9 months - really difficult age?

[hanfromman]

I read something somewhere once that said 'there's nothing better than a 9 month old baby' - ha! For me this is the hardest age since the newborn stage.
Jack fights sleep like a trooper then gets into a state cos he's tired but won't let himself sleep. Nap times can be difficult but bedtime is near impossible some nights It takes me up to 2 hours to get him to sleep and now he's settled into a pattern of waking late and going to bed late. Yesterday we had to get up earlier (only 8am mind) and I had hopes of him getting to bed by 9pm, but all he did was have an extra nap at 6.30pm until 7.15pm (we tried stopping him but of course the one time we didn't want him to sleep was the one time he fell asleep with no help!) and was then up until 10.45pm!!

He's crawling very fast and pulling himself up on everything so is a handful and has recently started having tantrums when we don't allow him to do what he wants

He's also just generally quite grumpy. I get out of the house with him as much as I can as he's much happier then, but when we're in the house he's a nightmare! For the past week he's had a cold and is teething so that hasn't helped either. And he's got bad seperation anxiety too.

Don't get me wrong, there are some lovely moments - his giggles, his cheeky smiles, his excited shouts, him babbling away to himself But he's sooo hard work too, and not always in a good way!

Is 9 months often a difficult age?

 

[Sparrow85]

I haven't found 9 months too hard, although it's always interesting when they become mobile.

It sounds like your LO is tired though and could do with going to bed earlier. 9pm is very late for a baby, although I know some babies do well with going to sleep at that time. It just seems like a long day if he's up at 8am.

My LO is in bed at 6pm every night and he wakes between 7-8am. His morning nap is from 10-11.30am and his afternoon nap from 1.30-3pm. How many naps is your LO having?

You may find he's easier to go down at night if you move his bedtime forward. Of course, teething doesn't help matters.

 

[Beccaboop]

Yes! Well from about 8 months really hes been a pain in the bum!! Hes soo clingy! He cant even sit next to me it has to be on me! He has a tantrum if i leave the room! Refuses to nap until hes cred for 2 hours first! Gets really frustrated cos he is so close to crawling but still cant get the hang of it so just whines when hes on his belly!

Hes getting his top teeth come through so they are bothering him too! He hasnt sttn since he was 17 weeks (he did sttn from 9 weeks till 17) and is now staying awake for an hour or 2 at a time in the middle of the night the waking up at 5am most mornings!

Im sooo tired but not comfortable doing any sort of sleep training that involves him crying! He crys enough as it is!

 

[biglebowski]

My lo is 9 1/2 mo and a couple of weeks ago I was so frazzled!! He was cutting his top 2 teeth, going through a stage of consistently trying to drop a nap, and also fighting ALL naps!! He was up one day at 6 and didn't fall asleep until half 11. He was constantly tired, sore, grumpy and wanted to be held constantly. Even when being held he was pretty unhappy. He's now a lot more settled. He's falling back into a nap routine, and his face is no longer like a beetroot so teething has settled a bit. He's now standing and pulling up really well, has mastered army crawling, so I think he was taking a massive developmental leap as well as teething. We were lucky that night sleep was largely unaffected, apart from a wake up on occasion between 8-9pm. He was easily settled with a hug. He's been a delight this week so just wanted to say I was like you a couple of weeks ago, and now he's much better. Might be a short lived phase for you? Also it might be worth considering what Sparrow said re: an earlier bedtime. That is quite late, and if he's becoming quite mobile he may be knacked. The clocks change soon so that might help as the nights will be darker.

 

[Lissidoll123]

Yep my lo is 10 months now and although is still an angel baby (she is very placid and content 99% of the time) it has become more challenging for me!

She's more mobile, more clingy and doesn't just drop off to sleep like she used to and can be quite fiery sometimes when I tell her no or take something from her that she shouldn't have!

Although my mum, who runs her own nursery did comment that I may be the problem?! Lo is good as gold for gran/ childminder but for me, she plays up. Apparently my mum says she's been manipulative and trying to play me, which fair comment but I'm losing! Lol !!!

Amen I'm back at work! Lol she's good as gold at the childminders though! X

 

[diggory77]

Seperation anxiety, stranger anxiety, 4 teeth in 2 weeks, learning to stand, yes I'm thinking its hard!
X

 

[detterose]

PLEEEAAASEE don't tell me this. Everyone said it gets better at 6 months, then 8 months and they have been been f**king hard!

I have been hanging onto 9 months for hope!

 

[hanfromman]

detterose - it won't necessarily happen! Jack has somehow managed to avoid alot of the awkward stages but has been hit hard now, so it might be that you're getting all the bad stuff out of the way now!!

Sparrow - 9pm is late yeah He used to be go to sleep at around 8pm - still late for alot of babies, but it's what worked for him. 9pm is defo too late but the best I can hope for at the moment! I wouldn't know how to bring his bedtime forward - I'd have to mess with his naps and I don't wanna do that. He has been better today, mainly I think cos he had a long first nap (nearly 2.5 hours!) and I think this is the key for him - if he only has a short one he can be difficult all day. He was asleep just before 9pm today which I count as a result at the moment!

Becca - yeah I can't bear to do any sleep training either. Am just praying it sorts itself out!

 

[skye93]

I am SO glad we have sleeping sorted. Lately he can be a bit of a toad, but ai just don't give in to him, within 10 minutes he'll be asleep. He goes to bed no later then 7pm. Wakes between 6.30/7pm. Then back to sleep at 9am. Then usually around 1pm another nap. Sometimes he'll have another at 3.30/4pm. I found 7 1/2 months - 8 months bad. Either he's not so bad now, or I've just gotten used to it haha.
He chucks tantrums now when you take something off him, or when I put him in his cot for a day nap.
He's getting a top tooth now (already has two bottom ones) so that's causing a fair bit of pain for him right now. He has been crawling since 6 months, now he's standing /cruising. He took four steps the other night