1 year old difficultly.. is it normal?

[hm4912]

I don’t really have a question just looking for some sort of reassurance I guess.

For the past week my 12 month old has been extremely difficult which is really unlike her. Constantly whinging at the smallest thing, refusing food/being put in her high chair, has a complete meltdown when changing her nappy, waking up every 2 hours and won’t settle without cuddles/stroking her back. She’s basically not happy unless she’s watching tv which I’m really trying to not do. She’s even starting hitting us in the face.

She is dribbling A LOT so I suspect it’s teething but she’s never been this bad before. We’ve given everything possible but doesn’t seem to do much. I’m just finding this phase extremely difficult and hoping someone can tell me it’s just a phase, and that I haven’t done something to cause this behaviour :(

Both my girls have been like this at this age, I think it's a mixture of teething and them going through a lot of development. They are learning so many skills at this age, some very subtle but a lot for their little brains and bodies to cope with. It's highly unlikely that it's something you have done to cause it. Obviously try and distract as much as possible to avoid too much screen time but equally it's not the end of the world if she sits and watches a screen for 5 minutes to get something done or breathe!

Not sure if you've got it but the wonder weeks app is quite good for showing the developmental 'leaps' they go through at what ages and predicting when they might have a particularly fussy phase. Hope she comes through it soon 🤞

My son is 15 months and since he turned 1 he suddenly started having mini tantrums. I do think it’s just a combination of frustration at not being able to communicate, teething, developmental stuff etc.
Teething 100% makes it worse though as then he’s just irritable so anything we do that he doesn’t like just sends him into tantrum straight away. He had about a week where he’d be so so angry when he woke from a nap and the only thing that would chill him out was a few mins of tv. I limit tv time but sometimes you and they both just need a few minutes peace!
When he’s having a rough day I try to get out of the house as much as possible and I find that can really help. Whether it’s a walk in the pram or a trip to the shops or beach, just getting fresh air and change of environment seems to make him happier.
It’s a tricky age as they can’t talk properly but are really trying and wanting to communicate so it comes out in frustration.