Formerly chilled & happy baby now shrieking frustrated 7 month old

[PoTayToes80]

Someone please reassure that this is normal and will pass!

The shrieking is not new, but whereas before it was him trying out his voice and enjoying the sound, now it is frustrated shrieking for attention, except that very little seems to satisfy him for long.

I can barely pop him down for a few minutes before the angry shrieking starts and picking him up only stops it for a short time. The only thing that seems to help is taking him out for a walk (although today it shrieking started in the supermarket).

I feel like I can’t keep him happy for more than ten minutes and this is totally not what he was like until this week!

Developmentally he can sit upright, can’t crawl, rolls from back to front but HATES being on tummy so gets too upset to be there long enough to figure out how to get back. He’s got his bottom two teeth and the top two popped through last week.

I’m missing my sunny easy-going boy!

I have zero advice but watching AVIDLY as my 7 and a half month old previously happy little girl is doing exactly the same (last 2 weeks); I can’t get anything done and it’s so frustrating!. I’ve put her to bed at 6pm tonight and skipped her bath as it was unbearable :S im hoping it’s some temporary developmental period?!

Teeth

Not sure….my DD has had 8 (yes 8!) teeth through for weeks and the next wave don’t seem imminent :( but I could definitely be wrong!

Yep! The placid ones wake up and get interested in stuff, but can't get to it yet.

You need to help him learn the next stage, so he's less frustrated.

And find him all sorts to investigate- sauce pans, stacking tubs

Has he got some kind of seat he can be in while he investigates?

@Mumtopeaxxx it definitely helps to know I’m not alone 😆
I can’t get anything done either and I’m so frazzled by the end of the day.

I ised to sit ds up (with a cushion behind him in case he toppled) and then put a wide array of toys / safe household items in reach. He’s investigate until they had all moved out of reach, then he’d topple forward trying to get them, then he’d shriek! It did buy me time, though.

Bouncer - we had a door one - was also a huge hit, though I know they’re frowned on now.

Basically, anything that he could ‘do’ and make things happen - whether a saucepan lid banging or creating the movement of bouncing - eased his frustration. He did walk at 9 months, though he never properly crawled.

Yes. Its frustration. They can't physically get things, they can't tell you want they want. They don't always actually know what they want so they seek comfort..which is you and your arms, but only for so long because they don't actually want to be in your arms. Fun times.

It will pass. Eventually.

Get the Wonder Weeks app. It's great for pinpointing developmental leaps and understanding what's going on with baby.

In the same boat here OP, although my son is almost 11 months now. Like yours he always did the odd shriek here and there but it's drastically escalated lately and its been bad for about 2 weeks now. He is very mobile so it's not frustration at not being able to move. Just hoping it's a passing phase as most things are with babies.