It's in the Genes

So I know of the mother's curse "I hope you have a child just like you" and I also know that my mom had it pretty easy with me. So I thought what the heck if I have kids like me it will be a breeze. What I didn't know is some of my more unflattering traits that didn't really show themselves until adulthood could become so pronounced in my young children that I would both laugh and cry when I began to notice.

I think this may be put into overdrive with the fact that my husband shares similar traits. The particular trait in question is being so stubborn on wanting to accomplish something that she will continue to struggle even when defeat is eminent. I know that infants and toddlers have a stubborn side and it is completely normal. However, I know some of you moms out there know what I'm talking about. When it feels like what's happening goes above what you thought was normal. To make things more interesting my son was a very easy baby. He was easy going and so far has made it into toddler hood without making me want to pull my hair out. My daughter is giving me grey hair at seven months!

Every day it is a complete power struggle between the two of us. Now before you go off your rockers and say she's a baby there shouldn't be a struggle let me explain. It's a struggle in the sense that she has a lot of endurance and could cry for more than an hour without giving up the fight. (let me just say two hour car ride...very tired baby that refused to go to sleep....non-stop crying regardless of the many stops, bottle, change, and binky insertions that happened) For the most part she is a happy playful baby that loves attention however in the moments that she needs to do something that isn't part of her plan well let me just say I think I've spotted horns. It has led to many sleepless nights and days where I feel like I'm the worst mom ever because she won't stop crying. It also has me left with an awful sense of dread of the not to distant teenage years where raging hormones sends even the most docile little girl into fits of she-devilness.

Then there are those quite moments where she lies sleeping like an angel and I stop and think of how much of my temperament she has and I laugh quietly to myself. I may not have a child that is like I was as a child but she certainly is like me now. The fierce determination to accomplish something no matter what is every bit of me in her.

One day we will look back at these days and laugh just as my mother and I do now but until then I laugh and some days cry as she tests both her limits and mine.