Hello, Separation Anxiety!
/ 11
According to BabyCenter.com, we're smack in the middle of the "crisis age" for separation anxiety, and Lincoln knows it.
I started getting warnings from the site and others that this was coming when he was around six months old. So, silly me thought we were out of the woods when he hit one and didn't have any incidents. I should have read the fine print that said it can start as early as six months and go on into the beginning of the toddler years.
Surprisingly, I'm not as affected by it emotionally as I thought I would be. I take him into daycare and turn off my "GOD I'M GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH!!! PLEASE, PLEASE DO ANYTHING YOU CAN TO ALLOW ME TO STAY WITH YOU" switch (do you have one of those?). Luckily for us all I'm a rip-off-the-band-aid kind of a person--kiss, hug, "bye-byes," hand him over and I'm out the door. (Last week I wrote about sticking around at daycare, but that was before I knew what he was doing. We hang out at home a little longer in the morning.). I do hang out for a second outside the door and the little stinker stops crying as soon as I'm out of sight. If he continued to cry, I'd be telling you a different story.
I do understand this behavior--I finally moved out at 25--but why is he over it so quickly. Is your breakfast really a good deterrent for mourning my absence? How come when I go to pick him up, he doesn't want to go with me because he's having so much fun? Don't you remember when you wouldn't let go of my neck this morning, little guy? Now, a block is better than going home with me?
They're puzzles, aren't they? Little, tiny, adorable puzzles.
Anyone dealing with this now? How are you doing?
Erin Hill is a first-time mom to Lincoln, who was born in January 2010. She's learning as she goes and is experiencing everything a new mom goes through while seeing the humor, irony, and enjoyment in her adventures.
Erin is a full-time technical writer and features freelance writer in her "spare time." She lives in Plum with Lincoln, her husband, Adam, their dog, Roxie, and five (yes, five) cats, Nirvana, Gary Roberts, Elvis, Talbot and Forrest.