Lately Javier, who is now 13 months old BTW, has been throwing these little tantrums and I'm not sure what to do with them. He's always been this sweet, gentle little boy, but when he gets upset these days, he arches his back, screams, and throws himself backwards onto the floor. He's done it to me when he doesn't want to go into his crib, but I talk him through it and he calms down shortly after. He also does it at times when he doesn't want to go into his car seat. Today our daycare lady said he did it when she walked passed him and didn't pick him up. He was on the floor and she was afraid he was going to hurt himself.
These tantrums don't last long, but I'm not sure what to do when they're happening. Do I not react to it? Why does he do it and get so upset? Could he be learning this at daycare? I don't see other children acting this way. I now wonder if we spoil him by over-praising him and loving him so much, that he now simply gets this way when he wants something. It's funny because before having a child I thought, no way, my kids won't do that. Pah! Was I wrong. I now realize there are certain things you can't control and well, I believe this behavior is a parent's true test. I'm up, and it's real, but I kind of do feel like we need to nip this in the bud. No? I think this because he isn't close to being 2 years old yet. If he was 2, then it would seem more typical, but he's only 1! What the heck?!
Aside from the tantrums, we cannot be more in love with our little guy. He's so fun most of the time - joking, laughing, pretending, playing. He's eating many more solids now, which makes me happy, but now I need to be more creative with cooking. He's not a big fan of just steamed veggies, so I feel like I might need to be Martha Stewart in the kitchen so that he can enjoy it and eat it all up. His favorite meal right now is plain yogurt, blended with blueberries, banana, and wheat germ - all organic. I love it too actually, but we only make it for him. He's really loving pasta these days, so I think I'm going to sneak in some carrots and maybe peas, although I can totally see him picking them out and throwing them on the floor. We'll see. But yeah, feeding time is exciting right now, at least for me. I'm always thinking of what I can make and what would taste good to him. He's picky, but luckily his palate his changing. He tasted watermelon today after several tries and kept asking for more! I read somewhere that you have to try like 15 times with various foods and that most likely they will end up liking it.
And finally, Javier is sleeping from 7pm to 7am. I never thought that day would come - I am knocking on wood right now. This better not be just another phase. He was doing 7 to 4, then 7 - 5:45, which was the worst because then I couldn't fall asleep again, and that's even with my husband going in there and getting him back down. But these last 3 nights he has stretched it to 7. It is so lovely. I really, really, hope it sticks.
I am thrilled that Summer is almost officially here. Even though we continue to jump hurdles (little hurdles), parenting and raising a little one has become more and more natural. I'm excited for shorts & t-shirts, garden veggies, parks, birds & bunnies, pools, running, cabins, and biking. Doing and seeing all of this and more, with Javier, makes me very happy.
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