Friday, September 5, 2008

The 9 Month Whines

Morgan is 9 months old today! We are still working on our 9 month pictures. It's hard to get a good shot when all she wants to do is crawl away. I'm going to try again when I have some help.

With the 9 month birthday comes what I call the 9 month "whines." I've read that there is an increase in crying at this point in most babies, as compared to the 5-6 week peak you see in newborns. We haven't had much extra crying yet, but in the last week or so I've heard a lot more whining than ever before. Possibly this is part of it. Morgan is learning communicate her likes and dislikes more clearly and with the dislikes comes the whining. She whines in her high chair when she wants more food or when she doesn't want to eat anymore...or if she wants her sippy cup. She whines when she's crawling around and can't get to someplace or something she wants.

Today she crawled over to the spot where one of the couches meets the wall. There is a small space you can see through to the other side of the couch... and through it she spotted the toy tray from her swing. It has a few bright colored rattles and beads on it. She whined and whined until I figured this out. Then I was able to give her the tray and she was happy as a clam playing with it for at least 15 minutes.

I'm glad she's expressing her feelings, but it's frustrating when w can't figure out why she's upset. We thought we had her figured out...she previously only got fussy or cried if she was tired or hungry. Now she has other reasons for fussiness that aren't so easy for us to pinpoint. We've had friends that have warned us about this. Once you think you have them figured out, something always changes. Everything is a phase. We are now getting used to putting on our "detective caps" to solve each "mystery." Now, I'm sure as soon as we solve the mystery/problem...everything with change again.

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