So I'm very fortunate in that my parents are able to watch my 6 1/2 month old daughter 2 days a week and my in laws are able to watch her 1 day a week, while I work. My problem - my daughter cannot seem to get over the stranger anxiety thing with my in laws. I am at a total loss and am starting to feel really bad for them.
I feel like I have tried everything. At first they would come into the house so happy to see her they would just rush over to her and pick her up and want to start playing. That started freaking her out, so I tried holding her myself for the first 5-10 minutes they were there so she'd adjust a little bit. Now it's progressed to the point that if I try to walk out the room while they're here, she starts reaching for me and crying.
I just sat here in our home office trying to work while listening to her screaming for 15 minutes while my mother-in-law tried to put her to sleep. Finally I went out and just made a bottle hoping that between the exhaustion from crying and eating she would pass out.
I am just at a loss. I'm not able to fully utilize their babysitting time while they're here because I'm constantly having to put out fires and keep the baby happy. I can't see any obvious thing they're doing that should be setting her off. I know they are different with her than my mother and I are, but it's not like my mother-in-law is bad with her. As time goes by though, I"m feeling less and less secure leaving her with them at all alone in the house. DH and I went out to dinner while they watched her the other night. Didn't get any calls so figured it must have gone well, only to walk in to house to hear her screaming and my mother in law near tears because she'd been inconsolable for the last 20 minutes.
My daughter is generally not a crier. I leave her for 10 hours with my own mom with no issues. My mom's even kept her overnight with no issues. Like I said, I'm at a loss. I want (and need) my husband's parents to be able to take care of her and want them to feel good about their time with her.
Help!!
I feel like I have tried everything. At first they would come into the house so happy to see her they would just rush over to her and pick her up and want to start playing. That started freaking her out, so I tried holding her myself for the first 5-10 minutes they were there so she'd adjust a little bit. Now it's progressed to the point that if I try to walk out the room while they're here, she starts reaching for me and crying.
I just sat here in our home office trying to work while listening to her screaming for 15 minutes while my mother-in-law tried to put her to sleep. Finally I went out and just made a bottle hoping that between the exhaustion from crying and eating she would pass out.
I am just at a loss. I'm not able to fully utilize their babysitting time while they're here because I'm constantly having to put out fires and keep the baby happy. I can't see any obvious thing they're doing that should be setting her off. I know they are different with her than my mother and I are, but it's not like my mother-in-law is bad with her. As time goes by though, I"m feeling less and less secure leaving her with them at all alone in the house. DH and I went out to dinner while they watched her the other night. Didn't get any calls so figured it must have gone well, only to walk in to house to hear her screaming and my mother in law near tears because she'd been inconsolable for the last 20 minutes.
My daughter is generally not a crier. I leave her for 10 hours with my own mom with no issues. My mom's even kept her overnight with no issues. Like I said, I'm at a loss. I want (and need) my husband's parents to be able to take care of her and want them to feel good about their time with her.
Help!!
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