How Do I Prepare My Five Month Old for a Babysitter

Often babies cry and suffer when their parents leave them because they pick up on their anxiety about leaving them. By now you probably have a lot of anxiety. Is Grandmother anxious? If you could be calm and matter of fact that might help. A definite routine might help.

Does her grandmother hold her and do things to comfort her? "Wearing" the baby could be very good. It sounds to me that she might want more physical closeness to make up for not having you there.

How does she act with her grandmother when you're visiting? Could there be a "poor fit?" Perhaps she'll act differently with a different personality.

Call your local YMCA or Community Learning Centers. There are always "babysitting classes" which prepare young women for the importance of being alone with a baby, how to do cpr, assist a choking child, change a diaper, give a bath, and get 911 in a hurry if an emergency situation arises. Any person who watches your most loved and precious child needs to be competent as you are in taking care of that child. Try local churches as well, often they have programs with babysitters who have gone through the training, are positive influences, and have a general concern for the safety and welfare of caring for your child as if he or she was their own, not just making a buck... and don't feel badly about setting up video survelience, hidden cameras, etc. as long as you set them up in "neutral zones" (areas where your baby and sitter will be spending time , but not the bathroom or places where a sitter may need to undress. Let the sitter know you have a nannycam that cannot be turned off, and that his or her privacy is not being invaded in anyway, it is meant as a safety precaution for your baby, the sitter and you, the parent responsible for everything....

I would ditto the first (and second) poster, and also suggest you find a sitter who knows about your daugther and understand the difference between being held and crying, and being left to cry. ease her into it, and perhaps consider getting a sling or carrier for you and the sitter, that way the baby gets 'worn' by you a certain way, and the sitter can do the same, it'll provide some 'homelike' comfort for the baby. Look at www.wearyourbaby.com for info on lots of different carriers for your little one.

HI J.. So are you going to be getting a babysitter or childcare. A babysitter usually comes to your home, childcare is an out of home setting. I think with a child like your daughter a childcare setting may be better. Often a child with seperation anxiety does better in a new environment. Where things aren't as familiar and connected to her parents. I do child care and have a 2 children. My first son was this way. He didn't want to be away from mom at all. He had even more trouble when he was with grandma because he so closely associated grandma's house with mommy as we spent alot of time there together. Plus grandma was a fretter. SO I had him placed in childcare and within two days he was doing very well. He was 8 months old at the time. There were 4 other children there so he had kids to lay with and he was the only baby so all the kids loved playing with the baby. Often a good childcare will have a fairly strict routine and that helps baby adjust and settle in as they quickly learn what to expect. I hope this may help you some. I know how heartbreaking it is to worry your child is unhappy. Good luck.

Oh how sad!! :( Some babies are just very clingy and just need their Mommy or Daddy. It just pulls at your heart strings when you can't afford to be with her every single moment to console her.

I agree with the comment below and in addition, just know that the more change you have in your infant's life the worse she might get. It is apparent that she is very upset and separation anxiety usually does not start letting up until they are almost 2 years old. A lot of the times, it will go away for a while and then reappear at about 18 months old.

If there is any way you can not go back to work full time, I'm sure your baby would benefit from that.

I'm sorry I could not be much help. When babies need you, they just need you. :)
Take Care!

I agree with Patricia B. Bring the sitter to your house and interact with the sitter so your daughter knows the sitter is a good person. When i went back to work, with my now 3 year old, I had a friend watch her, but for two weeks I took her over to my friends house everyday, for a short time a first then added more time and went out of her sight at the end. If you choose to go out of the home with child care, see if you can take your daughter to the facility a few times so you both can get a feel for it.... and calm down, no matter what, if she knows you are stressed, she will be times 5. Let me know what you find, I am moving to Las vegas in February.

You could try having the babysitter watch her a few times at your house while you are still home, so your daughter sees you and the sitter, and learns the sitter is o.k. Then gradually go out of sight little by litle (baby steps) until the baby is just with the sitter. I had to do this with my own son (8 mo.) and have done it with numerous children I have watched before. Good Luck.

I used a in home day care nanny who charged $20 for a full day and $15 for a half day. I was going to have a girl come to my home for $7 or $8 dollars an hour. We didn't end up using her but that seemed fair.