Can't put 10 month old down

[ihateexercise]

My 10 month old screams the minute I put him down, I am going mad, unable to do anything around the house because I have to carry him almost all day.

[oops]

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[tribpot]

Have you thought about getting an au pair (Sorry, just referring to your other thread).

My ds was like this at 10 months, it was a complete pain in the arse. Only tips I can think of:

• wear a sling (not easy with an older baby but can allow you to do some jobs)
• try to get what really needs doing done during nap time, how often is he napping now?
• accept that sometimes you will have to leave him (for short periods) to cry whilst you get something really essential done

Remember it's only a phase, if you can't get everything done in the house it will just have to wait. Can anyone help by taking ds out for a walk in his buggy of an afternoon?

[NotSoUselessMum]

mine did that too and I was going insane. she didn't even want to be with her daddy (who was heart broken!) and she still does it now at 14m because she's teething.

I used to go out a lot during that stage as she seemed to be fine then, maybe busy sudying a new env etc. mind you not much was get done in the house, but what chioce have you got really?

it will pass. and if you absolutely have had enough, put him down, maybe on the cot and go in a different room for a bit. yes he'll cry and maybe he'll even stop after a few min. or maybe not; either way IMHO it's best to get your head together.
at times I was so fed up I could feel I was losing it and it's not good.

[lenny101]

Mine's at this stage too. I've read it's a kind of safety mechanism that happens at this age, so that as they start to explore they insist on having you around to make sure they're safe. Quite clever really.

[liath]

Sympathy as I had a total klingon at that stage too! I got a hippychick hip carrier - it was an absolute life saver as it made carrying dd around so much easier though I still had to do a lot of stuff one handed. I think I posted here for advice to reassure me that it was OK to "give in" to the clinginess and go with it rather than try to break the habit. It did go on for a long time, I'm afraid.

Dd is now such a happy, outgoing girl and although still very much mummy's girl she will happily go to nursery or spend time with my mum etc. She's 19 months now.

[porolli]

i'm struggling with this too with my 8 month old. i seriously cannot put him down at all even to nap. last night he was awake from 2.30 am to 4.15 am, crying. i went in every two mins to reassure etc. and today so far he has slept a total of 20 mins, in 2 car journeys. the minute i turn off the engine he opens his eyes and starts screaming. i think i'm really going to start losing it! if i cuddle him he'll go to sleep in 2 mins, but will wake within 30 secs of being put down. if i just put him in his cot, he'll cry until i pick him up. i've tried up to 90 mins of this in the day but have two others to look after so it's difficult to focus...

so lots of empathy but no solutions - i'll watch thread to see if anyone has any useful suggestions for you!

[Helgand]

You're not alone - and it doesn't last forever! Kind of depends on whether this has always been the case or it's just started up. I did this with DD1 - entirely my own fault for picking her up and giving her heaps of attention when I should have let her have a bit more independence and I ended up feeling totally trapped - it's a physical nightmare as I remember. Have to admit I went for controlled crying in the end and a tight (but not totally inflexible) routine. Before that did a lot of moving travel cot from room to room and regularly putting in different toys and lots of going out. BUT it was horrendous staying up until early hours doing washing etc as no hands free during the day. Hang on in there!