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@Phillybaby2013: We struggled with behavior too!

Have you tried reward charts or praise? One thing we realized is that a lot of our feedback was negative... once we started focusing on positive feedback, things really turned around!

Tomato stake him. http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/ch07.php (FYI, this site is religious, but I'm an atheist and I think the method is sound and can be applied whatever your beliefs.) When a toddler is out of control, we naturally want to mentally distance ourselves from them even if they are in the same room, and we also try to stave off a major meltdown by diverting their attention or giving into their demands. Doing those things actually just makes it worse, IMHO. The premise is that you stay close to your toddler whenever he is at home in a way that his daycare teachers just can't. Be within arm's reach of him at all times and anticipate his behavior so you can nip it in the bud. Casually present him with "triggers" that normally set him off and address the behavior directly, calmly, with a consistent consequence. Do not engage with him emotionally--do not think of yourself as trying to prevent the inevitable bad behavior--think of yourself as merely an officer of the law, to speak. There are certain rules, certain standards of behavior, that must be obeyed. If he does X, then you must do Y to show him the consequences of his behavior. It isn't passing judgment on him being "bad" or anything like that. Just keep him close, watch him closely (without him realizing that's what you're doing), and repeat the consequences again and again (he will NOT get it the first, third or eighth time...and that's okay, keep moving forward).

The only other word of advice I would give is to cut out all screen time. In the same vein as above, I think a lot of parents use it as a tool to get some much needed down time and keep their kid calm, but I honestly believe it makes behavior worse. But I understand not everyone thinks that way, so if you feel it's not a problem, focus on other things first.

How far along are you? When I worked at a daycare it was pretty common for toddlers to act out when their mothers were pregnant.

Is it possible for you to spend a morning or an hour at daycare with him? It might be good for him to see the rules are the same there and at home.

I agree with so many things pp have said. Firstly that it's normal to act out when mom is pregnant. Secondly we try to limit things that exacerbate "bad" behavior: in my kids this is screen time and sweets. And then lots and lots of hugs and kisses all day long. Emphasizing the good behavior and using fast food rule when we have a melt down. And then some more hugs. I know it can be super frustrating but it will pass!

We went through this a bit. What worked was just nipping it immediately. I don't mind kids working things out but when she was regularly lashing out I tried to stick close by I'd tell her no hitting and if she didn't freak out she got another chance - if she did it again or freaked out then we went home. We left a lot of places for about 2 weeks. If we were at home and she started hitting she went to her room. I didn't want to stand there and be hit and make her think it was ok so we just made it clear people aren't for hitting and if she starts then she needs to cool off in her room until she's not ready to not hit mommy. If it was a big storm I'd try to go in to talk to her but as soon as she hit I'd leave for a min or two. When she wasn't hitting we showered her with lots of love and good words and lots of stories to try and promote what kind of behavior we wanted. I also practiced with her what to do when she got angry. Hands on her hips and say 'don't take my toy ' since for her a kid taking something out of her hands was the most frequent cause of hitting.