6 month appointment and a Q

MrsRiceARoni · June 2013

DD had her 6 month appointment and she is doing great she is up to 15lbs 3 oz and is now at 35th percentile which is amazing since she wasn't even at 5th percentile when she was born. He was also impressed that she can sit unassisted for extended periods of time and said he didn't expect that until closer to 9 months so physically she is doing great.

The problem is he said her separation and stranger anxiety are both pretty bad which I already knew but hearing it from him made it seem so much worse. I'm wondering if we need to some how socialize her more? DH works from home and I SAH so she is with both of us all of the time and all of our family is out of state so most of her socializing, aside from random gawking strangers when we are out, happens at church and it is a very small church so it's not a very large number of other people. I'm also getting called out because she won't stop screaming in the nursery almost every week. We're wondering if maybe we need to put her into daycare for a few hours a week or something, would that even help? I feel like I can never leave her with anyone even for a few hours and I worry about this problem only getting worse as she gets older. Any advice would be much appreciated.

weddedwife · June 2013

A mommy and me group is a wonderful idea! That way she can have exposure to other babies and mommies but still feel safe while you're there with her. I don't think day care is the answer. Dropping her off with strangers will probably only exacerbate her anxiety if she's prone to it anyway.

KJsbabe · June 2013

DD has gone though many phases of separation anxiety. Sometimes they last a week or two, sometimes it's a month or more. It will pass, though. I agree with the other ladies. See if you can find some kind of class for the two of you to attend. We have a couple area libraries who do a baby story time/ play group for 6m+ that we go to a couple times a month. I'm also looking into swim lessons for the summer. Or you could go to the park/ playground and see if there are any other moms and babies you can strike up a conversation with.

orangegoggles · June 2013

Congrats on a great 6 month appt! We also had ours this week and I can't believe he's 6 months, its unreal isn't it?!

As far as the seperation anxiety I don't know...I am surprised that your doctor felt he should mention it? I think most babies go through this...Ive heard the worse is between 6-10 months, not sure how true that is as we haven't gone through that yet.

Because you don't live by family, I would for sure join a moms group so that she can socialize with other babies while you are around. You could also join a baby bootcamp or stroller stride class for added exercise. Mommy and me classes might be fun too.

hopefulmom81 · June 2013

Like pang said, I think it is weird that your ped brought this up? It seems like an odd thing to call out at 6 months, DD is still a teeny baby. What did DD do that made him say that?

I think that it is great to expose your child to different situations just to make them more adaptable, so anything you can do in that vein seems to make sense regardless of the separation anxiety.

I do think that an in-home, small, regulated daycare a day a week would help, but not sure if there is a need.

My mom was SAH and I ended up being super social, but was definitely clingy for the first 5 or 6 years.

MrsRiceARoni · June 2013

hopefulmom81:
Like pang said, I think it is weird that your ped brought this up? It seems like an odd thing to call out at 6 months, DD is still a teeny baby. What did DD do that made him say that?
I think that it is great to expose your child to different situations just to make them more adaptable, so anything you can do in that vein seems to make sense regardless of the separation anxiety.
I do think that an in-home, small, regulated daycare a day a week would help, but not sure if there is a need.
My mom was SAH and I ended up being super social, but was definitely clingy for the first 5 or 6 years.

He said it when she started screaming bloody murder any time him or the nurses approached her especially when I stepped back a whole foot or two so he could examine her. We had also told him about how we've been putting her in the church nursery since 2.5 months and she is getting worse and worse about throwing a fit so I have to come back and get her.

