It's all going wrong

[mrsjuan]

Just as I thought I was getting the hang of this parenting lark everything seems to be going pear shaped.

We made a good start to weaning - mainly finger foods but also spoon feeding things like porridge and yoghurt. DD (now nearly 10 months) was like a hoover - enthusiastically eating everything. Now, for the past week she's been acting as if the spoon is loaded with poison and refusing to eat anything off it until I have let her have a little taste of whatever's on offer from my finger, then she'll eat ok but not as well as she has been.

She's also started throwing a lot of her finger food on the floor and being very selective about what she eats.

I always said I wouldn't stress about food and just go with the flow but she is also very fussy with her milk (always has been) and refuses to drink milk in the day time 90% of the time so because she's not eating much in the day she's having to have at least one bottle in the night.

She's also gone back to waking up and wailing pretty much every hour at night, sometimes settling by having her dummy put back in, sometimes needing a cuddle or milk. Most nights she is ending up in our bed.

Also, now she is crawling, if I put her in her cot even slightly awake she'll romp around (even in sleeping bag) and bash her head on the bars which obviously doesn't make for a relaxed bedtime!

Aghh -it just seems like everything is going downhill and I'm shattered. Is it just a phase or is there anything I can do?

Teething?

I suppose so. It's a bit of a standing joke in my family because every time she has a bit of a blip everyone says 'she must be teething' but there's still no sign of any teeth at 10 months old!

A few weeks ago she was poking around in her mouth a lot and having some dodgy nappies but since then there's been no further signs.

I just feel like I'm making a bit of a mess of it all. Everything seems to be a battle at the moment - trying to change her nappy or her clothes results in a squirming, screeching, escaping session, I don't feel like I'm doing enough with her etc. etc.

Don't despair!! My dd went through the exact same phase, picky about food and not sleeping as well as she had been. It wasn't her teeth although some people think that's the reason for everything!! Didn't seem to be any reason for it, just a phase that wore out after a couple of weeks. How long has she been like this?
I'm sure she'll grow out of it again, my dd is now 17months and will eat anything, sleeps 7pm-7am and is happy as anything. Try not to stress too much although it's easier said than done, she will pick up on your mood.
With the sleeping thing, I would settle dd once and then just leave her to it and eventually she would go to sleep on her own again. It was really heartbreaking though listening to her crying for me. The first couple of nights I sat on the stairs sobbing wondering where I was going wrong, but I kept at it and it only took 5/6days to break the pattern.
Afraid I still have a squirmer when it comes to nappy changes though!!

Reassuring to know that it might not last too long - thanks.

Sleep has never been great but we had a bit of a push on her settling herself off a few months ago which seemed to improve things a lot but recently (last 2 weeks ish) any attempt to put her down awake results in full on sobbing or thrashing around and hitting her head so I've reverted to rocking her to sleep which probably isn't helping with the frequent night wakings.

The food thing, particularly the spoon refusal just came out of the blue last week. She's always been a fantastic eater so it's quite puzzling. I've been trying not to make a fuss about it and am hoping that it will wear off as quickly as it came about.

You are not making a mess of it!!!
It's just a phase!!
I think I read in the Gill Rapley 'Baby Led Weaning' book that even enthusiastic weaners might go through a bit of a fussy period around 10/ 11 months.
I think once babies realise they can move they decide they don't want to stick around for a nappy change I started giving ds a greatly coveted item (that he wouldn't normally be allowed like a can of shaving cream) that used to work! After a while that didn't work so well but he was standing so we just use pull ups now and I change him standing up. A bit tricky but not as much of a battle!
I think at 10 mo there is so much development and change - moving about, teeth coming, first words maybe, perhaps learning to stand, separation anxiety - loads going on. It's no wonder they get a bit fussy. Do what you need to do to get through - if co-sleeping is meaning more sleep for you all then that can only be a good thing. When she is over this period you can work out where to go from there. My ds has been much more settled from about 13 months - since he learnt to walk!
All the best x

Yes I suppose there is a lot going on for her at the moment, plus we've just got back from spending nearly a month at my parents' house so perhaps I'm expecting too much from her.

I have tried distracting her with forbidden objects during the nappy change but she's not easily fooled!

As soon as she was crawling she started trying to pull herself up so I suppose she's getting frustrated for the next stage now rather than just being happy she can crawl There's always something isn't there?

Thank you - I need to go and extricate her from the wardrobe now as she's managed to get right inside and is pulling all her clothes from the hangers.

mrs.juan try putting a pinny on her and you and just give her the spoon to feed herself.

Our DD2 was eating with no fuss from the moment we gave her the spoon. She may want to feed you!! I used to help with my spoon as well. So 2 spoons it worked well.

It's a stage, don't worry!She's just growing up.