They are learning and trying to master all these new skills and we have to make sure we don’t turn into fussybutts ourselves. I know sometimes its stressful and believe me, I’m the first to admit it but this thing called motherhood is amazing. As much as she is learning about the world, I am learning about this whole new world of being a mom. Pat yourselves on the back and snuggle those fussybutts extra tight. It will pass!
