My wee grandson (9 months) has turned from a sweet and amiable little kidlet into the Child from Hell in the last week. He bellows when he’s being fed, or not being fed, he loves to be held for a minute, then howls to be put down, whereupon he screams to be picked up again. Bathtime is a treat, temporarily of course…three minutes in (after much coo-ing) he’s back to being Demon Spawn again!
My daughter is at her wit’s end. Suggestions??
Is he teething?
FYI for US dopers: probably obvious from context but “grizzly” is a synonym for “cranky” or “fussy”.
Not that obvious. I was still trying to figure out what the bear had to do with it.
Late onset of colic? I’d go with teething though. Does he exhibit any signs of acid reflux? Sometimes the introduction of solids (which is around this age) can induce reflux.
That would be my guess as well. See if there are any bumps on his gums that he goes ballistic when you touch them- if so, then it’s likely he’s teething and this is bothering him.
Our son is normally an angelic little child- helpful, happy, smiles, laughs, etc… but when he is cutting a tooth, the horns and goatee come out and he’s a little demon-child for a few weeks. Children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen, along with Orajel are godsends when he’s like this.
Teething is the first choice, he’s at exactly the right age for it.
Or he could have a bug that’s bothering him but hasn’t manifested any other symptoms yet. Roseola, for example, is something every baby gets that can make them majorly cranky for a solid week. Our daughter just had it, we know.
He’s a little young to be having emotional phases, but that will kick in soon. For a month or two your kid will suddenly have tantrums or phobias or who knows what, then it will resolve. Our daughter had her first phase like that starting around 15 months.
My 8 1/2 month old who cries less than once per week turned into a bear for several days while four upper were burrowing through. Was cranky, refused solid food, had messy diapers, woke multiple times throughout the night, nursed constantly and bit hard enough to draw blood. She was miserable, and the teeth didn’t erupt for several days so we had no idea what was happening at first.
You’re ruling out genetics? :eek:
You’ve far too benevolent kam.
This is precisely the time when grandparents extract payback for past injustices/outrages and anti-social behaviour. Show up your children for the totally inadequate people they are for failing in their most basic of parental duties.
Naturally enough your goodself never behaved in such a manner, nor did you have the slightest difficultly in calming your children when they did. Pick up distressed kidlet, comfort expertly, hand back smiling, contended child to parents with wane look, suppress sense of shadenfreiden when distress resumes, repeat until aged 14 years.
If teething, frozen bagels are a godsend.