I love some of the ideas ladies, unfortunately the outdoor ideas except for maybe the swimming classes just aren't practical here in phoenix as we are quickly approaching 120 degrees. But I will look into some sort of mommy and me class which would be much cheaper than daycare but I don't know how they will help with the separation anxiety which I think is much worse than the stranger anxiety.

hopefulmom81 · June 2013

MrsRiceARoni:
hopefulmom81:
Like pang said, I think it is weird that your ped brought this up? It seems like an odd thing to call out at 6 months, DD is still a teeny baby. What did DD do that made him say that?
I think that it is great to expose your child to different situations just to make them more adaptable, so anything you can do in that vein seems to make sense regardless of the separation anxiety.
I do think that an in-home, small, regulated daycare a day a week would help, but not sure if there is a need.
My mom was SAH and I ended up being super social, but was definitely clingy for the first 5 or 6 years.
He said it when she started screaming bloody murder any time him or the nurses approached her especially when I stepped back a whole foot or two so he could examine her. We had also told him about how we've been putting her in the church nursery since 2.5 months and she is getting worse and worse about throwing a fit so I have to come back and get her.
I love some of the ideas ladies, unfortunately the outdoor ideas except for maybe the swimming classes just aren't practical here in phoenix as we are quickly approaching 120 degrees. But I will look into some sort of mommy and me class which would be much cheaper than daycare but I don't know how they will help with the separation anxiety which I think is much worse than the stranger anxiety.

I mean, she still is only 6 months old. Isn't it good that she knows the difference between a stranger and mom and dad? Is it specific to you or is DH included? Could you leave her for longer periods of time with him so she can get used to being cared for and you not being around?

Sorry for the 20 questions, I am just intrigued by this being brought up so young.

mork · June 2013

Fing bump just deleted my long response, so I'll keep it simple: I've had great success with my meetup group. You should try one!

MrsRiceARoni · June 2013

hopefulmom81:
MrsRiceARoni:
hopefulmom81:
Like pang said, I think it is weird that your ped brought this up? It seems like an odd thing to call out at 6 months, DD is still a teeny baby. What did DD do that made him say that?
I think that it is great to expose your child to different situations just to make them more adaptable, so anything you can do in that vein seems to make sense regardless of the separation anxiety.
I do think that an in-home, small, regulated daycare a day a week would help, but not sure if there is a need.
My mom was SAH and I ended up being super social, but was definitely clingy for the first 5 or 6 years.
He said it when she started screaming bloody murder any time him or the nurses approached her especially when I stepped back a whole foot or two so he could examine her. We had also told him about how we've been putting her in the church nursery since 2.5 months and she is getting worse and worse about throwing a fit so I have to come back and get her.
I love some of the ideas ladies, unfortunately the outdoor ideas except for maybe the swimming classes just aren't practical here in phoenix as we are quickly approaching 120 degrees. But I will look into some sort of mommy and me class which would be much cheaper than daycare but I don't know how they will help with the separation anxiety which I think is much worse than the stranger anxiety.
I mean, she still is only 6 months old. Isn't it good that she knows the difference between a stranger and mom and dad? Is it specific to you or is DH included? Could you leave her for longer periods of time with him so she can get used to being cared for and you not being around?
Sorry for the 20 questions, I am just intrigued by this being brought up so young.

She is pretty good with him as well in general but the last few days she has been extra clingy since we've been trying to break her of the swaddle which is resulting in a sort of sleep training since we can't put her down unswaddeled without her waking up. This week it seems if she sees either of us walk out of the room she freaks out until we return even if the other is holding her. Its worse when I am the one walking away but she has done it when i was holding her and dh walked away too.

Allycat11 · June 2013

I'm late to the party and don't have any solid advice but I can relate. DD is incredibly clingy. We go to the Y a few days a week and almost every single time she has a meltdown so I have to cut my workout short. She can't make it through a church service or my 1.5 hour Wednesday group in the church nursery without me being called out. Sometimes she is okay with friends and family holding her if she can see me, but most of the time she isn't. I have also been wondering if this is normal for her age and planned to ask her Pedi. Sometimes I blame myself for being a SAHM but my mom stayed home with me and said I never went through a separation anxiety phase, some kids just are more prone to it.

I do agree with PP's that trying to socialize more may help but who knows...

Want a personalized experience?

6 month appointment and a Q

Re: 6 month appointment and a Q

Choose Another Board

Search Boards