My 17mth old has gone from delight to disaster zone right before my eyes!

[MujerMamaMismo]

I'm needing some tools to get through this bit of toddlerdom. A week ago I was lamenting at how wonderful parenting this kid was...how easy...and fun...and joyous. And BANG.

There's a few behavioural things going on but what is driving me absolutely insane is his boob obsession and constant, demand for 'more, more, more, more, more, more...' And mostly more is wanting more boob but it can be about something else occasionally. Distraction rarely works and I hear myself saying 'no' a million times a day, which is not my preferred mode of mothering.

He has been having more general meltdowns lately too and yesterday threw his first real, 15 minute, inconsolable tantrum. We were walking down the street and I literally had to carry him kicking and screaming because when I let him down he was trying to crawl onto the road. Can you imagine the looks I got??? ( I mention this only because it probably represents that there's a shift going on, not because I think tantrums are a problem or unusual.)

The boob/more scenario is so intense that he's waking up hourly and even dreaming/talking in his sleep demanding 'more, more, more'

Any ideas?

[teachma]

I hope that you receive some helpful advice. I don't have any, but I do want to say that my 14 month old is also obsessed with the word/idea of "more." He applies it to nursing 24/7 and also wakes up often saying it while half-asleep. He also says it when he wants to go outside to play on our back deck, and he points insistently to indicate where he wants to go...he has done it a couple of times in the middle of a lightning storm, and a minor tantrum ensues when I cannot oblige the request. Anyway, perhaps it's comforting to know we are going through a similar stage, though probably less intense as it is not yet driving me crazy!