Cold Spaghetti

On Saturday afternoon, Will had a TEMPER TAN-TRUM. I say TAN-TRUM because it was a display worthy of two words. He’s had fussy fits before, but this… THIS was different.

What was it over? What could make one that upset? Global warming? World Hunger? The rise in TB? The challenge of fighting HIV? No. It was over…
… pudding.

It was around 10:30 Saturday morning. We had already been up a good 5 hours and had an active morning of yard work, neighborhood walks, playtime, and even a shower to wash off all the dirt from the yard. Will was having a small snack (watermelon) since it seemed a bit early for lunch. When he indicated he was done with the watermelon, he showed that he didn’t want to leave his high chair. (As in, I took him out and he climbed back in.) So, I took this in the usual way: he was showing me he was still hungry. I began to make him lunch. When I served him his lunch (leftovers of black bean and rice, which is something he loves) he pushed it away.

This isn’t not unusual — it usually means he’s thirsty. So I tried milk. And water. And then food again. He wouldn’t have any of it. And he was getting frustrated, pointing over and over again at the fridge. Finally, he said something I understood: “ud-ing!” He was trying to tell me that he wanted pudding.

(BACKSTORY: I had made cappucino parfaits the night before as a treat for our wedding anniversary. Will saw the cups in the fridge when I opened it up to find his lunch. The irony is that they were not regular pudding, but flavored with CC’s coffee. Not standard fare for the pallet of an 18-month old. In any case, as far as I was concerned, he wasn’t going to be trying it before he had some lunch.)

However, to show that I understood what he was trying to say to me, I took out the parfait and another spoon and put it behind his plate on the table. I did this deliberately, explaining that he could have pudding, after he ate some lunch.

I tried this angle for awhile. Alternating between conversation and demonstration. I took a bite of lunch, then had a small bite of parfait. I explained and demonstrated all of this very calmly. Will continued to wind up higher and higher. Finally, he started trying to climb out of his chair, toward the parfait. I told him that this was not acceptable behavior and that he had one more chance before it was naptime. After putting the parfait went back in the fridge, Will was offered his plate for the final time. He did not take the offer.

So, I picked up my very unhappy baby and started for the bedroom. Immediately, his tone changed. He started shaking his head “no, no.” I told him that although he hadn’t had lunch, naptime was still scheduled. We went directly into his room, I laid him down in the crib, turned on the sounder, and sat on the floor (sitting profile to him). He understands these things as all indications of naptime.

He went berserk. Twenty minutes of screaming, crying, sobbing, calling my name, fighting to climb out of his crib, shrieking, even clapping… anything he could do to get my attention. Manx (our cat) was really agitated by the whole display and came in to comfort him (she got panicked when he tried to climb out of the crib and started swatting at his legs until he came down). I sat calmly in the room so that he could see I was there, but was not paying any mind to his tantrum. Finally, after 20 minutes, he layed down and went to sleep… still heaving from his cry.

When he woke up 2 hours later, his same beans and rice lunch appeared before him. He ate it, with his spoon, every bite! (Very impressive!) And what did he get for dessert for cleaning his plate? Why, the Cappucino pudding! (Surprise, Mom! Babies actually like coffee flavor??)

Phew. I hope he learned something so we don’t have to go through THAT again!