Is Your Baby Taking A Ride On The Mood Swing?

Q:
I have a wonderful daughter who is 8 months. I love her dearly, but lately she has been demanding and grumpy more than she has been happy. I am curious to know if all your babies had different temperaments and were their temperaments indicative of their current personalities?

A:
All of my babies varied in their temperaments. Some were calm and easy to soothe. Some were always fussy. However, their current behavior does not always predict their future characters. Marlie was a very fussy baby, for the first few months. After she turned 4 months old, things changed and she became a very easy going child. Babies may change their temperaments when faced with the stages of early childhood development.
Babies go through developmental stages that, sometimes, produce temporary changes in behavior. Your baby's grumpiness could be due to several factors. Is she teething? How is she sleeping? Have you cut out a nap? Have you started solids yet? Could she be hungry and need more food due to an increased activity level? Has anything in her environment changed? Babies thrive on consistency and any little change can trigger her to feel insecure.
Also, at her age, babies start to learn how to manipulate parental responses. Social skills start to kick in along with separation anxiety. My son, Daniel, would wail like we had injured him, if we dared leave him. I felt so bad leaving him with my grandparents and would often hurry home to find him playing happily. My grandma said that he was always fine after we left. It was just his way of communicating his displeasure with my departure. After a few times, he realized that we were coming back and stopped having separation anxiety.
As children reach milestones, they may become fussy. Their bodies are trying to accomplish new things and their minds may not be able to cope with all that is happening. They may be frustrated with the inability to crawl or walk. They are trying to master motor skills, learn a language, remember faces and names and process social cues. That is a lot to manage, even for an adult! Be patient, while setting guidelines. Do not give in to her demands. It will only teach her that she can get away with that kind of behavior. Stay positive.
Above all, if you suspect that there may be an underlying medical condition, seek a doctor's advice. You know your child better than anyone and if you feel that something greater than what I've mentioned is happening, follow your intuition. Good luck and peace be with you!