Toddler warfare

Parenting is not a job for the weak. I thought being a parent would be all sunshine and flowers at all times, but I discovered that it's as far from sunshine and flowers as you can get. Most of the time, it is more like a war zone than a field of roses.

Granted, there are times that make me forget I am behind enemy lines, like when Cooper gives me those huge puppy dog eyes and asks me to cuddle and read to him, or when he gives me squeezes and kisses and tells me I am his favorite mommy. But most of the time I am always on guard waiting for the next attack to happen.

Being in a war zone is a recent development. For those of you who don't know, I am expecting our second child in early March. From that moment on, my life changed, and I am not yet sure if it is for the best. At first we were all excited, especially Cooper. He told everyone he knew his mommy had a baby in her belly and he had one, too. He continuously talked about how he was a big boy and that the baby could share his toys and he was going to change diapers.

Then, a few weeks ago -- out of nowhere, like an early-morning sneak attack -- things changed. He started deliberately going to the bathroom in his pants again. He throws temper tantrums that would scare away even the terrible Hun Army, and he does all this only for my viewing pleasure. At Grammy's, the babysitter's and Grandma's house he is the perfect child for all. At home, he is a terror that would put any mercenary to shame.

I have read every book and blog and medical paper out there, and I have listened to everyone from our doctor to my mother to a friend who is a counselor. Nothing has helped. He will go a few days tricking me into believing that he is the "old" Cooper, and then go right back to being the enemy.

I was not prepared for this. I knew to expect something like this when the baby actually got here, but not five months before! Nothing in the house has changed -- we don't have any baby stuff up, and we don't even really talk about the baby that much. I just can't figure out what is going on in that little 3-year-old head of his.

I'm sure it will get better, or at least that is the lie I tell myself at night so I can sleep. Maybe my mom had it right -- six years was a good amount of time between kids. I remember being super excited to have a baby sister and only a tad bit jealous when she actually got here. I just always hated how my sister and I weren't close, since we were so far apart in age. I thought that with our kids only three years apart, they would be best friends. Maybe when the baby actually gets here things will change and he will be uber excited. Only time will tell!

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Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Mo., came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that by age 25, she'd be married with a baby and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a first-time mom -- one who's still a girl trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.