head banging, grinding teeth and trouble sleeping

[dgell]

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

[babygirl6152]

sorry I didnt notice about you nursing- well. maybe hungry? How much does she get for supper? Solid foods? veggies? or just cereal or what?

how long are her daytime naps? and when does she go to bed at night? how long do you wish she would sleep? Dr. will be able to advise you there too. Some folks might go straight to sippy cups. She is getting her sucking done on the pacifier. And don't worry a bit about the paci- my son was 4 when he gave it up- no kidding and he is fine now at age 17  with no ortho. problems whatsoever.

[babygirl6152]

make sure they double check her ears. My baby was so happy til about 2 months. It was double ear infections. The older us moms get that have babies with earaches- and yes they wake easily- (because that is when the pressure builds- laying back) we think we can pick out babies with ear infections crying at church- ask the mom and we are usually right.  They usually get ear infection after a snotty nose/ cold- about 10 days later.
maybe too much information but the biggest thing is- no bottles lying down- the milk gets higher in the nose/ eustachian tube- I think was the way they explained it. Sorry been a long time.
Does she have a pacifier she can get to easily? We clipped one on his night shirt and he learned to find it at night and put it in.

does she have apnea? you can hear them breathing easily on baby monitors. The rhythm is odd. That would maybe wake a baby.

milk changed lately? Stomach aches from that or new foods?

I know how hard it is when they can't talk- hang in there momma

diaper changes- probably already tried this but try singing and making it fun- where's that babies toes? where's her ears? after a few seconds of that start the diaper change and keep chatting...... in other words- distract her then change the diaper in a bit-

I have never seen a baby throw a fit like that this young but I imagine your doc will know- explain how bad it is- in detail. throwing her head around? Sad for you to watch- I know

[candy83]

my daughter did almost everything that you have noted. the sleeping patterns change when they really start to teeth.  it took us almost 2 1/2 months to get our daughter back on her schedule at night. just have to make sure that you give them something for the pain before bed, thats when they really start to bug them. that and dont make a habit of going in her room right away when she starts to fuss. see if she can sooth herself. thats where we had a big problem. babies chew on everything possible throughtout the day to help the pain, but cant chew on things while they are sleeping. therefore they wake up MANY times throughout the night. i used ibuprofen at night, it lasts longer for them. i think the teeth grinding is just again due to the teething. might want to watch the pacifier usage now that she is getting or has teeth.  the tantrums while you change her are more than likely because you are stopping her from being on the move. she can move now and you are taking a little time away from that. she probably wants to be into everything. i would still discuss with your doctor, just to make sure, because every child is different.