DD has become IMPOSSIBLE!!!

amother

Wed, May 20 2020, 4:41 am

DD is 1 year old and currently my only child. She has never been a particularly easy baby - we struggled with nursing, sleeping, starting solids etc. She is currently pulling herself to stand and crawling. No 'proper' verbal communication as of yet, but plenty of pointing, 'ah ah ah' and getting her desires known quite clearly.
She has become extremely difficult lately and spends most of her waking time shouting, shrieking or kvetching. She is a very difficult eater - she'll refuse food without even looking/tasting it, or after one bite, even when she'd eaten a good portion of it the day before. (She only has her 2 bottom teeth, could that be impacting her eating?) If we eat at the same time as her, she'll refuse to eat after just a few minutes and then kvetch and shout in her highchair. If we put her on the floor while we eat, even with toys and right by our seats, she'll do the same thing.
She is usually up for the day by 7am, often earlier, and naps once a day for less than 2 hours. We are home all day atm and she is no longer attending daycare. When we're on the floor trying to play with her, she shrieks and cries after a short time. My 18mo nephew was over today for an hour to keep her company, but the novelty wore off after 20 min and then it was back to being miserable.
Working, and learning in my husband's case, has become almost impossible.
She is totally fine and content when on a walk in her stroller (which we do daily for 30+ min), at my mother's house with my younger siblings (we are not under lockdown where I live, this is currently legal), out shopping or in the bath.
It doesn't seem like she is currently teething or experiencing any sort of pain. She did bang her lip quite badly yesterday, but she was miserable beforehand. I cut out her daytime bottles since Sunday (2 x 4oz half milk/half formula) in an attempt to get her to eat more 'real' food and upped her bedtime bottle to 6oz milk only. The behaviors were there before that though.
Any experienced Imas have some insight? Could she just be plain and simply sick of our company and craving socialization with other babies her age?

happinessseeker

Wed, May 20 2020, 5:58 am

I think she really still needs two naps at this age. It would help a lot.

amother

Brunette

Wed, May 20 2020, 6:09 am

Why are you so sure she is not teething or in other pain (ear, stomach)? You won't always see outward symptoms. Also, I would not make a drastic change like cutting bottles when she is already going through something that is obviously difficult for her. That's a huge deal for a baby.

Blessing1

Wed, May 20 2020, 6:21 am

Echoing what the others said. Don't cut bottles, especially if she's not a food eater.
And try to put her for a second nap.
If you play together with her, is she not interested either?

simcha2

Wed, May 20 2020, 6:41 am

She sounds like a one year old who is a little bored.

tichellady

Wed, May 20 2020, 8:05 am

It’s hard to tell obviously without seeing her but from your post she sounds like a normal one year old. They are very hard! My daughter wouldn’t even sit in a high chair then, we got her a Little table and chairs

Blessing1

Wed, May 20 2020, 8:08 am

If she's happy at your mom's house, she probably bored and under stimulated. One year olds aren't really interested in playing alone, you need to play with her.
If she only has 2 bottom teeth, she's definitely teething. It might make her more cranky as well.
She'll be teething till all her teeth are in.

Ora in town

Wed, May 20 2020, 8:18 am

It might be a kind of escalation.
The situation is quite hard now. you have to work home-office while handling her...
Children are very sensitive to signals adults around them send, they pick up on them and amplify them...

so my best guess would be: if you succeed in projecting true serenity, she will follow...

amother

Teal

Wed, May 20 2020, 8:42 am

2 points to add.
1. Maybe she is teething and becomes somewhat distracted when she is stimulated. Especially if she is refusing food. My babies have done that when teething. If so, baby motrin is the way to go. In my experience, its more effective than Tylenol.
2. If you and her dad are stressed, she may be picking up on that .

amother

Mon, May 25 2020, 3:20 am

So... The day after I posted, I saw the first sign of a couple of teeth coming through. So that explains that! Thanks for your help and advice though.