Just the two of us to D.C.

First, just wanted to thank everyone who left comments on my last two posts about tantrums! Totally read the comments for some great tips like getting down to your child's level and using distraction! Also, here are two articles left in the comments about handling tantrums -- LouLouLoves shared an article by Penelope Leach, and Jen Kakio shared an article by Kat at Vodka and Soda.

So today's post is finally not about tantrums (yay!), but about how great our 20-mo (J) did on our trek to D.C. and also what I've learned from his past tantrums!

On one of my day's off during our 20-month's (J) Spring Break (yea, our daycare had 3 days of Spring Break), I decided to take him to the National Aquarium. Not the cool one in Baltimore though. No, I wanted to go to the $10/adult "fish store" in D.C. Seriously, doesn't the floor plan look like a fish store? I thought it might be empty considering you had to pay to get in.

Lightweight stroller, check!
Camera battery charged, check!
Camera backpack, check! Full review to follow.
Metro card balance full, check!

This was going to be J's second time riding the Metro. He was excited to see the train! "Choo choo". But when the train started moving, he was scared. He wanted to hold my hand. I almost cried due to sweetness overload.

But then 10 min into the ride, he quickly pulled his hand away as if to say "I don't need to hold your hand anymore!" Is that what heartbreak feels like??? It's ok. It was rather funny.

Because the elevators were out at the Metro station in D.C., we had to take a series of 4 elevators to get to the street level. Down, across the platform, up, up through Macys, across Macys, up again, and then finally at street level. It took us 1.5 hrs to get to the aquarium. 1.5 hrs! Even though we had two bad days of tantrums (1, 2), J was such a champ that morning! He sat quietly in that stroller for 1.5 hrs. 1.5 hrs!

We got through the metal detectors at the aquarium and took the elevators down since the aquarium is on the basement level. We were greeted by a long line in front of the single register. Someone kinda-rudely told me that the line went back up the stairs. Bet he was stressed out by the long line. I was not going to wait in this long line for a fish store! Guess I was naive to think that the aquarium would be empty because you had to pay to get in.

Luckily, the Washington Monument and National Mall were only a block away. Finally, J was allowed to stretch his legs! It was already 11am, so I asked him if he wanted milk. He said no. I asked him if he wanted a snack. He said no. You see, I was trying to keep him hydrated and full to avoid a tantrum, a lesson I thought I learned from our tantrum-atic visit to the zoo. Another lesson I thought I learned from the last 2 tantrums: before J started pushing the stroller, I got down to his level (Nilsa from SoMi Speaks will agree!) and explained to him that if he needed help, he should say "Help me" instead of getting upset. Also, when he was about to run into someone, I'd make him look at the person so he knew who he might hit. It took some canoodling, but I eventually got him to keep the stroller off the major sidewalk.

Gotta get this all on camera! I whipped out my camera, switched it on, and nothing...MAN. I left my fully-charged battery still in the charger. Guess I'm lucky to have my phone.

After an hour pushing the stroller around on the gravel and grass, J got back in the stroller and promptly fell asleep.

He only slept for about 45 min. He woke up on the Metro platform as we were waiting for the train home. He wanted out, but I couldn't let him since it was dangerous. Luckily, I distracted him (several of you suggested this in my last 2 tantrum posts!) with pretzels (yay for snacks!) and milk. He sat quietly for another 45 min on the train ride home.

After two days of horrible tantrums, y'all, this day was AMAZING! J was such a champ! Such a champ! He threw zero tantrums. He only threw a small tantrum when it was time to get in the car, but I kept my cool, and he stopped crying as we passed by the card reader out of the parking garage. Beeeep. What was that? Babies are so funny!

I'm learning so much about my son!

I think he prefers me to explain things to him to avoid tantrums over the stroller/independence.

Thanks, y'all!

 Show some love. Leave a comment below and I'll definitely respond!  ----------------------- Follow this blog! RSS | Facebook | Twitter | Email | Bloglovin'-----------------------  Originally posted at expandng.com - Just the two of us to D.C.