DS is making me crazy

[mrs.t]

I have no idea what to do with my DS. It seems like he spent the entire day whining! He has been crawling on all fours, pulling himself up to stand, and even cruising a little while holding onto furniture. However, it seems like these skills have made him MORE frustrated. If he can't get to something, he whines. I was eating a sandwich, and he wanted to grab it. I moved away from him and he starting crying...and it's been like this ALL. DAY. LONG. Also, his sleep has gone to crap for some reason. He woke up every hour the other night. When I lay him down for a nap or to go to sleep, he whines.

I am quickly losing my patience when I am not only sleep deprived, but dealing with a whiny baby all day. Then DH comes into the room and DS is all smiles and laughter. I am so frustrated...ugh.

Anyone been through this kind of behavior at around this age? He was so happy and pleasant recently, I was really enjoying every minute with him. The past few days he's been making me nuts. I know it's probably just teething or something...I guess I just needed to vent!

[Hannah32]

Yeah, we have those days around here too. Luckily, they seem less frequent than before, but they are still certainly there.

We switch off dealing with him when he's difficult and if necessary, we put him somewhere safe and leave the room. Just to regroup. There's nothing wrong with doing that.

[Marsupialmom]

I did with one child more than the other.  I noticed by accident that motrin changed her attitude.  I honestly think she was so whiny because she was sore.  After we got over the issue of why she was on motrin I started gibing her epsom salt baths and more massages.  

I would have someone look at those ears.  This behavior is how my hoh child reacted to ear and sinus infections.  

Your dh could be a distraction to being uncomfortable.  

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia's the same age as your son (born 4/6) and she has been having days like this as well. I honestly think that it's the age. They are developmentally on the cusp of SO. MANY. THINGS. (walking, eating, talking, etc) and they are having big mental leaps. Add teething on top of that, and it's a recipe for a cranky baby! Oh, and don't forget separation anxiety, which also kicks in around this age. I've noticed that Cecilia does way better (and sleeps better) when we get out of the house, so we try to go somewhere every day. Playing with other babies helps a lot too. We found our mama group on meetup.com, and it's a great AP group.

[mrs.t]

Yeah, I noticed that when we go out he's much calmer. Sometimes I'm just so tired, getting ready (and getting him ready) seems like a huge amount of work! But I took him for a nice long walk today and he was so much happier.

[Snapdragon]

yeah, my ds whines when he (and I ) are bored. I saw that very clearly recently when we went for a week to visit my parents- in that time we had so much fun and there was always family around and things to do- and he was smiling and laughing a lot :) Then we got home and had some really slow boring days at home where getting out in the cold was more than i could handle- and he got whiny. Makes sense. IT can be really hard to get out with the baby sometimes, but i think if you can do it- get them around other people, kids, activity, then they get less whiny!

[goinggreengirl]

Going through that here too! So frustrating at times. Let's hope it gets better for all of us!

[elisheva]

Someone mentioned pain already, but could your ds be teething? My kids have teething-related pain even when one isn't necessarily about to poke through. Being out of the house might distract him from it (and so you noticed a calmer babe!). All of mine have been horrid sleepers when teething and we use Advil but YMMV. Good luck!

[Shannie77]

My DD is almost 7 months and has also just started doing all those things, and she has become really cranky.  Yesterday she barely wanted to be put down and usually she is happy chasing after her sister and getting into trouble.  She woke up this morning and cried so much.  I am also wondering about teething... in fact I just posted about it!

[CrystalCloud]

Getting fresh air can do wonders for you and baby. It might be a lot of work to get ready but it's so worth changing the environment. LO will also feed off your energy. Mommy's happy, baby is happy.

I usually go on long walks or jobs with the boys so I can clear my head and change their atmosphere. My 5mo old stays quiet or falls asleep and my 19mo old just loves the outdoors and to see the ducks at the lakes. And I get quiet babies!

[P.J.]

We head right out on days like those, hard as it may be in the freezing cold. DS calms down instantly once we're outside and in motion, and he likes being in places like cafes or a friend's house where there are new faces.