ALICE UPDATE - BEHAVIOUR, FOOD, TEETH, PT AND SLEEP!

Alice's behaviour has been quite challenging at times recently. Until now, as long as I'd prepared her well enough and talked situations through in advance, everything would usually be OK. Now all bets are off. She doesn't want to cooperate as often and as more vocal in her objections.

Eating is becoming more of a challenge too. At about 2 years appetite is supposed to suppress as physical development switches to mental development, this didn't seem to happen for Alice - her capabilities have expanded incredibly (as expected) but her appetite didn't really reduce. However in the past few months catering to her appetite has become a challenge - the number of foods that she'll eat has decreased significantly, as has the amount she eats. I usually serve her main meal at lunchtime and that's not too bad, but at suppertime I usually give her a choice of more snack type meals and increasingly she refuses most offers, only eggs are a guaranteed success (but she can't eat them EVERY night!)

Teeth - there's finally sign of her 2 year molars, the bottom ones have broken through (but still need to grow up) and are causing some distress, especially at night. Still no sign of the top ones. I have a feeling this could drag on for a few more weeks (or even months).

PT is going very well - she goes several hours between visits and is more reliable about whether she needs to go or not, though I'm still being more persistent at crucial times (before journeys etc). In recent weeks the only changes of clothes that she's had at nursery have been due to nappy failures at nap times or adventures playing with water! There've been more changes at home, several a day for a few days and then a week or more of success.

Sleep has been patchy. Alice is back to napping consistently at nursery but won't at home, but a car journey at the right time of day induces sleep in minutes - Alice wasn't great at sleeping in the car until she gave up naps! She's back to sleeping in the cot almost every night, she seems to be calmer through the night when she's in the cot. But she's also taken to waking as I go to bed - last night she wouldn't settle, so she came in with me with some very strict rules (staying over her side, not kicking or hitting mummy, we both sleep or she moves back) and it worked - I'm still talking through what I expect before bedtime when I remember and those nights seem to be calmer.

All in all it's incredible how quickly she's changing and growing, but she's still wonderful and incredible - just in a more challenging way!