My baby boy is 10 1/2 months old now. Up until his 9th month he was the most sociable kid on the planet! Everyone commented on how friendly he was. I could leave him with anyone and he would be fine. He'd sleep on anyone's lap too - my aunt, my friend, a new friend, anyone! He also slept really well, from 7pm to 7am, and fed really well.
Then, one day things changed. He cried every time I left the room - not just normal crying, but SCREAMING. It was really odd and very unexpected and sudden. He now does the same thing when his uncle, who he sees frequently, holds him. He's still fine with his grandparents though. He's so unfriendly to new faces (or previously familiar faces even), and becoming almost unsociable. Normally, he finds other babies and toddlers quite funny and will laugh at them. Today however, during a shopping trip to Sainsbury's, he started 'scream-crying' when another toddler was laughing and smiling at him. Normally, this would've been the highlight of my baby's day!
So in addition to the 'antisocial' behaviour, he no longer sleeps well either, despite my controlling his day naps (brought down from 3 hours to 1 1/2 hours now) and keeping him more active, so that he's that much more tired at night. He now wakes up in the middle the night, for no reason, and doesn't want to go back to sleep for hours.
This new behaviour is also affecting his feeding, and he doesn't eat as much as he used to either. He normally GULPS his morning milk in 5 minutes. Now, I struggle to get 100ml into him upon waking up. I have to do it in stages. He has the first few sips at 7am, and then another few sips at 7.15, and so on... by 8.30, he'd have had his whole bottle. He doesn't like having his lunch either, and will only really have dinner. And all this time I think "aren't you hungry??"
I thought at first he might be in pain from teething... but calpol still didn't do the trick. I don't know what the sudden change is in my beautiful baby boy. I was one of those mothers that many others envied for having such an 'easy baby'... now I'm too scared to leave the flat in case he causes a scene in public and I don't know what to do.
I've even tried contacting Parent Helpline, and all they could tell me was to be patient, and that I, as his mother should know what the right thing is. But the truth is, I don't! I'm so stressed and frustrated and haven't been getting any sleep and my baby is always crying and being difficult. I don't know what to do! The ONLY thing that makes him happy and calms him down, is sitting on my lap or being carried... well, sometimes I need to go to the toilet! Ha! That's enough for him to scream! (even after having sat with him or played with him for an hour or 2!) He always used to play on his own (with me in the room of course) and he was always happy being with himself. Now, this new REALLY clingy phase for the past 2 months, is really worrying me. Is it possible for babies to go from being happy and independent to clingy and always miserable?!
Oh and I have put him in a creche to get him used to being sociable... after 10 visits, he still wouldn't settle. I'm now going to attempt putting him at a Montessori Nursery once a week. I also meet other mums during the week with their babies, so he is in a 'sociable' environment. So I am really confused about his behaviour and becoming worried. Should I seek professional help?!
If anyone has been through anything similar, I'd appreciate the input. Sorry for the long message but wanted to give as full a picture as possible. THANKS!!!!