Crying fits

My 1 yr. old cries for no apparent reason several times a day.I stay home with her so it's not that she misses me!She'll wake from her nap & just cry for 30 mins. or more.Her diaper is changed,she is fed & watered, held & soothed but the moment her feet hit the floor she screams & thrashes.Sometimes she'll bang her head too if I don't pick her right back up.I've had to start putting her in her play-yard to keep her from hurting herself.Help,what am I doing wrong?How can I stop this?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Your use of the word 'apparent' indicates that you realize there is a reason for your daughter's crying. Some infants require more physical contact than others and they are soothed by this. Now, if you notice that the pattern involves your daughter being fine when you are holding her and crying when you are not, gradually expose her to longer periods between holding her so she gets more accustomed to this.

[HeatherLea1972]

I do realize that she just wants to ride my hip most times,but sometimes I just can't indulge her.She is in my arms most of the day.It causes jealousy from her sister (2yrs) so she acts out ,then I have to put baby down to put the older one in time-out & baby starts to scream again & it takes 15 mins. to calm her down meanwhile older one is forgotten in time-out! It's a truly vicious cycle & not every day is like this,but most are.So my back aches,my nerves are frayed,the housework is barely done ,the only one happy is baby because she winds up on mommy's hip all day long.I can't gradually expose her to longer periods of being down because she can be down & fine with it one min.& the next she's screaming at me & saying "up!up!".It's not up to me unless I let her scream.Hopefully explaining our environment in more detail will help you with more suggestions.I really would appreciate anything you have to say.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Thank you for the description. It helps me see that the advice I gave you is relevant to your situation. You will have to bite the bullet on this. There is no easy way to accomplish this. Yes, your daughter will cry/scream. You'll have to handle that, which you can do. You're an adult; tell yourself to remain calm. Don't let the noise rattle you.