Is he HN? Such bad nights, such loud screeching!

[McGucks]

I posted on this a couple months ago...and then, wonderfully, it stopped for no reason DH or I could identify.  Now, at 11 months, he screeched more yesterday than ever.  It is incredibly loud and actually painful to hear.  We do wear earplugs sometimes--it is that bad.  The only time I can be fairly sure he won't do it is when nursing or when I am right down on the floor playing with him...but I can't just do those two things 24/7.  He does it when he is happy, sad, wants attention, etc.  He is a very loved and attended-to child.  I have looked at the HN tribe threads and some of it does seem to apply to him.  I try so hard to be patient about it and tell myself "I will ignore it" or "I will be more patient today" or "I will take a deep breath when he does it."  I have been astonished at how little those strategies help me do better with it.  I know this is a "this too shall pass" kinda thing, but it's gotten super hard.  DH suggested yesterday that I put him in his crib (which currently serves as our dresser) or somewhere as kind of message to him that when this happens, you will have alone time.  Honestly, if I did that consistently, I'd be hauling him back and forth to his crib 40 times a day.  I have tried telling him consistently "no," or "that hurts our ears" accompanied with a "stop" hand gesture, ignoring, etc.  His sleep has also deteriorated, and it was never good to start with...I almost never get two hours at a stretch.  He is very restless in his sleep and kind of sleep crawls, which keeps me up (we co-sleep).  DH takes him every other week in the mornings so I can try to sleep, but baby is so loud that it rarely means I sleep.  BTW, he is a super active baby...not a cuddler...the only time I can really hold him or rock him is when I am BFing, so I am very grateful for that.  Sorry for the rant, but I am so tired and so frustrated.  Please help if you have any strategies or ideas

[P.J.]

First of all, have you seen the 12 Features of a High Needs Baby?: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t050400.asp

That should help you define it...although once you can, or cannot as the case may be, that only gets you so far.

I'm sorry I don't have any useful suggestions for you, but I personally wouldn't put him away in his crib~ which is punishment IMO. I know everyone does things differently, but I'm just not a big fan of punishments and time outs. Besides, I doubt a baby that age could understand why you were doing it anyway. I'd bet it would just cause more frustration.

[McGucks]

I agree. It goes against what I feel is right...and I don't think DH really thinks that "time out" is the way to go...he's just quite frustrated and wants to, I think, be able to "fix" this so I can get a decent night's sleep.  He probably is very tired of listening to me talk about how frustrated and tired I am.  Neither of us know what to do, and my guess is that there really isn't anything that can be done.  It's just who he (the baby) is.  I have seen the Sears HN list.  Depending on the day, sometimes I think he is and sometimes I think it's a stretch.  But thanks for writing back.