Everything was fine. Potty trained, sleeping through the night, eating relatively normal foods. Then 3 hit and it's like someone flipped a switch. Back to accidents, he's waking up at 2am, suddenly refusing everything but chicken nuggets. I know it's probably normal or whatever but damn. My patience is hanging by a thread. Anyone else dealing with this? Please tell me it passes lol
Honestly? Sometimes it's developmental, sometimes it's a growth spurt, sometimes they just decided bedtime is their personal war to wage. The potty regression specifically is super common around 3. We kept our training pants handy for bedtime for like 6 months.
The accidents during the day are probably the most frustrating part for you. My son started doing this around 3.5 and I thought we were starting over from scratch. Turns out he was just pushing boundaries. Stayed consistent and he got past it in a few months.
My daughter did ALL of this at 3. Peed the bed, refused foods she used to love, tantrums out of nowhere. Doctor said it's actually pretty textbook. Doesn't help when you're running on no sleep though. Hang in there—mine snapped out of it around 4.
Welcome to the 3yo chaos era. It's temporary but feels eternal. The food pickiness is the worst—mine went from eating anything to rejecting anything that "looks different." We just kept offering the old foods without pressure and it eventually clicked again.
The regression is so real and it hits like a truck. My 3yo went from sleeping great to waking up screaming at 3am. Pediatrician said it's developmental and pretty normal but "normal" doesn't make the 2am wake-ups suck less.
someone absolutely should warn people about this. every parent guide acts like you hit 2.5 and smooth sailing from there. nope. 3 is its own beast
the sleep regression part killed me. we went through the same 2am wake up cycle around 3.5 years. lasted like 3 weeks of pure chaos then randomly stopped. might just be a phase for you too
did anyone ever explain WHY this happens? my wife and I thought we were doing something wrong but apparently their brains are developing fast and it messes with everything
the food thing is the worst part of this age honestly. my kid went from eating anything to refusing anything 'mushy' or touching other food on the plate. hang in there it does get better
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3 year regression is WILD. hit us like a truck too. suddenly our guy wanted pull ups again after being dry for 6 months. everyone said it would pass but man it was rough