Hi.
I am desperate for a little advice. My 15 month old boy cries a lot and is very hard to soothe for my husband and I. I am beginning to think something is wrong, but family has told us that its just a phase. He is our second child, first is a girl and was completely different. He does not take a pacifier. I EB him for 13 months and I also stay at home with him. Something just doesn't seem right. He isn't sick and I am pretty sure he is not teething. He has serious melt downs too. He is a really sweet boy but when something upsets him its very hard to calm him down. Last night it took my husband 30min or so to put him to sleep because he wouldn't stop crying. He has never been a good sleeper for us until just recently, and its still not great. He wakes up, not every night but its almost like he has night terrors.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks
Ok so he has 12 teeth. He eats everything. I know he isn't hungry because he LOVES food. His naps are tricky.... He cat naps, usually 45 min. Sometimes they are longer depending but most of the tube he wakes up and us still tired so u try to put him back to sleep. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. ( actually it just happened and he went back down). He started eating solids around 6 months. Eating has never been a problem. Sleeping is another story. I have gotten his ears checked last time we were at the doc(in May). They were fine at the time. He has had a couple ear infections here and there but not for a few months now.
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Thank you everyone for the GREAT advice. Turns out he at the time had an ear infection. I spoke with his pediatrician and she said he is probably overly tired and also having night terrors. Relief that its just that. He since has been sleeping a lot better at night and taking longer naps, most of the time at least. The pediatrician also says that his temper tantrums are common at this age since he cant quite communicate yet.
Thanks again!
My son was like this. Fast forward 12 years later, found out he's allergic to wheat and corn. Had no idea, no outward signs, just behavior issues as you describe. Good luck.
I have no idea what's wrong with your little guy, but I would definitely take him to the pediatrician.
Sometimes treatable illnesses don't present many symptoms. My DS seemed to get an ear infection every time he pulled a tooth. The pedi said it was likely due to local swelling making his already small Eustachian tube more prone to infections. The only way I knew something was going on was his need for more mama milk and serious lack of sleep/ night waking.
First I'd make sure, check with pediatrician, that:
His ears are ok. Not an ear infection.
He's not constipated.
He's not getting too much sugar in his diet.
He doesn't have pain from new teeth coming in.
He doesn't have a fever.
He's in overall good health.
He's getting enough sleep and good nutrition.
Sleep begets sleep.
Tired kids are crabby kids.
Does he take good naps still?
Once his health has been checked out, establish a firmly set bedtime routine. Each step is a cue that bedtime is coming. Bath, book, prayers, rock, cuddle, etc.
Play some soft music or white noise in his room at night.
As far as calming down a meltdown, acknowledge his frustration and explain why A or B is happening.
Some kids have a hard time transitioning from A to B. So say things like, "3 more slides, then we're leaving the park and going home..."
I read the responses.
As a parenting teacher, I can tell you that he is crying a lot !
One of my children did the same thing!!!
FIRST, rule out ear infections, allergies, etc...with the pediatrician.
If his crying does not settle down over time...Consult with a developmental pediatrician and rule out sensory issues and any hypersensitivities.
I, myself, have sensory intergration dysfunction....They call it sensory processing now. I never slept. One of my children did not sleep. When she was old enough for occupational theraphy...I brought her ! Neither my child or I never fell into normal sleep pattern intervals before the age of 4 1/2. ----The OT was trained in sensory and helped my child 2x a week as soon as it could take place...
What I did at home: My child liked a night light that was not bright. White noise did not work. A weighted blanket was something I had for myself.
It worked for my child. You can search sensory products.
Have you had his ears checked? My younger son would behave like this and every time he did it was an ear infection. He had them so often but showed no other sign of illness. Once he had the surgery to have the tubes put in it all stopped.
I agree with the allergies. My son was also this way and turned out he had severe food allergies. Does he have any eczema? Or horrible stools? Usually those are the first signs. Exposure to allergens can be really hard on them until they are diagnosed (or can tell you what's wrong).
I would first put in a call into your pediatrician to rule out anything serious.
Then, based on what you have written, I would suggesst that either he is
hungry or teething. Or both.
I know you said he's not teething but how are you sure? Can't see anything? All teeth are in?
Next, are you feeding him anything besides just exclusively breast feeding?
Sounds like he is either hungry or teething.
I'd feed him more, try adding in some baby food, give him some medicine for teething.
Maybe he is continuing to ry because he is not getting what he needs like more food or medicine.
I'd try these things, call your pediatrician right away!
I agree that it could be a phase. How verbal is he? Some kids get very frustrated while they are learning to talk. My grandson has been going through this phase for the last while and he has some words, but not enough to always get his point across. Night terrors are also common at this age.
My youngest daughter (now 12) talked very early and didn't go through this phase.
Are you saying you exclusively breastfed him for 13 months with no additional food? I think we need a little more information to help you but my initial thoughts are allergies/intolerences (like dairy since my son was like this and that was his issue) and sensory processing difficulties. He can't help it, the best thing to do is to try eliminating things in his diet and if it's sensory processing, that is a larger issue that can be addressed.
I bet he's overtired.
He should be getting 12 hours at night and two naps of 2 hours each. So 16 hours of sleep in every 24 hours of day. I could help you more if I knew his exact schedule, feel free to private message me.
Could he be having an allergic reaction to a certain food? My daughter is allergic to corn. She doesn't get the usual hives, she gets a bad tummy. Maybe something is making his tummy ache.
Since you are home, I suggest you chart everything he does and what he eats. Perhaps you can pin it.
I would rather go to the doctor and make sure he's fine, than listen to family saying "it's a phase" and be wrong. Take him to the doc.
