I Feel Your Pain Jenn!!!

Oh gosh Jenn, I feel your pain. Amanda was the same way starting at four and a half months. It was just the time that I was switching her from a nanny to a day care so that I could work 3 days per week instead of one to two. She would just cry and cry when I would hand her off to anyone, dad included. I tried having people come over to the house to watch her so that I could work at home, and she just screamed the whole time. I got to the point where I totally hated those days, and fired the high school girl I was having come to the house, and tried to fire Eric's mother, but that did not work. One day when Eric's mom came, I just had her watch Amanda for about 45 minutes while I sp0ke with a doctor on the phone, and I could hear her being hysterical the whole time. I came upstairs and Eric's mother was seating and flushed and looked like she wanted to run screaming from the house. It sucks!!!! Everyone told me it was too early for separation anxiety or stranger anxiety and that she was spoiled and coddled. THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!! I think it was just that she realized a little sooner than she could cope that I was not her, and that she wanted to be with me. I hate to say that it was hard for a while, but the more I left her, the better it did start to get. I don't know if that was because she outgrew it or because she got comfortable with it. Either way, it did get better. Unfortunately, Amanda did have to spend a lot of time crying at daycare before it was over. I remember hearing some of the other kids at daycare saying "that is the baby that cries all of the time." It broke my heart to know that she was crying when I was not around, but nothing I did helped. She did eventually transition to just being attached to me and crying for 30 seconds and sometimes not at all when I took her to daycare or passed her to someone else to hold. And, I think she turned out pretty normal.... Hang in there. I know it totally sucks, but it will get better! I can't say that I found a whole lot of tricks to use, but I did try to not go back and hold her once I was leaving or had passed her to someone else. I guess that was to send the message that crying wasn't going to change it. I am not sure that is the answer, but I guess it kind of kept me sane. There were some hard times and guilt in there though! I just think that she was just a little more attached or aware of her attachment than most babies at that age, and that sounds like him to.