Again, Again!

I had been told that you are never to do something with a small child unless you are prepared to do it again. And again. This is so thoroughly true! I must bonk my head when my daughter says, "Mommy, bonk!" I must burp when she says, "Mommy, burp!" (I know, very mature of me.) And the list of funny faces and silly routines is endless.

One area full of these repetitions is teeth brushing. I struggle to brush her teeth and so I distract. She takes it as part of the teeth brushing regimen and there it must continue to be until she deems it no longer necessary. For a while we had to push the sticker on the shower and say "beep-boo" before any toothbrush was going in her mouth. Then there was a stint where I had to brush the "teeth" of the three Anne Geddes Babies next to the sink, even though they have no teeth. Now, because daddy stepped into the shower holding her while I tried to clean her itty bitty pearly whites, I have to enter the shower in order to get the germs out of her mouth. But it works. She goes along with the procedure. Which is more pleasant than holder her down as she protests.

Another area of revolt is potty training. Maybe she senses my dislike (I really don't want pee anywhere). She'll go once in the morning but that's it. But that once still requires coercing. Presently, it is playing with a set of wind chimes. They stall her long enough for the down and done to fade so she can take enough time to relax. As you guessed, she now requests the chimes every time.

The repetition is strongest in a moment of fun. Tonight we went to live music and my energetic daughter wanted me to spin her around over and over. She basically wanted me to provide her with an amusement park ride and she couldn't handle the idea of stopping. She would focus on something momentarily, like cartwheels (at least an adorable attempt) or getting a drink. But it always came back to asking me to stand up then pleading, "Again, again!" She doesn't care who's watching, how dizzy she gets, or whether mommy is getting tired. She only cares about me continuing the merriment mommy started. Don't do what you are incapable of continuing.

If you feel this is something easy to work around, you probably don't have a child. You haven't experienced a crying toddler wanting a specific teddy bear, and that teddy bear only. Or a temper tantrum in the grocery store because the children's shipping cart is being used by someone else. Sure, there are moments when you, the caregiver, can't be persuaded, when you can't give in to the request Like the bag of nuts and fruit I wouldn't let her hold today even though yesterday I gave her the baggie of dried fruit when she asked "Hold it, please?"

Oh, how it's difficult not to give in to such eyes, such a nose, such a blessing. You want me to crow like a rooster? Sure, precious. Anything for you. You want me to be a bridge? Sure, darling. I'm anything you'd like me to be. I love how you squeal with glee when your request is granted. I love how your eyes twinkle when you beseech me, "Again, again, mommy!"