Lulu - you are right on this one. Babies aren't trying to manipulate for their own gain. They just miss you, want you, want to eat, want a diaper change, want... something. And that's normal! My daughter is now 29 months, and it's only been since she turned 2 that I have any handle on disciplining her. They can't be disciplined much earlier - they just don't get it or make the connections. I do very short time outs (and time out means that she is just sitting somewhere close by - not banned to a bedroom or something), and she gets that. If she hits her sister, she gets time out until she feels she can say "I'm sorry." (which she actually can't say, but she will approach her sister with an "I'm sorry" face and give some kind of random vocals.) At your baby's age, it's all about cuddling. It's all about security, and I believe (and research backs this up) that babies who feel more secure, become more secure as they grow older. They don't become less secure or more manipulative if you cuddle and attend to their needs - they become more secure, because they can handle the new things coming at them in the world better.