A few weeks ago, much of my emotional energy centered around the sadness of seeing my baby grow up as I get ready for his 1 year birthday. I hadn't really taken the time to think about what life would be like with a a 1 year old. It's this in between age - not a baby, but not yet a toddler. I'd heard of the terrible 2's and tantrums, but I still had a year until I had to deal with that business.

Or so I thought. I've been living in denial these past few weeks. I thought there simply must be something physically wrong with my sweet-tempered boy to cause him to spontaneously burst in a screamy, crying ball of trouble. Or to bang his head against the chair and scream when he doesn't like the food I give him for lunch. Or to sit outside the bathroom door screaming so hard that he throws up when I won't let him go in. I've been googling ear infections and teething and sore throats trying to come up with a diagnosis that fit his symptoms.

Finally today I googled "1-year old temper tantrum". [I know you "been there done it" moms are thinking "duh". But, I really thought tantrums came later.] Anyhow, this is what I found:

Our 1-year-old has started throwing tantrums. Is there anything we can do to stop them?

Some developmental milestones that are commonly achieved at about 12 months (for example, walking and talking) are wonderful to see. Others, like temper tantrums, are a little less pleasant.

"Less pleasant." Ha. Understatement of the year. Anyhow, the article goes on to basically say that we need to let him tantrum and get it out of his system. If we give in, it's just going to get worse.

This scares me on many levels. I'm scared I won't have the strength to let him cry. I'm scared I'm not going to have the patience to deal with these outbursts. I'm scared I'm not going to have the energy for this. I'm scared to be the mom of a toddler.