4mo and increasingly irritable - both me and her.

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

dd2 has always had a fairly average temperament. shit sleeper, with very short naps, but ok otherwise.

however, since turning 4mo she is soooo ratty, and spends most of the day grizzling. i have dd1 at home too, and dh works long hours, so dd2 has to be put down to get basic stuff done. can't always do this when she sleeps, because her naps are short and unpredictable. i keep thrusting teething gel at her on the off chance she's teething. But anyhow, has anyone got any good ideas how to get through this with sanity intact???

buy a moby wrap :)

got a kari me
she's massive (98th centile) and i can no longer carry her all day on my front, and she's not sitty-uppy enough for me to do a back carry without help.

how old is she??

4 and a bit months. she was actually ok about being put down as a younger baby . and even in arms she still grizzling away. she doesn't sound pained, just cheesed off with the world

Growth spurt

d'you think? she's not feeding more, despite my constant proffering of the boob to shut her up. Please let it be quick.

sing to her whilst you are out of immediate range
nursery rhyme tapes
talk to her when you are out of immediate range

try and get her to nap more - she may be just very tired, and need to go out in pram to get a good long rest if she won't sleep properly at home

baby gym, baby mobile, change of scene, generally make things more interesting for her, then encourage her to nap properly - obviously don't spend all day singing and dancing - that would make anyone bad tempered

nap routine - either she knows that out in pram is regular sleep time, or nap in cot happens with same routine (not necessarily the time, just the associated rituals) little song, feed, darkened room, all that jazz. If she is not overtired, it should work..

good luck

is she teething or poorly at all??

My DD was exactly the same CharlotteBronteSaurus . As soon as she hit 16 weeks she stopped sleeping, decided she'd had enough of breastfeeding and became quite a fussy little monkey. I tried everything, bought all the books, tried all of the routines...nothing seemed to work. Then when she was able to do more, like sitting up on her own and then crawling she stopped fussing all the time. Maybe you've got a spirited baby like my DD. She was desperate for some independence and now at 8 months she's a much happier little girl because she's able to do more!

I will say that the one thing that saved my sanity was a sensory treasure box that my sister bought for her when she was six months. I would prop her up and sit it down in front of her. Would keep her stimulated for 50 minutes. Here's a link.

thank for the ideas swan
violet - i am sort of relieved to hear others have had them same experience. she is whining on my as i type. it's like having a blooming newborn again. here's hoping some mobility comes sooner rather than later.