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Whining Never Ends

Sometimes I think that Carl will whine forever.  Or I feel like he has been whining forever.  That he is just constantly on the verge of a full-blown tantrum and anything could set him over the edge.

A few common offenders include: having jam instead of brown sugar on his oatmeal, hating all the pajamas left in his bin, being asked to clean up his toys, seeing someone look at him funny, being told to stop when he gets to the street, or feeling the sun shine on his skin.

A few weeks ago, our neighbor told him he was a Duede and would be a Duede forever.  This sent him spiraling into a screeching fit.

This afternoon, I asked him to come home from the same neighbor's house and help me put Sven to bed for a nap.  That particular tantrum has only just ended and lasted 1/2 an hour!

Where has my sunny boy gone?  Or do I only imagine that there was a time when things were better?  Perhaps he has always been overly-sensitive.

No, I don't think I'm imagining it; the tantrums have gotten worse in the past few months.  This makes me wonder if they aren't baby-related.  I wonder, maybe he isn't getting enough attention? and then I feel guilty.

Whenever possible, I take him to the green chair in my room and sit with him until he calms down.  At first, his protests become even more vigorous and he will kick, scream, maybe even hit me or call me names. In those cases, I will physically restrain him until he calms down.  At some point, he will start sucking his thumb and smelling his fingers to calm himself.  Then he doesn't want to leave the chair and will begin to moan again as soon as I suggest he might be feeling better.  He's usually right about not being over it; if I push him out at that point, he will fall apart at the next available opportunity. But eventually, both he and I can agree that he is calm and life can move on.

Until the next explosion.

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