New Developmental Stage

Brendan is discovering his sense of self. And he wants us to know that he has wishes and desires! Lately, he's been experimenting with tantrums, in the mildest form. If we don't hand him his juice cup right away (or refuse him something) he will run ten feet away, drop to the floor and whine or fuss a little. But this is short-lived.

Well, today he did something like a real tantrum but we couldn't figure out what he wanted and, turns out, neither could he. It all started when he came around the corner from the kitchen and saw me curled up in a blanket on the couch; that's when the chaos began. He started crying and saying "NO!" and pulling on my blanket. He fell to the floor in a full-bellied cry, so I asked him what he wanted - his blankie, my blankie, ME? At one point we thought he wanted the blanket off the couch so we gave that a try but it didn't stop the level 7 breakdown. He continued to cry, face to the ground, and got up once in a while pointing at me yelling "NO!"

Matt and I were totally amused at this and it was all we could do not to laugh through his obvious distress. We kept asking him what he wanted but to no avail. I even tried removing myself from the couch to see if that was what he was crying about. For a second it seemed that was it. He climbed halfway up and then dropped to the floor again yelling "NO!" and flailing around. In utter amazement we sat back and watched the drama for a few more minutes. He wanted his shoes on, so he tried to put them on through his tears but then suddenly changed his mind and yelled "NO!" We finally decided to break it up so we gathered him up and gave him the 3 comforts: blankie, "boff" (paci) and books. He finally settled down and we put him down for a nap.

I think Matt is right. He's undergoing chemical changes that make him suddenly emotional and he doesn't actually know what he wants. I know the feeling! So, I just rubbed his back at one point when he was bent forward face between his feet crying and said, "I know, Zaiah. I know."