Biggest Meltdown.Yet.

Who would think this little guy would be capable of the biggest meltdown/temper tantrum that has happened in our lives in the past 17 months? I have never seen my son so completely beside himself and not be able to do anything for him to change it. It started when we left the store and he grabbed my car keys as I was putting him in his seat. Reagan and Grammy were on the other side of the car behaving nicely. I needed the key to be able to drive and tried to give Nolan something else to play with. Cue the screams. The tears. The throwing. So, I just drove off with him being utterly pissed at me. We were going to lunch and I figured that telling him he would have "soupy", his favorite food right now, would calm down. Not so much. He did stop when we got in the restaurant and saw the fish tank (fishfee's as he calls them.) Then it was time to sit down. Nope, not what he wanted to do. Enter the biggest temper tantrum ever. I even tried to give him the key he wanted earlier while getting him seated and he threw that. Next was a spoon, then his sippy cup. I told my mom to ignore him, get Reagan settled and I was taking Nolan outside. He threw himself on the sidewalk at my feet, screaming and sobbing. By now he was working himself up so much he was almost hyperventilating so we ran back in and told my mom to order lunch for she and Reagan and the boy and I were going for a drive. He took a couple of swings at me, landing one on the left side of my jaw......where the dentist had just dug around that morning. I calmly held his hands at his side as I put him in his car seat. Trying to communicate with him on a normal level at his point was out of the question. The drive didn't matter to him. Still screaming. I went back to the restaurant parking lot and figured I would try once more to calm him down, otherwise he would just pass out from exhaustion and I'd sit in the car until Reagan and Grammy were done with their luncheon date. He tried to sit down in the parking lot again and then he wanted up, still crying. He grabbed my neck, wiped his snot on my shirt, and went limp except for those few gasps from sobbing every once in a while. Out cold. I went inside to find Reagan enjoying a grilled cheese, fries, raisins, pickles, and chicken noodle soup. She and Grammy were having a grand time. Reagan was saying hi and bye to everyone paying their bills at the register behind her. A regular social butterfly. Nolan woke up as if nothing had happened and went on about his day, playing and giggling. This was really hard to see because these two kids have been exceptionally well behaved babies so far. I know this is part of being a toddler and not being able to communicate with words, but they do so well for the most part that this really took me by surprise. I'll be looking for some new strategies to deal with temper tantrums because the approach of ignoring him and letting him go (unless he is putting himself in danger) didn't work so well. Let's hope we outgrow these quickly! What works for you?!?!? An update on my mouth: They think something is stuck below the gum line. He injected some antibiotics in there after giving the area a thorough cleaning. OUCH He also gave me a medicated rinse to try to "calm things down." Once the Novocaine wore off I was in considerable pain. Not fun at all. Mouth pain is just the worst. I would really like to throw myself down on the sidewalk and scream right about now!