# Whining 13 month old



## Sailmom (Sep 23, 2004)

I am new to this forum, and new to GD as a first time parent. My dd is generally well behaved, spirited, inquisitive and stubborn. I think the GD'ing has been going moderately well, but I have begun to notice an increase in whining, esp with me, more so than dp. I work Fri, Sat and Sun night shift (12 hours) so I sleep for a good part of the day while I am at home. DH takes care of her and they have a great relationship. I spend as much time as I can with her on the days that I work, nursing when I get home and before I leave, taking a walk in the afternoon. She is fine while I am out of sight, asleep in the bedroom, but when I am awake, she whines almost constantly. She wants to be held the whole time. I have to shower and get my meal together - I can't hold her the whole time. I explain it to her gently, I give her as much cuddling and attention as time allows, I even sleep less than I could to have more time with her. The whining continues Monday afternoon but by Tuesday she is back to being her happy self and the whining is at a minimum. DH is a student finishing up his masters degree - when he is finished and gets a job, I will probably be able to cut back my hours, but until then I have to continue working this schedule. It just wrenches my heart to hear her so unhappy - and it is highly annoying and grating as well.

Any advice would be appreciated! I don't want whining to become a habit!


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## Aura_Kitten (Aug 13, 2002)

i think it's the age.







my daughter is about 13 and a half months old and she does this constantly too.

we've been working on her more frequently with her sign language, and that really seems to help ~ it gives her a tool with which to communicate, so i think it really alleviates some of her frustration.


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## Sailmom (Sep 23, 2004)

We have also been signing a lot since she was 7 months old - she still isn't using it a lot - she understands it if we just sign at her, but she doesn't give us the sign. The only thing she is consistently signing is "milk" - but she understands more, eat, bath, diaper change, airplane, cat, dog - she just doesn't do them.

So why am I the only one she whines at? Or is dh lying to me to make me feel worse


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## Aura_Kitten (Aug 13, 2002)

my dd primarily whines to me too :LOL BUT she also does whine at her daddy.

we've been signing with her since she was a newborn, but lately we have to consistently remind her to do them, which is why i mentioned it. it seems that at this age she would rather just sit and cry at us, whine a lot, then put the effort into signing. once we remind her that she has a way to communicate, the whining stops (for the moment) and she gets happy.

fun age.


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## sweetpea333 (Jul 2, 2005)

my dd is 13 months and always whining at me also, she wants to play with me every second of the day, i am a sahm but when i do have errands to do and my mom or hubby is watching, the second i walk in the door she gets up from whatever she is doin runs to me and pouts and whines and they always say "she was so good until you came home".


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## Dodo (Apr 10, 2002)

When you go to work, are you calm and confident with her or are you apologetic and guilt-ridden? She might be getting a vibe from you, for instance, when you cut your sleep short to spend more time with her, that the situation is less than ideal, that daddy is not a competent caregiver, that she should be with mommy all the time. Sometimes children can be very sensitive. If you have misgivings about the situation, they can usually tell. When you go to work, don't tell her you're going because you have to, tell her you're going because you want to.

Or it could be the age.


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