Stranger Anxiety Already?

The girls will be 5 months old on the 9th.They are usually very sociable.Last weekend I took them to my grandmas and they hadn't seen her since Christmas.The minute she picked up Chloe she stuck her bottom lip out and started crying.Tears were just pouring.So my grandma handed her back to me and picked up Leah and the same thing happened.We thought maybe it was my grandma's glasses but I just started wearing my glasses a few months ago b/c I ran out of contacts and they don't do that to me.
Well then the other day my sisters friend was at my mom's house and she picked up one of the babies and once again,bottom lip out and crying.Then Yesterday I visited one of my friends whom the babies just seen 2 weeks ago and let her hold them just fine and crying again.Tonight I went to my MIL's to p/u some clothes my older girls had left there and she picked one of the babies up and again she started crying.The hadn't seen my MIL since the last time she watched them like over a month ago.

What is going on? None of my kids have ever done this before.Is this normal for this age?What can I do to break them of this.The are getting picky about who holds them.

 

Very normal. My son, who had spent time with grandma previously, at 4 months decided that only mom would do and grandma called me about 13 minutes after I left there (to put my groceries away at home) telling me to get back to her house because he wouldn't stop crying! Very normal. My 2nd son will get upset if he is tired and is put into that situation. There has to be a little bit of a 'getting to know you again' period.

 

I get weekly developmental emails from babycenter.com with info about my babies' development that week. One of the most recent ones said they are now getting to the age where they may need a little time to get used to strangers/new people. So I'd recommend letting them be around someone new for a while before that person really gets in their face, picks them up, etc.

 

Im glad to know this is normal.I felt bad because my grandma was in about tears when the babies started crying she's like"they hate their granny" I was embarressed a little because I didn't know what the problem was.

 

Aww, yeah, that's happened to me a few times lately, where one of my boys will start crying when someone's talking to them or trying to hold them, and the person gets all sad, like, "he hates me! I don't get it; last time I saw him, he liked me."

My parents are visiting this week. They live 600 miles away so this is the first time they met the boys. They were in the room, gradually started talking to the boys, etc., and took their time, and the boys became comfortable with them within 20 minutes or so.

 

aww. what I really worry about now that they have started doing this in the last couple weeks is that when my husband gets home Monday(he's been gone for the last 13 days) that they are going to do that to him.Or do they know its their parent?

 

Oh Yes. Just today my MIL came over and Colten frowned and was about to cry. They both took a little to warm up. Glad to hear it's normal cuz I thought it wasn't supposed to happen until later.

 

QUOTE(Chloe_and_Leahs_mommy @ May 2 2009, 10:21 PM) [snapback]1297932[/snapback]
aww. what I really worry about now that they have started doing this in the last couple weeks is that when my husband gets home Monday(he's been gone for the last 13 days) that they are going to do that to him.Or do they know its their parent?


I bet they will remember their Daddy!! :hug:

 

Yeah, I would think they would remember their daddy after an absence of that length, too! I think he'd have to be gone a lot longer than that for them to forget him!

 

My DD has been like this since about 6 months. The good thing is that if I let the person play with her FIRST while I'm there, she'll warm up to them pretty quickly. What works for us is for me to hold her in my lap while the new person talks to her and gives her toys for a while until she smiles. She'll look at them for a loooong time with a really serious face first, but once the smile comes out, she's ok to be held by them. I'm sure your girls will remember daddy, but if they act at all strange, try holding them while he talks to them and makes them giggle before passing them off to him. HTH!

 

Mine started this right before 5 months too. It was awful because MIL and FIL had to babysit almost a whole day and we hadn't seen them in a couple weeks but they always did fine before. Well we stopped home for lunch and they'd been screaming ALL morning. I felt awful for everyone. After some momma cuddling and extra time hanging out they did better in the afternoon. Now I make sure the sitter comes over at least the day before to hang out with me there.

 

QUOTE(Chloe_and_Leahs_mommy @ May 3 2009, 03:55 AM) [snapback]1297897[/snapback]
The girls will be 5 months old on the 9th.They are usually very sociable.Last weekend I took them to my grandmas and they hadn't seen her since Christmas.The minute she picked up Chloe she stuck her bottom lip out and started crying.Tears were just pouring.So my grandma handed her back to me and picked up Leah and the same thing happened.We thought maybe it was my grandma's glasses but I just started wearing my glasses a few months ago b/c I ran out of contacts and they don't do that to me.
Well then the other day my sisters friend was at my mom's house and she picked up one of the babies and once again,bottom lip out and crying.Then Yesterday I visited one of my friends whom the babies just seen 2 weeks ago and let her hold them just fine and crying again.Tonight I went to my MIL's to p/u some clothes my older girls had left there and she picked one of the babies up and again she started crying.The hadn't seen my MIL since the last time she watched them like over a month ago.

What is going on? None of my kids have ever done this before.Is this normal for this age?What can I do to break them of this.The are getting picky about who holds them.


My DD is the same and has been this way since she was about 2 months old. Introductions have to be handled with me right next to her and done very slowly. I cant had her to anyone she doesnt know. Once DD starts crying there is no stopping her!! I also found that having her on the same level as everyone, i.e. not having people staring down at her, helped a lot. Also meeting people at home helps as she feels ´safer´. DS is fine. GL to you. Having them both this way isnt easy!