Screaming 8 Month Old

My 6 month old likes to play in her highchair. She's close enough to see me, but isn't close enough to touch anything. I entertain her with a long explaination of what I'm doing, like a home cooking show. That along with a few sweet potato puffs and a toy work every time.

my almost six month old will do the same thing sometimes, especially at dinner! i feel bad because when she gets like that she won't even go to daddy without screaming. i started trying to make sure she's happy with my husband before i leave the room and then i have to stay out of her view for a while because even if she's having fun with dad, if she sees me she'll start crying for me to come get her. if she gets really upset i'll go get her, but if she's just whining and crying a little i let my husband try to calm her down. it may sound like i'm just making my husband deal with it, but it actually seems to be helping. she'll play longer and may whine a little when she sees or hears me, but will go back to playing after a minute or two. i think she just needs to spend more time playing with her dad and brother so she doesn't panic when i set her down to do something. i hope this helps.

H.,

I know how hard that is. My daughter is finally getting through that stage. You daughter is becoming very aware of "object permanence" which means that she knows that you can leave her and that you're still a person even when she can't see you. She's going through what everyone's very familiar with as seperation anxiety (even if you're staring her right in the face) and it will probably only last one to two months. Although this stage is very stressful it's also a very important to reassure your daughter that you're their for her. She just wants to love on her mommy! Patience is EVERYTHING in this stage.

M.

I had a similar problem with my daughter and it took a really long time to get past. What I did was put her down and let her throw a fit. I sttarted with just a couple minutes and gradually extended the time so she was eased into it more. You may have already tried this but I hope it helps. Also if you have just been back to work for a sshort period of time she might just be having seperation issues.

H.,
I completely agree with Jessa on both accounts. My son also went through the clingy stage around 8-9 months. That is when we started using a cloth carrier and it has been wonderful. I can put him on my back, front or side and he loves it. I went to babywearing.com. You can even nurse using a carrier. The website can tell you the pros and cons of each type of carrier and which position works best for each activity and or baby age range. It will also show you how to make a carrier without any sewing that adjusts to you or your husband. That is the one I use and I LOVE it. It is also very comforting for my son to be in while we are out and about. As for making a clingy baby, that has not been the case at all with my son. He is very independent now and only comes to get a hug every once in awhile and then is off for adventure.

The high chair and toy idea worked very well for us too. It is awfully hard to see what is going on when you are less than 2 feet tall : )

As for the let them "cry it out", it worked for some of my friends, but it has never worked for me. It ended up being more stressful for all of us.
Good Luck

Hey, I have the Exact same problem. My baby is 10 months and very clingy to only ME. I also have 2 other children 7,5. One thing I have tried and has worked was putting my baby in her highchair while i'm in the kitchen and giving her kitchen utensils (big spoons and bowls)It usually makes here feel good because I'm in her constant sight and she has somthing different to occupy her.Hope these thoughts can help you, believe me I know how stressful things can get at the BLACK HOUR (thats what i call dinner at our house when everyones getting home and things are crazy!)Good Luck!R..

I understand exsactly what you are going thruogh. When my son now 4 started doing the same thing I got the advice of letting him be. It sounds cruel but he wasn't i danger and wasn't hurting. All he wanted was to be with me and nobody else. My husband started to get disturbed because he thought that Alex didn't want anything to do with him and didn't recognize him. So I let him be. After a couple of weeks he started calming downand would not cry after I set him down he still wanted to be around me and fussed a little when I left the room but if he could still see me he was fine. It is nerve racking cause your first instinct is to console her, but try to fight it. I hope this helps.

Hi H.! It sounds like what you really need is a good soft backpack carrier you can wear your daughter in. She is trying to tell you that she needs YOU at that time. Babywearing is a great way for you to satisfy *her* intense need to be close to you and *your* need to get things done. Please feel free to email me at ____@____.com if you need any ideas or suggestions of what kind of baby carrier to try, as there are many options out there and it can be confusing at first. Also, if someone tries to tell you that this will only make her more dependent on you, know that there is a ton of research that shows otherwise. I wore both of my boys constantly as babies and they are fiercely independent and secure little people! As Dr. Sears says, spoiling is not what happens when we give our children too much attention. Spoiling is what happens when you put something (or someone) on a shelf and forget about it (them). You can't spoil a child with too much love- and yet, I know you have things you need to get done. Baby carriers are the solution! It's win-win and you can get a used one cheap.

P.S. I make natural bath and products that are gluten-free and I even donated a gift basket to a Celiac convention last year in Salt Lake City, Utah- so also let me know if you would be interested in finding out more about what I have whipped up! I understand that finding GF body products can be challenging.