Total Personality Change in My 8 Month Old

My 8 1/4-month-old (barely a preemie) is going through some funk now too. In about the last week and a half. My husband took him to the doctor yesterday because we swore he had an ear infection. Nope. He's just changing (I call it "jerkitis"). He is teething for his top teeth (already has the bottom two), so that is part of it. But his sleep schedule is changing and he's just more cranky. I hate to say this but I think it's true: It's just a phase. Although I'm a new mom, so maybe I'm wrong. We should ask other experienced moms, but for now, I'm just trying to go with the flow. He won't break when he cries and whines--and just think about the times when he's happy and sweet. Oh, and bedtime! Hang in there.

Ear infection possibly...totally changes children's behavior!!! Watch for tugging and pulling at the ears. See if applying a warm washcloth to his ears helps, that may be the answer, if it's not teeth or a phase he's just going through?!! Good luck.

Hes probably just teething. If you arent seeing the teeth yet, theyre having a hard time breaking through, which would be painful for your son. Try rubbing his gums to help the teeth break through, see if he would like to chew on some ice too. Ice has been helpful to myself and quite a few people I know. Good luck!

Sounds like a classic fussy stage ! Check his age here
http://www.geocities.com/hedracita/Fussy_Stages.html

"23-26 WEEKS (5 1/3 - 6 months) POST-DUE DATE:
Length: 4 weeks (but varies between 1 to 5 weeks) Usually peaks @26 weeks
Change/learning: relationships between items (spatial, temporal)
Reaction: sleeps bad, nightmares, shy, wants more attention, wants to keep bodily contact, eats poorly (refuses breast sometimes), more quiet, doesn't want to be changed, takes a blanket.
Post-development: Things in the world are related to each other. People have a certain distance to each other (so s/he starts to cry when mother moves away). S/he starts to understand that things are in, out, up, next to, under, or between another thing(s). S/he plays with that. Baby starts to understand that two things, people or situations always come together. Eg: s/he hears the keys on the front door and knows that his father or mother comes home. S/he understands when people make mistakes, such as when mother drops something. Baby can make his body parts work together.
Mother's reaction: usual frustration.
How to help:
• Show your baby that you don't really leave: carry the baby, keep him in sight, use your voice when you're out of sight, play peek-a-boo.
• encourage your baby to follow you.
• let the baby explore everything with yourself as basis (sit on the ground)
• let him crawl and explore 'up', 'under', 'in', eg under the table.
• baby moves toy: up, in, next, under, out, and so on.
• baby wants to drop toy and to throw it away.
• baby explores boxes containing something
• baby wants to take things apart
• likes things that disappear in something else
• baby understands short sentences and gestures
• baby start to use 'words' and gestures, eg clap hands
• read books
• baby reacts on music ('dances' and 'sings')
• wants to sit.
• wants to stand up.
• wants to walk
• baby plays with the relation between two body parts, eg s/he picks up thing from the floor with thumb and finger
Between 30 and 35 weeks an easy period starts.

34- 37 WEEKS (almost 8 months - 8 ½ months) POST-DUE DATE:
Length: avg. 4 weeks (3-6 weeks long)
Change/learning: learns to make categories, divides world in groups
Reaction: hangs on your legs, shy, wants to keep body contact, wanted to be kept busy, sleeps less, nightmares, "too" sweet, more quiet, don't want to be changed, behaves more as a baby then usual, eats poorly.
Post-development: plays with things that tastes the same, look the same, sound the same, and so on. Understands now that a drawing of a horse points to the same concept as a real horse.
Mother's reaction: ? probably the usual frustrations (am I spoiling this child?)
How to help:
• help her to investigate categories, eg comparing round things with each other, and square things, big things, small things.
• let your baby play with the notions "one" and "more than one"
• let your baby play with give and receive
• let your baby play with the notions "careful" and "not careful" (gentle/firm, safe/no-no)
• let your baby play with different shapes
• let your baby investigate parts of a thing.(eg keys on a keychain or buttons on a shirt)
• let your baby experience how different materials feels in her hands.
• play with concepts of "heavy" and "light", "high" and "low", "big" and "small"
• give the baby space to move
• show understanding for her "strange" fears.
• let your baby play 'roles', eg as mom "

Hang in there!

The thing that is alarming about your statement is that he wants to lean his head back upside down. Please have him checked out for ear or other infections or inflammations. Sometimes kids don't have fevers or other symptoms while they do have a mild, persitent pain which results in irritability.

I have to agree that it's a stage. My almost 10 mo has been doin the same for about 1.5 months. He's just starting to come out of it it seems. He was like your son - very laid back and happy o lucky. I think that makes it 10 X's worse cause you are so used to him not whining that when he does it grates the nerves much more. At least thats how it is for me. Hang in there momma! This to shall pass ;)

Hi K.,
I dont want to scare you but sudden personality changes can be a sign of autism.There are different levels of autism my cousin has a mild case.There are websites like www.autismspeaks.org and Opera did a very informed show on it.If he does have autism it is better to find out now the sooner the better.Do some checking on your own then go see his doctor.Godbless your family

I don't have any ideas what may be wrong with your son, but you should take him to the doctor for a check-up. The fact that he "he whines and whines and whines all day long" is alarming.

K.,

My son is 8 1/2 months. He has always been so easy. I could leave him with a couple toys or in his activity center without any problems. In the past couple weeks, he also has become alot more whiney. He does the thing where he throws his head back also. It was funny at first. I definitely agree that it is probably a phase. With my son, I think he has started to get bored easily with the same old stuff, but he isn't quite ready some new things. If I stand him up and help him walk, he gets so excited, or if I help him reach for something he couldn't reach, he get's excited. There are just so many things that he can not do with out my help, but he knows he wants to do them. I think when he gets more mobile, this phase will pass. If you come up any good tips along the way, I'd love to hear them too!

it is a stage - it will pass... my daughter has gone through several stages wehre she was whiny and or clingy or only wanted momma... in a week or so.. it is gone and she is back to her normal self.

Just be patient..it will likely go away in time.