9 month old now cries when she wakes up

[cardamomginger]

Am a first-time mum, so am learning as I go . DD is now 9 months and for the last month or so when she wakes up she cries. She never used to do this before - when she woke she'd just happily burble away to herself. Is this a stage she's going through? I was wondering if it's because she is now more aware of things and when she wakes she realises that she is alone, where before when she wasn't so aware she didn't? Any tips for what to do? I do go in and comfort her - usually crying means that she is done with her nap. I'm not shy about leaving her to cry for a bit, but this waking up crying is really heartfelt and she gets herself into a right state. Thanks and sorry if this is a daft question .

My DD went through a long spell of doing this. It only really stopped when she was moved out of a cot and could talk a bit more. It just seemed to be a frustrated 'I've finished sleeping and don't want to be in here anymore thankyou very much' type thing. I missed the 'waking up happy' 3-9 months.

Even now at 3, she has a bit of a moan if we try to have a lie-in. Fortunately, she's not too early a riser herself.

Thanks! As soon as I pick her up and give her a cuddle she stops. But I don't want her to get into the habit where she knows that all she has to do is cry and I come running in to cuddle her. We're trying to resist the urge to bring her into our bed when she wakes at some ungodly hour in the morning. Even though it would be easier for us all to then get a bit more kip!

I'm struggling to remember our tactics: - a bit of ssssh...pat after/or instead of a cuddle and if it was genuinely waking up time (e.g. from day-time nap), she'd sometimes be pacified with an extra toy, picture book or a music toy to keep her amused for a bit longer.