Baby Crying All the Time

     I should have know it was too good to be true.  For so many months we had a pleasant daughter and now that her one year birthday is approaching, she has become a cry baby.  Whenever she cannot have what she wants, she cries.  If we don't feed her fast enough she cries.  If I am looking in another direction she cries.  My husband asked me if she is like this all day.   Although I wanted to say "Yes Knucklehead,"  I kindly replied "Yes and it's wearing me thin.  Please ask your Mom to come and help out."  

     At this moment she is in her swing and enjoying some down time.  Each day I play a music or book CD so that she can swing quietly and spend time with herself.  She really enjoys it and so do I.  All the books say that this is part of separation anxiety, but I'm pretty sure it's her new way of communication.  Although I know that she is a baby and feels that crying is going to get her the best response, I need some help in teaching her other ways of communication before I go batty.  I'm thinking of teaching her some simple sign language.  Any suggestions?

From Bottle To Sippy Cup

Last week, I put away my daughter's bottle and she is now happy with a sippy cup. She was already drinking from a regular cup, but that can be VERY messy for an 11 month old if Mommy isn't holding the cup. I started introducing the sippy cup a few weeks ago but when she was sleepy she would still want her bottle. One night last week, she was so tired that she didn't realize she was drinking from her cup and not the bottle. That was my cue to put away nipple once and for all. The 2 days following this, she tried to hold out for her bottle and throw her sippy cup on the floor, but she finally realized it wasn't coming back. I didn't realize how fussy she would be, because at 7 months she would take her cup with no problem. However it has occurred to me that as the memory improves, an item can easily be remembered as an object of comfort. I have paid a range of prices for the cups that she has now, but she drinks from them all with no problem. The next time I have a child, I will try to wean him or her from the bottle at 6 months since they still have a relatively short memory then. LOL.