7m baby crying and frustrated when I put him down - do I leave him be?

[Sunrise888]

When I put my 7m lo down on the floor or in his play cot for play time, he rolls straight onto his stomach and tries to start moving around on his stomach. After a few mins he'll start crying, I think with frustration. He'll lift his bum in the air (is this as sign of wanting to crawl?) and dig his head into the floor and the crying will get more and more upsetting. The HV said it's ok to leave him as being frustrated will motivate him to move and start crawling, but it's a bit distressing to watch and I usually pick him up when it starts to get worse. It's hard to get things done in the day, and I can't figure out whether I'm doing him a greater disservice by leaving him be too cry or picking him up to comfort him. He's a really hyperactive baby as well, so we can't just sit and be, he's always wiggling away (and then becomes frustrated and crying again). He's calmest in his sling which I use at home, but he's so big now (relative to me) it's not a long term solution for us.

Any advice please?

[53rdWay]

Mine loved a Jumperoo at that age - tried something like that?

[GummyGoddess]

Can you put him in a sling on your back if it's the size that's a problem?

Otherwise I just carried dc with me everywhere and stayed out of the house most of the day to avoid making a mess and to keep him busy.

[Sunrise888]

We have a door jumper but we only use it for 15 mins a day. We are moving to back carries - just need more confidence!

I guess I was wondering if the crying, head digging and bum lifting is normal and whether I should leave him where he is?

[Sunrise888]

I love slinging him but I thought at 7m it might be better for him to have some independence and lone play time? He is quite needy and always wants to be picked up.

[53rdWay]

I wouldn’t worry about him being independent at this age, especially when he’s going to begin crawling soon and probably be off like a shot! Totally normal for them to be grumpy when they can’t move much, life is frustrating. Just work on whatever keeps him and you happiest and don’t stress yourself about teaching him important life lessons about solo play just yet.

[user1493413286]

My DD went through that stage but as soon as she could crawl she was fine. I would leave her to do essential tasks and I also put her in her high chair with toys if I needed to cook etc as she was happy like that.

[ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual]

Ds2 has literally just done this. We had a good 4-6 weeks when he was really quite grumpy because he was obviously trying to move but couldn't. It was painful while it lasted but then he suddenly figured out crawling and all is right in the world again.

I'd leave him for a tiny bit - 30 secs or so - because I do think part of that frustrated cry is them figuring it all out, but definitely wouldn't leave them longer than that. You'll probably see progress each week in how he's moving his body, until he's off.

[GummyGoddess]

Don't worry about the independence. DC lived in his sling, but when he started crawling I'd pop him down at a baby group and he'd be off and at the other side of the room before I'd even managed to get the sling off! Barely saw him most of the time, he occasionally came back for 3 second cuddles before crawling off again to play. He's still the same now, went to soft play and he was off like a shot, definitely not clingy at 16 months.

He will learn to crawl whether you leave him like that or not. I never left mine to do that for more than about 30 seconds because I didn't like seeing him so distressed and cross. Plus it took ages to calm him down afterwards which made me feel horrible the once or twice I thought I'd watch to see if it helped him make progress.

[Frankled]

My 6m is the same - also a v active baby. When I put him down for tummy time (which he loves) he’s happy for about 10 mins then faceplants and cries. I think it’s when he gets tired. He’s v keen to crawl and does a commando shuffle but I guess I have a while of this before he starts crawling.

[Smurfy23]

Dd is the same- i tend to leave her being frustrated until it looks like full on tears are going to start....I figure if I intervene each time she wont figure it out?

[BellyBean]

You could also do some rolling etc with him to help him figure out what he wants to do.

I'd leave him for a v short time but I suspect he's tired.