Persistent fussiness in 13-month old

[Anonymous]

I really need some advice or at least maybe someone can shed some light on this. My 13-month old daughter has been SUPER cranky for the past week. This is a total change from her usual happy, go-lucky disposition. She had a bit of stomach bug last week, so that was understandable, but she seems to be completely over that now. I took her to the doctor last week and she told me one of her gums is swollen where one of her molars should be coming in, but she already had one come in and I never even seemed to notice any fussiness with that one. It's so upsetting to me, and I don't know what to do. We'll be playing and all of a sudden she'll just start crying. Mostly it's just whining, but sometimes all out crying which she never used to do. I am hoping this is teething and it will pass, but my biggest fear is that this is a permanent change in demeanor (this may sound silly, but this really is my fear). I'm sure many of you have experienced something similar, so I'd like to know how these situations have turned out or if maybe I'm overlooking something that might seriously be wrong.

[Anonymous]

teething can be so awful for little ones, which is why it bums me out when people let babies cio at night when they suddenly start awakening, as you never really know what is wrong with your little one. anyway, i went through the same thing with both of my babies. they had such an awful time teething. give some tylenol if doc says it is okay and some biter biscuits to help break the tooth in and other soft/gummy/cold teething items. lots of tlc as well, which i'm sure you are already doing. i'm sure it will pass when this tooth comes in, but it probably will happen again when each other tooth comes in. good luck.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the teething advice. I wish that could explain it all, but I'm not convinced it's just that. I should mention that she doesn't wake up at night, which is what makes me think it's not entirely a teething issue.

[Anonymous]

It's probably teething - the molars are the hardest to break through and take the longest so it might be a week or so. It could also be a frustration on her part to communicate. Is she walking yet? Pointing/saying anything? I know at that age my DD was trying to hard to communicate what she wanted but wasn't walking yet so there was a lot of frustration and fussiness. Try working with her on "yes" and "no" so she can at least respond when you try to guess what she wants. My DD is 15 months old now and can answer our questions and is much better at letting us know what she wants.

She still gets cranky and frustrated at times but is pretty much back to her cuddly, sweet self!