Tantrums Galore!

Leah has discovered the power of her own voice. Things she may have simply whined about just a couple weeks ago (mostly to do with not getting her own way!) are now met with full-out, blood-curdling screams. Last night was the worst tantrum I've seen yet.

It began when she toppled onto some blocks. I think it scared her more than anything and she freaked out. She sat in my lap for a few minutes while I tried to comfort her. However, instead of calming down, she continued to freak out and squirm out of my arms so I decided to let her lay on the floor and get it out of her system. Essentially, I ignored her. I walked into the kitchen to start dinner. I peeked back into the family room and she was sitting there, looking at me, and crying to get my attention.

She continued crying even when Dan picked her up and tried to console her. When dinner was ready, I put her in the highchair and she quieted down for a couple minutes to eat. I left the room for a second and she immediately started freaking out again! This continued the entire time we ate dinner. I knew all she wanted was for me to hold her but I refused to give in.

Once I finished eating, I picked her up and she was alright for a couple minutes. She had another freak-out when I tried playing with her in the family room. No idea why. Eventually, she got over it and started playing and babbling again as usual. I think she screamed for almost a solid hour total. Oy. I felt sorry for the dogs and their sensitive ears!

Dan said it best this morning - she's putting on a show for me. She does it at daycare too. She'll cry and scream and reach for me as we're leaving, but just a minute after we walk out of the room, she's perfectly fine! I think she's already learned that I tend to give in to her. So, it's time to set some boundaries for the long term. I just didn't think we'd have to start doing so at almost 14 months!

As a side note, her fever must've been some type of flu strain. Dan and I both got it over the weekend, though Dan felt way worse than I did. We all took a sick day on Monday.