A Sign of Things to Come

My kid is a hardcore tantrum-thrower. You tell him "no" and there is about a 75% (depending on his mood) that he will launch into hysterics or throw his body on the floor and bang around to get his point across (and add to his impressive collection of bruises).

I've made peace with this and am patiently waiting until the day he turns 3 and his halo reappears and the pumpkin turns back into carriage....

Anyway, two tantrums this week caught my attention and have made me think that I've had it easy so far, which scared me a bit.

Tantrum 1
Little Bug woke up at 5 am, which is common for him. We usually bring him into our bed at this point where he curls up between us and sleeps for another hour or so. On this morning, I stumbled into his room and picked him up, but instead of cuddling into me, he started flailing around and throwing his body backward while screaming "uhzahhhhhhh" (his word for his security items, burp cloth rags). I figured he just needed to lay down and realize he was already holding a raggie, but once he got into our bed he really started into hysterics and Appa and I could not calm him down. Finally I went back into his room and collected an additional 5 rags. The minute I threw them on top of him he popped his thumb in his mouth and went to sleep.

Seriously, Little Bug? After 18 months, suddenly the rag with the cars on it is so abhorrent to you? In the pitch dark of early morning?

Tantrum 2
During the school week, Little Bug earns his reputation as "Mr. Nap" because he sleeps like a champ. On the weekend....not so much. We've developed a routine that works for us where I rock him to sleep (he won't go down for Appa), and then we transfer him to his crib. I actually love this because it is one of the only times that Little Bug consistently prefers me over Appa.

Today...not so much. When we went to sit in our rocking recliner, Little Bug started freaking out. He was distraught and angry as he kept pointing to our couch and screaming "ON, Mama, ON." Finally I moved to the couch, positioned myself in an awkward half-recline, and my son quietly fell asleep on me within 5 minutes; long before the tears even dried and the hiccups stopped.

The reason these two tantrums stick out at me is because Little Bug isn't just throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way anymore; now he is attaching demands to his tantrums. Demands that seem a little on the ridiculous side to me, but hey, he is just 2.

Somehow I have this feeling that I might have it all wrong and this halo I am waiting for is going to look very different than I thought it would.