Frustrated 9 month old - Advise Please

[doodah]

yeah I wouldnt expect a mobile 9 month old to be happy when they are restrained constantly. you are just going to have to rearrange the living space so it is safe for him. you cant keep him penned up till he is a preschooler!

[Mom2Connor]

Gate off the tv stand, gate off the stairs and doorways out of the room. He can't sit in an exersaucer all day. Those are supposed to be for a half hr or so max....

[B+EBabyDipes]

Originally Posted by Mom2Connor Gate off the tv stand, gate off the stairs and doorways out of the room. He can't sit in an exersaucer all day. Those are supposed to be for a half hr or so max....

This

[Rewind_Selector]

Time to babyproof!

[l_Kimmie_l]

Oh I do not keep him in an exasaucer all day. I just want to be able to put him in one or his play pen for a bit for a break to get things done and spend one on one time with my other kids.

[Teexie]

This was a tough time for us too. We baby proofed everything (our living room was practically empty except for basic furniture), blocked off anything dangerous and let her roam free. Do you have a grassy yard or nice clean grassy park nearby? DD loved crawling around in the grass. Not sure where you live so that may not be helpful to you this time of year!

[chandni3]

I let my daughter cry and throw a fit in her playpen when I need to get stuff done. She's not in there all day. We have a playroom and we play in her room, but when I can't watch her I put her in there. Usually she has a temper tantrum for a while and then plays with her toys. She's learned that screaming isn't going to get her out, she'll get out when it's time. I guess it depends on how you feel about your baby crying. For me, I don't have a problem when it's a temper tantrum cry. I'd rather her be safe and upset, than happy and potentially in danger. She gets to roam free and climb and pull herself up and pull everything down in the playroom, but I just don't like her playing in there without me there.

[Kiliki]

awww. I remember this stage. It's hard on both mommy and baby! OP.

I do think to some degree you will just have to baby-proof what you can, let him explore, redirect him from dangerous things, and keep an ear out all other times.

The other part of it though is that when you CAN'T do that, he will have to learn to sit and be content in the playpen or in his exersaucer. But that will take longer to learn than a few days.

It's just a tough stage for everyone.

Personally, I never baby-proofed. Our house is tiny and only one story. I could always hear just where they were, and if I couldn't hear them, I would find them immediately to see what was up. The kitchen is smack dab in the center of our house - you can't get to any other part of the house without passing it or going through it - so from the kitchen I could always see/hear where the kids were. Dangerous chemicals stay in the kitchen. If a kid goes in the kitchen, my mommy sense tingles and I pay close attention and I scold starting around 8 mos for opening cupboards. They learn right away not to open any cupboards and since I can hear if they do, it's never an issue.

As far as pulling up on the TV, it's a similar story. I scold them starting around 8 mos for touching it. They learn fast not to do it, and move on to better things.

Bathroom doors MUST stay closed at all times when we have a baby 18 ms or less in the house. All doors that lead outside stay locked all the time. And baby gates are used to contain, rather than a play pen. So, for example, I'll put the crawler in the room with the older kids and gate it off. My 6 y/o is very responsible (and I think she thinks she's a mom, actually LOL) and I can just shout "what is the baby doing?" and she gives me a status report.

I know I'm not the typical DS AP mommy. That is ok. But I will say this method works really excellently for this stage. It gives a bit more breathing room for both mommy and baby.

I also never had any serious mouthers, though. And I have hardwood floors, and my kids have a limited amount of toys, so all of that helps, too.....

[DottieHarley]

I have a good friend who swears by "baby jail" esp when she needed to pay close attention to her older boy. Basically she bought a couple of those multi panel baby play yard things and connected then to make a play area about two feet smaller than her living room. This prevented access to the tv stand, fireplace, whatever but gave the kid enough room that they could pull up on furniture etc and not feel too confined.