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Separation anxiety in 3 month-old?

virginiagirl11virginiagirl11 member
edited August 2013 in Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Do you think it's too early for a three month-old to display separation anxiety? Our babysitter hasn't been able to calm DS2 down on her own for the last two weeks or so (she's been with us for a month for 30 hours/wk). It's a good thing DH works from home because he's had to help her calm DS2 down every day she's been here for these last couple of weeks. DH and I can quiet him down pretty easily and quickly, but the babysitter is really struggling. Outside of the time he spends with her, DS2 is a pretty nice, content little baby.

We've been trying to train her to make sure she's doing things that are comfortable for him (showing her how to do his diaper a little looser, showing her how we hold him comfortably, how to hold him snugly, how we walk with him to calm him down, how to talk to him gently to calm him down, how to read his moods, etc.), but nothing really seems to be working. I suspect it's at least partially due to the fact that it seems like she hasn't really bonded with him yet. She's nice to him but doesn't treat him lovingly and truly empathetically as if he were her own the way our last babysitter did (they're both about the same age, early twenties, no kids but both want them, married/engaged). However, I also wonder if it could be partially due to some separation anxiety on DS2's part.

Thoughts? Thanks!

natural m/c 7.1.10 :|: sticky baby 4.25.11 :|: #2 due 5.18.13 BabyFruit Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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Re: Separation anxiety in 3 month-old?

  • 08summerbride08summerbride member
    My first was very difficult with others.  It took her a while to get used to the sitter when I sent her to day care around 4 months. she would refuse to take a bottle from her and was a lot harder to settle down. One thing that helped, was that I sent a T-shirt I had worn to bed or the night before and the sitter would wrap that around her when feeding her or hold it against her when she was carrying her around if she was fussy.  I don't know that it is true "separation anxiety" that young, but my daughter has been wary around other people since about 8 weeks old.  She would cry when people would come up and look at her in her carrier in the grocery store and I have never been able to hand her off to some one new to hold. 
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  • JenniD2JenniD2 member
    At 4 months, DS was like that. If he did not know someone well enough, he would start crying until either DH or I held him.

    I feel like it might be some sort of phase because now at 5 1/2 months he is much better around people he is not familiar with as long as they are not constantly in his face.
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