DS is suddenly whiny and difficult. Need advice.
jenb_99
member
DS will be 8 months old in a few days. Till just last week he was the easiest, most laid back, most perfect, independent baby. Hardly ever cried, slept great, and played well by himself. Smiled and giggled all the time. Then suddenly he turned into a whiny little baby-monster [Sesame Street says monsters aren't evil, so calm down and think Oscar the Grouch, not Alien] who cries anytime anyone walks away from him, screams when we take something away or keep him from getting to something he wants (like cords, electronics, etc.), and fights us when we try to do something he doesn't want.
Diaper changes are a complete nightmare. So is dressing him and getting him ready for bed. He wants to turn over and crawl and climb off the table, and if I flip him over, he throws a tantrum. He doesn't want to be put on his back for any reason whatsoever. He immediately tries to get back up.
He's also been waking up once or twice in the middle of the night only to cry and scream if we don't sit with him. He suddenly won't take his paci and go back to sleep. The sleep thing isn't a huge deal, but it certainly is hard to deal with on top of the all-day meltdowns.
This happened about two weeks after he started crawling, pulling up to stand and cruise, and got two teeth.
Some days he acts like he wants me in the floor with him all day, not necessarily to, play with him, just be on his level. Needless to say,
I'm not getting much done, so the house and my husband are suffering.
I can't decide if he's just overwhelmed by the new milestones, uncomfortable from the teething, starting to get separation anxiety, or is testing out his new independence. Or maybe all the above?
Any idea what's going on here? Advice, insight? I'm puzzled and exhausted, and it's getting hard to enjoy my time with my baby. I honestly was not expecting tantrums at not even 8 months. :
Re: DS is suddenly whiny and difficult. Need advice.
I wouldn't necessarily call a baby a whiny brat. He's a baby.
What you described is pretty much what I went through with DS at 8m. I remember it clearly, it was a light a switch had been flipped. I believe it's a part of their development. DS is much better now, but I know what it's like and what you mean by being puzzled and exhausted.
I am always talking to him if I'm not on the floor playing with him, to help ease the separation anxiety. When you are saying no, be sure to say no and to turn his attention to something else. Babies are easily distracted and will quickly forget what you took away or what you didn't let them do if you give them something else to occupy them.
He's a baby and he's discovering his world. It could be one thing or it could be a bunch of things combined. That's the thing with babies, they just go by the beat of their own drum. You just have to roll with it and accept that on some days (or weeks), you'll get less done because your LO will need more attention.
This too shall pass.
Brat's not a bad word. It just means ill-mannered and annoying. He may be too young for manners, but ask any mom whose "perfect" child just turned into a banshee, and she will agree with the "annoying" part.
Thanks anyway, though.
DS: 11/8/11 | 9 lb 7 oz, 22 in
DD: 5/22/14 | 9 lb 9 oz, 21.5 in
I wondered what people were talking about w/ the "brat" comments.
DS is 8 months also and he's been really tough to feed lately (does NOT want to hold still - I can't get him to sit in my lap to take a bottle and have to strap him in some contraption like a swing or stroller to get him to sit long enough!!), fights me on naps, and is squirming like crazy to get out of my arms whenever I pick him up. He recently started crawling and it's ALL he wants to do. I think a newly acquired skill can cause that kind of behavior, and mess up sleep. He's just excited about his new skills. Hang in there - he'll get over it (and then it'll be something else, ha!)
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OP Babies are going through tons of changes. Just when you think you've got them figured out they pull something new. Hang in there.
Thank you so much! For all this.
DS: 11/8/11 | 9 lb 7 oz, 22 in
DD: 5/22/14 | 9 lb 9 oz, 21.5 in
Yeah, well...apparently people are touchy about moms referring to their children as anything but little angels.
Sucks to have an entire post ignored just because you use one word some people don't like, y'know?
DS: 11/8/11 | 9 lb 7 oz, 22 in
DD: 5/22/14 | 9 lb 9 oz, 21.5 in
I don't refer to my son as a little angel, but I know he isn't a brat.
And your post was hardly ignored. Plenty of people gave you advice on what to do and a reason why the less than perfect behavior was probably happening.
Pretty sure I replied to your post, offering sympathy and advice, even though I didn't like your choice of words. I guess you couldn't see past my first sentence. You're welcome though.
Not ignoring, just want to make sure you are getting help, whether it be a break by having someone come and watch you kiddo, or even a counselor if you are super frustrated. Brat to me says you are fed up, and I just don't know you, so want to make sure you are getting the mental break if you need it. I just think brat for a kid who doesn't MEAN to do something is a little harsh. That is all.
Not me! I am in the exact same boat as the OP and I agree...going from an easy going baby to a wild monster over night is VERY hard. I thinks it's just a combo of all of the above she described. We are all human trying the best we can to handle these kids who didn't come with an instruction manual!
She asked for advice...sounds like a mom who is looking for a solution/empathy/ideas on what's going on with her baby...not a horrible mom who secretly hates her child. Cut the gal some slack people.
Yeah, I have to agree. What kind of behavior were you expecting from your infant? Sitting quietly with hands folded in lap?
OMG. Everyone take a chill- pill. I had to reread the post because i never saw the word brat. Is it in there? or baby- monster? Haha. That is funny.
My older one is three and I went through a period of not liking her- loved her but she was a complete and utter misery to be around. Big *** deal.
Being a mom does NOT have to equal quietly and happily accepting when your child is not fun to be around. Half the moms on here have this feeling that you should always be happy and fine with every hard moment with your child.
We are allowed to get frustrated, scared, annoyed, etc. and ask for advice on how to handle things.
Vent over.
Anyway, a lot of times when babies hit milestones or teeth or separation anxiety or seeing world differently, they start acting weird and can be more difficult than normal. Most often (at least in my experience, it goes back to normal in a few weeks). Just take a deep breath, and try and be patient.
I am appalled at how this Mom was treated in many of the comments so far. Everyone Mom deserves to be cut some slack. She reached out, because she obviously needed to, and was hit with an unnecessary backlash.
It seems as though there are those Moms on here who are realistic and supportive of other Moms, and then there are those that are highly critical & have no tolerance for any opinions but their own.
If you don't have something useful or helpful to say, maybe you should keep your negativity and nastiness to yourself.