Oh no! I think it's the Terrible Twos.. tantrum strategies needed!

[FrizzyFrazzled]

My DS is two and two months, and up to now has been a dream child really. Lovely and gentle, mischevious and a bit boisterous but few tantrums and generally does as he is told. DD was born eight weeks ago and we were sensitive about the change, but he loves her and things have run pretty smoothly. He had a bit of a blip a couple of weeks ago but we thought we had it sorted by cutting most of the sugar he was having - we didn't think he was having that much but when we added up treats, sugary snacks even like muesli bars, and so on, we realised it could be making him crash. Seemed to work.
Until yesterday and today, when he has been having unpredictable enraged meltdowns. Tonight it was because he didn;t want a bath - after being his usual enthusiastic looking-forward-to-his-bath self, helping me run it, etc. Then it was because I took him out of the bath. Then it was because Little Charley Bear on TV finished. Complete meltdowns.
I don't really know how to deal with it. I tend to ignore them usually, and sometimes will take him to his room and leave him having a time out for a minute or two (we have a small house and no stairs so a naughty corner is hard to find!).
I fear this may be a new delightful phase and was wondering if anyone has some strategies for minimising or dealing with them?? I know two is a hard age when they are learning to cope with being told "no" and that the Universe doesn't revolve around them etc.
Any ideas??

A combination of 'ignore' and 'remove' is pretty good so you're doing the right things. On the sugar issue. If you've removed a lot of calories from his diet, make sure you replace them with other foods to the same calorific value and that he gets a steady stream of meals and snacks. Sugar is perfectly fine as part of a healthy diet because it provides easily accessible energy. However, if you remove the energy too dramatically and don't replace it you can give someone problems... fatigue, mood-swings, irritability.

This is happening in our house too.
Bedtime last night entailed two hours of screaming at the top of his lungs and throwing toys about. I think I have a changeling in my hands, my son is usually so sweet natured.

And I should have added... 'tiredness'. Around that age they can often start skipping their regular naps because they're busy doing something else. Then they get overtired and trivial problems get blown out of proportion. Even if he doesn't nap so much make sure he gets plenty of 'quiet time' during the day... lying quietly on a sofa under a blanket, for example.... as this will help

Yes tiredness is a factor here, definitely. And tv. It was raining yesterday and I didnt have the car and also have a 7mo at home so rather too much CBeebies erm happened. Boredom and over-stimulation all at once so a recipe for disaster really, not sure why I expected any different. I usually manage to distract him if I catch the tantrum early enough "ooh look, do you want to come and do this?" etc but that's not really dealing with the problem is it?

Probably not at all relevant, but my 2.9 ds regularly has one or two days of this sort of thing...then he grows about 2 inches overnight and calms down completely.

Probably relevant, though, to wait a couple of days to see if it's just another blip.

MistressofBoogie - that's very relevant actually, a paediatrician friend said that little boys have a surge of testosterone when they are growing which can result in some change in behaviour!
TalHotBlond - that's exactly dealing with the behaviour! Tantrums happen because they just can't cope with the emotions they feel, and get overwhelmed.
In my experience, the best thing to do is to distract first, then ignore ignore ignore, and go off within their viewing distance and start to do something really fun like do a favourite jigsaw, looking like I am enjoying it! Then they figure out that they are actually quite bored tantruming and joining in with mummy looks much more fun. Then they need reassurance that everything's ok. Remember the golden rule though - do not, under any circumstance, give in!

Thanks, all.
Cogito, that is really good advice - I do give him foods like eggs, meat, pasta etc which have lots of energy but that is definitely something to think about.
TallHotBlond, I am a bit of a distracter too, but it is starting not to work! Its like he is determined to loudly get his point across and will not be fobbed off with "ooh, look at that pretty bird in the garden"...
Mistress, I have wondered if it is a growth spurt - especially as yesterday a friend commetned that he was looking taller and leaner than last time she saw him!
Mrs - that "look like you are having fun" thing is good too. Anything else in my arsenal of "how not to give in to a tantrum" is wonderful!
Thanks so much all :)