Ceci's First Haircut (& Some Drama)

Ok, so the plan was to drop Les off at Mam-ma's then meet Daddy to get a haircut. We went to Daddy's shop since he was getting a trim that day too. Well...that day the bobcat struck again. Cecilia was petting her little brother's head in an "oh-so-nice" way then STRIKE! Again. She scratched his head/face with all five fingers and one ended up in his eye. POOR baby Les. Mommy got very upset. When he got up from his nap, there was a greenish/yellowy discharge from the corner of that eye. GREAT, Mommy thought. Calls into the doc flood (let's be honest; I called the doc as soon as it happened, but they called after his nap - yay - just when I could describe the discharge). Cecilia saw a specialist when she was a preemie (routine retina check-ups for preemies), so I called them. They told me that they would get the doctor back up to the office who had just left... Of course, for me this was good and bad news. Typically, I overreact and call the doctor for ALL questions and concerns (oops), so I thought his office would say to just watch his eye. Nope. They said let's not wait until Monday; we want to see him. Panic. Mode. Set. In. So Mommy dropped C off with Daddy for the haircut, went back and picked up Les from Mam-ma's, then Mam-ma went to the salon to help Daddy. Again, THANK GOODNESS for superstar grandparents who live minutes away. Ahhhhh! Fortunately, Les' cornea was not scratched, and he was just fine. The doctor was shocked at how good he was for the drops and exam. In fact, he said his eyes looked great! He did prescribe some antibiotic drops for that nasty discharge but said he would be alright. I got a little teary at the good news. I would have been very teary at bad news. I guess the sleep deprivation and panic had my emotions running high. AHHHHHH, now Mommy can have a good weekend.

To expand on this before I post pics of the monster's first haircut, I will say that I was RIGHT there when this all happened. I tell myself - Les is going to get hurt by his sister, and people will say "oh goodness, now why did that Mom leave her infant alone with a toddler..." NO, MAAM. I was less than arm's length away. In fact, these fits of rage typically occur when I'm breastfeeding. Of course, Cecilia is starving for attention, and it is difficult. I feel terrible that she's going through this transition and clearly not handling it well. BUT, we have to get through this, and we have no choice but to deal with --- and to eventually like our little brother. Additional problems arise when the toddler, not even two years old, is smart and manipulative. She picks and chooses her times to strike. At times she's nice and at times she's mean... mostly she "plays nice" to get me to react with "Oh Ceci, you're so sweet, Oh Ceci, thank you for being so sweet to Les..." THEN she scratches him. Now, you say, if she always does this then why can't I stop her. Well, every time she approaches her brother, it is hard to say "Stop. No. Go away. Don't touch him." Obviously that isn't a good route either. AND in those moments she changes from nice to mean, I'd have to be a ninja to stop her. I'm so serious. It is lightening fast. I've had to be very consistent and firm with her every time she shows aggression to him or me (or anyone else in the family). It hasn't seemed to work yet (duh), but my hope is that she will soon realize this isn't acceptable. ((Because p.s. about an hour after she attacked him, she came up behind me and pulled my hair and scratched my back)).

My reason for blogging is to use this as their "baby book," but I do know I have a few Mommy readers who comment.:)... And most have multiples. If you have suggestions, THROW 'em out! I realize the closeness in age is a key element, but if anyone has suggestions on ways to combat this behavior, please share!! I've done some reading and all the tricks have failed.

So now for the pics of her haircut... that I missed.:(:( We would reschedule but are taking some fam pics tomorrow.

WAIT, you're cutting MY MULLET? No, I lovvvve my uneven hair!!

 Sweet stylist Mrs. Chris Gaston.

Jonathan has gone to her for years. She tried everything to make Ceci happy. 

Want to hold the comb? Nope. I want my mullet!! 

 Yep. Still not happy. Kind of glad I missed the appointment. HA!

 Even being hand-fed goldfish, Ceci was still skeptical. So glad Mam-ma got there to help!! 

Ok, we have a little bit of a smile after it was all over...

MY GOODNESS... WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THAT GIRL!!!?