My 9 month old DD has learned a horrible new cry that is more like a shouty scream. She usually goes off to sleep with a few tears, nothing extreme, just kind of winding down from the day. Occasionally she will wake in the evening but go back to sleep easily on her own after a few mins or at worst with a little bf- i usually find she settles again more easily and quickly when left to self soothe. Over the last week she has woken a few times doing this horrendous screech. It sounds so awful that I almost expect social services to come banging on the front door. I have of course responded to her straight away, but find that as soon as I pick her up and remove her from the situation (been taking her into my bed) she is as happy as larry, starts playing with my face, giving loads of kisses, and giggling, so I know she is not genuinely upset. Last night it took 3 hours to get her back to sleep going back and forth between bfing, playing in my bed and screaming in her cot.
How do I deal with this, should I just ignore the fact that she sounds like she is being tortured and treat as a normal waking and leave her to self soothe? Or keep intervening which I think is stimulating her more? I don't want this to become a fun new game for my clever girl.