Thursday, August 14, 2008

First Tantrum

We had our first, real, toddler tantrum yesterday.

I didn't even know what was going on until an hour after it was all over.

Here's the story.
I brought Kylie to her highchair for lunch. She started whining a bit as I lowered her. And when her bottom hit the seat, it turned into an all-out scream.

I thought she was in teething pain--after all, she is cutting 2 molars as well as pushing up four lateral incisors. So I'm running around offering teething rings, cold water, popsicles all of which she is refusing. I walk her around the house and sing to her. Then we go outside. Karen takes a turn and another turn. Kylie is still screaming her head off. This lasts around 30 minutes.

Finally, I take her upstairs and get her calmed down. And then it hits me....the highchair.

Kylie has shown signs of wanting out of her highchair. She's been pushing and sliding it away from the dining table. And then pulling out the regular chairs. A very clear signal indeed. I even told Karen a few days ago that we needed to get a booster.

But this tantrum hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like my head had exploded. I thought her tantrum might look like her kicking her feet or acting mad. Nope, my girl just screams, cries, clings to me and is the most pitiful, needy thing.

Now I know what to look for. And I brushed up on what to do when she has one.

But we also ran out and bought her the booster. (And a table pad and some toddler plates and such).

And, if you want to look on the bright side, I said a WHOLE lot of prayers yesterday. God is probably smirking.

Here is our little munchkin, happily eating in her booster.


PS- I had a venti iced mocha yesterday. Sometimes you've just got to have that extra kick of sugar and caffeine...particularly when your kid has been kickin' your butt and makin' your head explode.

3 comments:

Scout said...

I totally feel for you guys. Hang in there!!

Stacey said...

She's a big girl. Of course she needs to sit at the big table. ;) Tantrums are fun. :P Life saver for us was reading "Happiest Toddler on the Block"--the methods seem to really work well.

Ethan Barry's Momma said...

I want to officially welcome you to the world of toddlers. :) Wait until she refuses to wear a bib and decides she doesn't want to eat. Oh, those are fun days indeed.

Cool booster...We have the same one in a different color and it works great. Ethan hardly ever fights getting into it, and it's easy to clean.