M has always been very high-needs. She was a "colicky" baby who needed to be bounced practically 24 hours a day and while our lives and her temperament have improved, she's still a tough cookie who needs LOTS of attention. In the past week she's gone from crying to express her needs to sort of screaming at me. She's looking right at me with a big angry face and alternating between yelling and doing this weird fake cough. She was actually hoarse at the end of the day yesterday. She will stop almost immediately if I am singing to her with lots of energy, crazy facial expressions, etc. Me being there is not enough, I have to be distracting her / entertaining her to the extreme. She can't even play with a toy for 20 or 30 seconds. The past few days I literally have to be entertaining her every moment or endure constant screaming. She has been doing pretty well when we are in public or at playgroup and she is distracted but being at home with her is turning into a real nightmare. I'm just not sure what to do... Is it possible for a 9 month old to be having a temper tantrum? Am I just reinforcing her bad behavior by entertaining and distracting her in this extreme way? The only way that she learned to sleep by herself was to CIO. Does she need to scream it out to learn any sort of independent play?

Would greatly appreciate any experience, advice or assurance that this won't last forever!