No more head-banger!

FINALLY...after more than 6 months of teaching Alex the sign language for "more" he's caught on!!! You see, up until this point he's been rocking (violently) in his highchair to tell us he wants more food. The poor highchair has taken such a beating and it now squeaks really loud. So, at every meal (3 times a day) we have a boy who rocks back and forth in the highchair, banging his head against the back and the chair's continuous squeak. We were seriously starting to loose our minds. The funny thing is, he doesn't do it at restaurants....either because the back of the highchairs are too low, or because there's more to look at and eating takes second priority. It's only a home thing.

I've been staying the course saying "Alex, would you like some more?" and doing the "more" sign, but I was beginning to lose hope. I'd tried using a stern "Alex, no rocking" for weeks. I'd tried stuffing dish towels behind his head so he'd lose momentum. Nothing worked. I kept telling myself, "this is a phase...he'll grow out of it...eventually". But I was really starting to doubt it.

Well, this weekend we had a breakthrough. The rocking (and squeaking) has all but ended. Now he just clasps his hand together to say "more". And if we don't respond fast enough, he does it faster, like he's really nervous and can't stop playing with his hands. We've been piling on the praise to let him know what a great job he's doing.

We've also been working on getting him to NOT throw his sippy cup off the tray every time he's finished drinking from it. Now, if you stick your hand out he'll give you his cup when he's done (with a big grin on his face). These are the small but significant milestones in our life. Now we can enjoy a peaceful meal at home, and I don't feel the need to head for the nearest Chick-Fil-A to avoid Alex and his head-banging!