I've got a 9 month old daughter who has met all of her milestones. She has great eye contact and is extremely social and engaging. She's beginning to babble, is standing up on her own, is practically crawling and rolling every which where, makes great eye contact when her name is called, responds to simple commands "high five", sings along with songs "aaa" when we sing to her and has recently started waving good bye. She's an awesome kid, however, ever since she began to teethe when she was 4 months old she has had trouble sleeping through the night. Prior to that we had a wonderful nights rest but lately I can't manage to get more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep at a time. At the moment she's got 7 teeth in her mouth and has 2 more breaking through any day now. We follow a bedtime routine where I read to her or sing songs while she nurses as she falls asleep. I've tried transitioning to a bottle but she won't take it for the life of me.... I don't know how to get her to sleep through the night!!!!! Generally she goes to bed right after her dinner and follows her bedtime routine. I've also noticed a tremendous amount of sweat developing whenever she sleeps. She is drenched when she wakes up and makes me worry that she will get sick if I don't cover her up.
Secondly, a month ago my daughter began to fuss (tantrum) while I was changing her diaper rolling over from side to side and then batting my hands away and kicking with her feet. Not a big deal I thought until she's started to throw her entire head back arching her back and is doing this even on hard surfaces when she is frustrated in cases when tangible items are removed and when she is being dressed or changed or when she is tired. This is happening more frequently and is beginning to make me worry. I've ignored the behavior but am worried she is going to get a concussion on our hard floors. What should I do?????
Her teeth are also incredibly tender and sore and she tends to bite anything she can get her little mouth on including her own hand and arm at times. Tonight I noticed her doing this out of frustration... she tried to bite me but then bit her own arm instead. I just ignored the behavior and it was over but I'm startign to get more and more concerned.
Is it normal for infants to arch their back and bang their heads when they get frustrated and are extremely tired?
In addition to the teeth coming in we are seeing a lot of clenching and grinding that is occurring during the day. It sounds horrible. We were told not to worry..because they are her baby teeth. Every time we hear the noise we tell her no grinding and pop the pacifier back into her mouth. She's not doing as much any more but her teeth look fairly worn down already.
Iv'e got a ped appointment coming up next week where I will mention these instances. I'm just wondering if it is common for typical infants to go through such tantrums and to exhibit such behaviors when they are only 9 months old. I know this could be due to the language barrier but I didn't realize it would begin at this age already.
Please help, I don't know what to do and am really concerned that this might be the start of autism.
dgell