The Erica Syndrome

Fans of the Babysilv blog will remember from last time around tales of The Erica Syndrome, aka what happens when a perfectly normal (or in Erica's case, more or less normal) child discovers that they have a sibling and are now no longer the only apple in their parents' eyes. This involves tantrums, requests to become a baby again (wearing diapers, sleeping in cribs, etc.), pretending like the baby does not exist, asking if the baby should be rescued from a potentially burning building or if it should be left there to die (that actually happened), and most famously, announcing that one's goal in life is to be an only child.

Now that Ivy is 2, and potentially a "terrible two," the question lingers: Will she suffer from Erica Syndrome?

At first I thought no. Ivy loves babies. She loves Baby Benjamin at day care and is the only kid interested in his baby-ness. She brings him his bottle, pacifier, diapers, etc. She gives him hugs and kisses. She also loves her Big Sister book (hell of a lot better than some of the other crap she makes us read, like stupid Stop Train Stop with the friggin cow in Knapford), loves talking about being a big sister, loves kissing the baby and talking to it. She won't suck like Erica; she will be awesome like Ivy. Hooray!

And yet...

Ivy is definitely showcasing some characteristics of a "two-er." She throws tantrums for completely random reasons, and sometimes throws counter-tantrums for opposite reasons at the same time (example: tantrum because you want to put her in her seat; you stop trying to put her in the seat, and she throws a tantrum because you aren't helping her get in the seat). She is incredibly independent and refuses to accept help doing tasks, especially if she is doing them incorrectly (like putting shoes on the wrong feet). She also recently discovered the word "why" and is now questioning all aspects of reality like she were a sophomore Philosophy major quaking over Camus.

I still am holding out hope that Ivy will be great with the new baby and that his or her addition to our family will be seamless and wonderful (though I'm sure Poker will have an attitude about the kid - stupid cat). If Ivy does go off the deep end though, I can always kick it with the second kid, as hopefully it will have Mike Syndrome and will suffer from incredible bouts of awesomeness.

- Me