That's the only reason I can think of for my laid back, cuddly, sweet natured baby boy to suddenly turn into kicking, screaming, tantrum throwing, uncooperative mess. Three months ago or so, he only cried when he was hungry, tired, or poopy. We've been slowly building to this point - a little fit here, some fake crying there. Now he's way past crying. He squinches his eyes shut, clenches his little fists and shakes them while he's screaming. We go straight from happy baby to hysterical screaming at the drop of a hat.
Things that will set of a tantrum:
1. Washing his face
2. Changing a diaper
3. Combing his hair
4. Dressing him
5. Putting him in the bathtub
6. Taking him out of the bathtub
7. Not letting him past the baby gate
8. Not letting him stick things in the electrical outlets
9. Taking that thing he's not supposed to have away
10. Putting him in the car seat
11. Picking him up
12. Putting him down
13. Looking at him
It doesn't help that he's so smart. He's had the kicking thing down for a couple of days now. And he knows buckling him into the car seat is more difficult when he wiggles. But this morning he put the two together, along with using my arm as a spring board - screaming bloody murder all the while. It was an ordeal. Luckily, for now at least, the fits are very short. He's on to something else pretty quickly. But I have a feeling they're going to get longer and more frequent.
Also, I have a better understanding of those people who let their children run wild in in the store. I'm not condoning it, but I sure do understand it. What you don't see at the store is that this woman has already fought 100 small battles before ever leaving the house. She's been up to her elbows in poop. She's cleaned food off the floor, walls, and ceiling. She's said, "No." roughly 67 times. She's pried 43 objects from her toddler's grip. She's changed clothes twice already because she's suddenly discovered that she's wearing someone else's food or poop or both. She's rearranged the furniture and baby gates in the house to keep little feet and little hands from where they shouldn't be. So if she gets to the store and Junior wants to pull all the bouncy balls out of the bin, fine. If he wants to open and close every single door in the refrigerator section a bazillion times, great. If he wants to run down the aisles screaming, fantastic. It's fine because Junior isn't making a mess at home. It's great because it's something new and different to entertain him. It's fantastic because it burns energy and with a little luck, Junior will be so tired when he gets home that he will sleep a deep and peaceful sleep. And while he's sleeping, she will look at that precious sleeping face and know that when he wakes up, he will be the laid back, cuddly, sweet natured baby boy that she remembers, even if it's only for a little while.
