Helping My Son Cope with Change

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. My husband has gone back to work. School has started for my daughter. This whole pregnancy thing.

No wonder my poor son is barely on speaking terms with any of us. He’s just overwhelmed by it all!

His speech therapy started back up today, which I hope will help, but I’ve definitely noticed that with all the changes he is getting more and more reluctant to talk at all. I joke about having to master the art of interpreting interpretive dance, as he prefers to dance around to get my attention when he wants anything, whether it be a snack or company while he goes potty.

And dang it, he used to do that one alone! Now he refuses!

I do think it’s just all the changes. It’s a lot for a 3 year old to absorb, and it’s making him less willing to speak and more clingy. He’s wanting that reassurance that I can give him.

Helping him is a balance between reassuring him that everything’s all right and letting him know that he cannot literally just dance around the subject when he wants something. He has to speak up.

Combining being there for him with encouraging the independence he will need when the baby comes is challenging. I need him to play more on his own so that he’s not so completely shocked by the amount of time a baby takes.

At the same time, I don’t mind letting him be my sweet little boy who loves to snuggle close to Mommy. It’s not always convenient, but it calms him down more than anything.

Now if he’d just let Daddy so much as cuddle him when I’m available! So often if I’m in the same room he won’t tolerate so much as a touch from his Daddy. I’m pretty much looking forward to the Daddy’s boy phase.

I think….