13 month old normal behaviour?

[GodisaDj]

I'm assuming this is normal and the start of things to come . DD is 13.5 months and coming along just fine according to HV etc.

The last week has been hard for me though. She's teething, cutting two molars last week and two more coming through (gums swollen) and that has put her in what I can describe as a "moody". One minute she's fine, the next minute she's crying or being generally miserable.

I work from home but have needed to send her to MIL's or DM's to get some work done and I think that has intensified a bit of seperation anxiety too. So now I can barely leave the room without her crying for me.

On top of this, shes trying her damn hardest to walk. She was crawling and cruising from 7-8 months but hadn't been interested in walking on her own. Now she wants to but can't which has resulted in a very bad frustrated grunting noise and temper.

Tell me this is all normal and developmental?
Its hard not to take her temper and frustration personally sometimes. One minute she wants me and won't let me leave the room, the next minute she wants to do everything on her own!

What are other 13 month olds like?

Sorry for the mis mashed post, I'm sitting here over analysing everything!

Based on my own experience I'd say completely normal, especially with teeth growing. Dd had her first full-blown tantrum (at the checkout in the supermarket) at about that age and it completely knocked me for six as I just wasn't expecting it. You might find she's a lot happier when she's walking. Have you got a push-along baby walker so she can feel a bit of achievement in the meantime?

Mine is exactly the same OP, my DS 13 months and just getting his 3rd and 4th molars too! His mouth is like a tap.

They're not bothering him too much but every now and then he chews on his fingers and you can see it must be hurting.

The rest is just baby I think. He'll have episodes where he pulls up on my leg and tries to climb onto my knee, so I pick him up and he then squirms to get back down.......repeat for about half an hour!

Wants to walk but only if he pulls up himself, God forbid you try and help him, he starts flapping like a seal!

Screams bloody murder the second I leave his eyesight. Gets really frustrated when I can't work out what the hell he's pointing and waffling at.

The rest of the time he's ace though. They're so funny at this age. He tries to sing along to stuff and is obsessed with kissing everything. The good outways the bad by far.

This too shall pass!

This too shall pass

I must remember this! Thank you for the responses, it feels better knowing it's normal.

I have got a walk along walker and she loves it (and hates it!). She'll happily be walking around using it but the moment it hits furniture or something in her way, you'd think the world had collapsed and she gets so frustrated. I'm leaving her to work it out on her own, but it is easier and friendlier to help her too, so hard finding a balance.

I read this the other day: Janet Lansbury, what your toddler thinks of discipline and it's in my mind that she's not a baby but I don't quite see her as a toddler either. Some good advice though.

I'm very conscious that she needs clear communication and not anger/frustration from me (which is hard sometimes when she behaves hot and cold with me).

I'm also aware that she does understand simple sentences and instructions, despite not talking. So i feel like i am constantly talking to her and hoping one day she gets let's frustrated.

Teething is a bitch, we've had a rough time with it (she has too of course) but it seems constant for her; a break of about 4 weeks over the summer and now back with a vengeance.

One of the things which calms her teething (as well as calpol) is her dummy. She's only had her dummy for bed times since a very early age- I even stopped taking it out with me. But i think the sucking action soothes her. If she's not on a dummy, she's pointing and grunting at my chest for milk (still breastfeeding)

Maybe we should have a 12 month baby-toddler support thread!?

really normal - teething plus frustration at being nearly there with a skill - she'll sort out at least one of those things soon and be happier again. Your resolve to try to be consistent and patient sounds spot on.

Absolutely normal!
Have you tried teething powders with her? The chamomile ones are a godsend and work miracles.

The rest is just general frustration at not being able to do what she would like to yet. On top of her mouth hurting and making her feel horrid and not understanding why.

It will pass, accept help from anyone that offers.

Thank you firsttimer and squishy, really appreciate your comments

Oh yes, we use powders, amber beads, dentinox, calpol and ibruprofen - normally in that order as I dont like giving painkillers all the time- it feels like I have been though this last week and I can tell to the hour when it's wearing off

What about Anbesol? I think it's called that. A liquid that you can rub on their gums?

What about some cooled chamomile tea to help chill her out? I don't like giving painkillers first so am willing to try some unusual things.

God, my 11 month old is like that! Or actually this week he's going through a nice phase and is in a good mood but he's been through two bouts of the tantrums/teething/trying to learn a new skill combination in the last couple of months, first when he was learning to crawl and then when he was learning to cruise. It seems to suck all their energy up and the teething pain is just the icing on the cake.

It does sound like she's trying to learn to walk though and that's what's causing the frustration. Once she cracks the walking thing, she'll probably cheer up a lot. Doesn't sound like you've long to wait if she's already walking well with support.

I am finding this in-between 'not a baby anymore but not quite a toddler' phase pretty hard actually. He's so up and down. In the mothers' group I'm in, it goes by calendar year so all the kids at the playgroups we go to are already walking and, wouldn't you know it, the one baby who is his age is an early walker! So he does seem a bit forlorn at play dates now since he's the only one who can't walk.