falling & crying all day long

Annie Marie

My 9 month old is constantly pulling herself up on everything and anything she can, but she plops back down and cries almost every time.  I have her environment as safe as I can, so she's usually not hurt at all (occasionally does hit her head).  I hate her crying so much & so hard.  Is there anything I can do besides spot her all day long?  Is this normal?

Thanks!

Quazel

I see two reasons this could be happening and two different ways to deal with it.

1. She could be startling/scaring herself.  DS did that when he first started cruising so we would say "Aaaaboom.  You're okay!" and smile.  He would then smile too and go about his business.

2. She could be looking for attention.  If that were the case, I think I would just say "You're okay" and go about my business.  However, I do think she is a bit young for this unless you have been running to her and making a big deal of it so that is what she wants. Another option would be to sit with her and make standing fun.  When she falls, just say "You're okay" and get her right back up, almost like you didn't even notice she fell and cried.

One other thought I just had. Any chance she actually fell and hurt herself recently and is rehurting herself?  I know it is unlikely but I worry about stuff like that!

WyoGal

Quazel:

I see two reasons this could be happening and two different ways to deal with it.

1. She could be startling/scaring herself.  DS did that when he first started cruising so we would say "Aaaaboom.  You're okay!" and smile.  He would then smile too and go about his business.

2. She could be looking for attention.  If that were the case, I think I would just say "You're okay" and go about my business.  However, I do think she is a bit young for this unless you have been running to her and making a big deal of it so that is what she wants. Another option would be to sit with her and make standing fun.  When she falls, just say "You're okay" and get her right back up, almost like you didn't even notice she fell and cried.

One other thought I just had. Any chance she actually fell and hurt herself recently and is rehurting herself?  I know it is unlikely but I worry about stuff like that!

Agreed.  Though we try and steer clear of "you're okay" and say in a lighthearted voice "oops" or "oh no".    It could also be that your LO is crying out of frustration more than anything.  M has an incredibly short fuse when he's frustrated and falling a lot would definitely set him on edge.

We also tried to make a game of falling.  I'd fall down and then laugh and he'd copy or I'd hold his hands and say up/down and laugh as he fell/sat down. 

3003girl

My LO kind of does this. She will pull up and stand and when she wants to get down she starts yelling. If we don't help her down she will escalate to crying. Same with climbing up the three steps to our den. We help her down and then repeat the process. I wonder if your LO is frustrated?

shainababygirl

It sounds like she's either scared or frustrated. I'd go with frustrated! K always wanted to be able to move around or walk when she wasn't ready for it developmentally. I'd give her some time and see how she does!