Temper that Temper

Allison has mentioned Ayden's tendency to get frustrated when things aren't going his way. For a while, this trait manifested itself when Ayden was trying to (unsuccessfully) accomplish something. In the past, that usually occurred when he was attempting to manipulate one of his toys in a particular way. Of late, it's been clear to us he is frustrated by not being able to move (though he's getting there - see here) and by not being able to communicate (there have been times when he really seems to be trying to tell us something). This is understandable, of course.

I've had two (maybe three) more teeth come in. I'm now up to at least 10.

 

However, Ayden's frustration at times has turned into tantrums. Not only are those not understandable, they are not acceptable. Unfortunately (for all of us), Ayden's more extreme temper tantrums have started to end with him vomiting. For example, a few days ago Allison needed to put his shirt on. He was doing his own thing in the floor and did not appreciate the interruption. He threw a fit and then threw up.

All these tubeless pictures, like the ones from the pool, are because I keep throwing up my tube.

We had the same problem over the July 4th weekend before we left for the pool one morning. He was not pleased with the sunscreen application process, got mad, and threw up. That time, he threw up his feeding tube - i.e., the tip of the tube, which is supposed to be in his stomach, comes out his mouth - in addition to his formula.

I wish I could say this throwing up the tube business was an isolated incident, but it's not. It's probably happened close to five times in the last two weeks. To be fair to Ayden, not all have been a result of his temper. Most have been directly attributable to him gagging himself with his finger because he's teething again. Others are due to his newfound mobility. Yesterday, he was up, down, around, over, etc. in such quick succession, he shook himself up a little too much (remember, all he gets in his liquid, which just sloshes around in his stomach as he moves), and up came the tube.

The teething seems to have subsided, so the frequency of these incidents has thankfully decreased over the last few days. That doesn't change the fact that he has received several "talkings to" regarding his temper and how to appropriately react to something he does not like or want. In other words, we have been telling him he needs to temper his temper.