Alex is starting to act out...

And I don't quite know how to handle it.

She's just being SO incredibly defiant, saying no to everything I ask her to do, talking back to me, arguing about EVERYTHING, obsessing about tiny little "booboos" (i.e. mosquito bites).

Last night she lost it when DH was giving her a shower, screaming and yelling, so we put her to bed without our usual walk. She woke up at 1am crying, and didn't go back to sleep until 3am. First, it was because she had to pee, then it was because she had convinced herself the little flowers on her pillowcase were poopy

This NEVER happens. She sleeps through the night, soundly, for 11 hours, every night, rarely waking up, and if she does, she goes right back to sleep, but last night she just carried on and on and on... kept us up, woke up Yael...

So how do I handle this? Is this because of Yael? Truthfully, I AM giving her MORE attention than usual because I'm around more, and it seems the more attention I give her, the more of a monster she's becoming. Should I be coddling her more because she's crying out for attention? Or should I be consistently firm and discipline appropriately?

I'm at a total loss ladies...

Re: Alex is starting to act out...

Some of that is the wonderful age and some of that is Yael. My daughter and your daughter are similar, and I will tell you it goes in waves with her behavior and her defiance.

I wish I had a magic cure.

I have found that we will do some special things without my son. I will take her to do things that remind her that she is the big girl. Remind her that she gets to do this for being good and for being the big one. I also try to make things more about her. I try not to say don't wake your brother he needs sleep.I will say something like let's try and be quiet so your brother will sleep longer and we can have special time. I try to use his nap time for doing something with her that I can't do while he's awake.

Yael is still young. Give it time it will straighten itself out. We honestly thought my daughter was losing it when we brought our son home.

I can tell you my daughter has been spending a lot of time in time out on the steps.

Re: Alex is starting to act out...

I am sure it has to do w/ the new baby. I am in a similar situation in that I have a 7 wk old at home...but my oldest is 2 y/o. She has started acting up (in a 2 y/o manner) - she is whining more, wants to be held more (where she is normally so independent) - I had to go do a real estate closing yest and she CLUNG to me for dear life when I attempted to walk out the door Iwork normally and I am not around as much as I am now. I asked my ped about it and his response surprised me. He told me that it is definitely because of the new baby AND he is happy to hear she is acting up - he said there are some kids who internalize their feelings and are worse off in the end. I also asked how I can make her feel better and he told me to continue giving her my love and attention but try not to give into her temper tantrums etc b/c the behavior will just continue.
I am sure Alex will soon come to terms with the fact that you just brought home her new best friend! Give her some time and let her vent!!!

Good Luck