Do other moms of clingy 9-month-olds feel a bit nuts right now?

Question

My 9-month-old has suddenly decided that she does not like diaper changes when she's tired. She will scream, twist, and attempt to roll away when ever we do the night-time diaper/jammies. Car seats are simply unacceptable. She has started crying on nearly every car trip we take (she used to be content in the car). She is also becoming a mommy-cling-on, which I know is part of the whole separation anxiety thing, but good heavens. She doesn't seem to mind if I leave to go do regular things (like my morning exercise, or other errands), but she gets really upset if I go into another room without her, even though she has the ability to follow me around now. She still has no teeth, so I'm wondering if some of this crankiness is due to teething as well. She's really sweet and mellow most of the time, but it's just a challenge to find ways to help her through the parts of her day that she clearly doesn't like. What are you all doing to help your wee ones through their hard parts?

Answer 1

Look on the bright side: she will taper off that behavior for a little while, then it comes back 2x as bad as she nears 2 years(or 17 months in my daughter's case, she's 19 months now and I'm losing clumps of hair,lol). She's trying to assert her independence. For the car seat, we got into the habit of telling her if she wants to go byes, she has to ride in the car seat, "so we can be safe"(sometimes I love Dora, lol), and we make a big deal about mommy buckling up too so "we can be safe too". She actually climbs into the car seat and puts the straps over her shoulders and says safe, safe, lol. As to the different room thing, try inviting her to follow you around, as much as she can. Or just talk(I usually narrate what I'm doing out loud, my daughter listens and comes in if I'm doing something she wants to "help" with, like putting 15 dryer sheets in the dryer when I'm not looking(I found one in her diaper once, lmao, so I think she thinks they are wipes to "clean" the laundry), so she'll know you're nearby. If she's not walking yet, she may be getting frustrated because it takes so much effort to get there for her, when we get up and just walk away. As to the diaper rodeo, that you just have to deal with. Encourage her to hate her wet butt if it's wet(lay the foundation for potty training). I've been wrestling my brat for months now, and am still wishing for a large toddler changing table with humane straps that will actually hold my bucking brat(if such a thing exists,lol) I just recently bought a scrap of material(2yards at 1.34 for the whole thing) and made a huge pillow for my daughter. She lays right on it all the time, so I catch her watching tv and change her butt while she's preoccupied. But there are still times I want to pull out my hair, scream, and lock myself in the bathroom with a bottle of rum and some headphones, lol. It's not just a matter of helping your little one through the hard parts, you've got to help yourself too. Good luck!

Answer 2

well, i hate to give you bad news, lol, but it might not taper off.  My son is 25 months old, and he is SSTILLL clingy. lol.. Hes gotten used to his carseat, and a few others that used to cause problems. However, he is still a mommys baby, that wants mommy 24 hours a day.  I have done EVERYTHING, let him cry, just pick him up, talk to him,  ect.  

I will say that he is starting to grow out of this some, as he is becoming more independant and want to become a "kid" like his brother and sister.  

So, just know if everything else fails, it will stop on its own when hes ready

good luck

Answer 3

Kids go through these phases. She will calm down u just have to be paticent.