Hi, I am having a lot of trouble with my 8 month old girl being extremely clingy. I can not put her down during the day without her screaming. If I walk away she crawls after me and tries to climb up my legs all while the screaming carries on. When I pick her up she stops instantly. I have tried to stimulate her with toys and activities and she is fine until u move away to do something else. Its really frustrating when I need to get housework done or even use the bathroom! She has an older brother who she loves playing with but as soon as I move out of sight the screaming starts. Please any advice would be greatly appreciated.
2 Replies
My son was like that at the same age and sometimes still has those days. Two things I found quite effective...I tried gently sitting him back from climbing up my legs and chatting to him like he wasn't screaming at me so he got the message screaming and trying to climb me are completely ineffective. It is very hard to start and even harder to sustain so prepare yourself it will take time and some days you will be better at it than others. I also stop for regular playtime breaks when I have a busy day so he still gets frequent attention, just not constant.
The other thing that helps (but she may be a bit young for it to work well) is if you can get her to be your helper. With my little one I give him a square of kitchen towel or a damp washcloth and get him to help me 'wipe cupboards' or if I'm hanging laundry, 'count the pegs for mum'.
Hope this helps.
Ah the memories! All I could do was stick mine in an Ergo or whatever carrier works best for you guys. My first liked being cuddled into my chest, and my second wanted to be stuck on me all the time, but facing outwards. So we got one that was similar to a Bjorn but I think it was Safe n Sound brand. She lived in it until she was over 1, then it got way too hard on my shoulders and back so I found that she liked being in the Ergo on my back. She's nearly 3 now and still sometimes likes to go in the 'backpack' when she's having a clingy day. We also used to put her in the pram sometimes inside and I'd just have to push the damn thing around everywhere I went so she could watch me do housework, go to the toilet, hang out washing, everything. Geez, the things we do! Oh and speaking of going to the toilet, I lost count how many times I had to sit on my own toilet with a kid in a baby carrier stuck to me lol. Or breastfeeding haha. Good luck, I assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel! xo