Cry Baby

Please don't be harsh on yourself. I don't think you spoiled your little girl. You guys are just stressed and need some help figuring out what she needs. Babies seem to know when we're stressed and get hyped up too.

It sounds like she is an active baby which means she may need more stimulus - more interesting/engaging toys. I'm guessing she's really intelligent and needs variety of experiences (who better than mommy and daddy)which is why she's great when you go out with her. She's no cry baby and Daddy needs to come up with a more endearing term for his little precious angel!

Maybe you have a "spirited" baby. If you look it up on google, there are lots of "info." Just weed through it and see if it applies.http://www.google.com/search?q=raising+a+spirited+baby&am...
http://www.nurturingourfamilies.com/spirited/exptdefn.html

Every child is different, and maybe this does not apply to you, but My daughter was/is a spirited baby/child (not in every way, but in many ways)... among many wonderful things she was real clingy, and still is (but in a different way now), and although she was social...she was also noise sensitive (which your girl does not sound like) and she got overstimulated as she was more sensitive to things, and she had gas problems which made her cry and fuss, and was very hard to put to sleep or nap... but she outgrew it. Phew! But she is still a "dynamic" and alert and creative & bright little girl for which I am glad. LOL.

One thing that we used was Hyland's Colic tabs... my girl did not have colic, but had bad gas problems and this helps gas too. It calmed her and she slept better. Just rambling here, sorry.

The Book "Secrets of the baby Whisperer-how to calm,connect, and communicate with your baby" by Tracy Hogg is great. I used this and found it very helpful and I referred to it often with my first child.

Your girl (this is per my Pediatrician who said from 6 months they can be this way, and it is developmental based) also may be going through "separation anxiety"....object permanence kind of thing. It is a phase and they will mature out of it...
Here are some links:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1183.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-object-permanence.htm

Maybe she is teething too? Sometimes babies can be clingier when they are uncomfortable or sick.

Is she getting enough intake/feeding? Sometimes if a baby is in a growth spurt...they are hungrier and want to feed more and more frequently. 6 months, 9 months, 12 months etc. is a growth spurt time.

Was your baby always this way, or or is this a sudden behavior change? Perhaps it is developmental.

Talk with your physician... I don't have any answers but I can totally relate as my first child was quite spirited as well.

take care,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

my lil girl did the same thing at that age (but with being put in her saucer). it was the only thing i had to put her in so i could shower clean and do other things. i let her cry for about 15-20mins. if she continued to cry after that she got a bottle and was put in bed to take a nap. maybe try a walker (if your a fan of those) so she can move to where you are. it took me a long time to get my baby girl to solo play at home (i live with inlaws who i had to teach that just because she makes a noise it doesnt mean she need to be picked up). i hope you find a responce that is helpful good luck!

Hi Naches, heres what you do, first take back the power that she has over you. Babies can not be over nurtured, but a baby under 6 month, boy and believe me does she have some power. When she cries and you know there is nothing wrong with her,ignore her, but pick her up, when she is not crying, so you learns she does not need to cry to get picked up, give her attention when she is not crying, because if you and your husband respond to her everytime she cries, you are nurturing negetive behavior, trust me at 6 months they are smart. Let me know how turns out. J.

I carried my babies around and they did not "spoil". She may be more needy then some. She may be trying to tell you guys something. The Fussy Baby Book, by Dr. Sears might be helpful. Get behind her eyes and try to see things from her point of view. I don't think you mean it but your post makes her sound so inconvenient. I know you guys love her and would do anything for her so try to be more understanding. You didn't ruin her by carrying her around at a young age. You were responding to her needs - keep on doing that. Get an Ergo baby carrier www.ergobabycarrier.com , put her on your back and go about your day. Both of my kids "lived" in the Ergo and they did not HAVE to be carried all the time, it just worked for us, it didn't keep them from crawling or walking, etc..

Remove the label of cry baby. You have a 6mos old infant that wants you guys and nobody else! Enjoy it now, she won't always want you around! LOL.
Best wishes,
M.

I totally hear you!
i don't have any great advice just i know what you are going through.isn't it hard? I sometimes put my daughter down and then RUN to use the bathroom so i can get back before she has a heart attack. I'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll outgrow it. Now that she can scoot around she follows me everywhere, still crying, and well just lay at my feet waiting to get attention.
Hang in there!
It's what I'm doing!

I don't think you're doing anything wrong! You're just tired of her crying, and I feel your pain. My son was (and sometimes still is) the same way. He hated his play pen until very recently (and he's almost 15 months old and outgrown it). It sounds like she has a sleeping issue, which could be exacerbating her crying.

It really depends on your living situation and the decisions of you and your husband as far as how you want to solve the fatigue (for all of you). I recommend the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It took a lot of practice, but I was finally able to implement the advice of the book and have it work. I mostly used what I think he refers to as method B in the book, which is also known as the Ferber method (soothing, putting in crib, leaving for 5 minutes, if still crying, go back in and soothe for a couple of minutes without picking up, then go back out and extend to 10 minutes... etc). There were times when I tried crying it out, but it was so stressful that I couldn't be consistent with it. Plus, during his naps sometimes I would wait a full hour of him crying it out and then go in and find out that he had had a stool at one point and was very unhappy about it. That always made me feel guilty. At least with the checking on him method I could determine more easily if he needed something from me.

Also, this is a common teething age, so some of those teeth could very well be bothering her, even if you can't see them coming through yet. Did you have your 6 month check-up yet? Be sure to address your concerns with your son's pediatrician then (I suggest you write down ALL your questions beforehand to make sure you don't forget anything and/or lose your nerve about asking). Good luck.