Question for everyone, Violet had a massive tantrum this afternoon cos she was overtired, and she got herself SO worked up crying that she was choking, it was horrible... the only thing that worked was feeding her, which got me to worrying, what if she ever has a tantrum like that when im not there, if DH or my mum or someone is watching her? Cos they wouldnt be able to feed her? Has anyone had anything similar, and found any ways to calm them down? She was crying like she was devestated, like really wailing.. it was very upsetting! She wouldnt take the dummy or anything!
Alex has had a couple of those. The most recent one was because he was overtired and overheated after a week of 40+ temps. He was at the point where he wouldn't even feed, just kept on screaming. They're really heartbreaking and stressful, but you get through them - just keep trying different things. I find a warm shower or bath often settles Alex down if he's in the middle of a meltdown, especially the shower as he stops crying and snuggles in skin to skin. Otherwise wrapping him has worked on occasion (he's normally not wrapped) or putting him in the car and taking him for a drive. I've also laid him on my chest in a dark room and slowly stroked his back, letting him listen to my heartbeat - sometimes they get over-stimulated as well and don't know how to calm down. So removing all outside stimuli in favour of familiar sounds works as well.