Separation relief
posted in Child Care, Working Moms, Mom Rants |I don’t do needy, clingy and whiny. Unfortunately, my son doesn’t care. He’s 9 months now, and is being all of the above. This is the point in his life where all the “books” say that a baby can start to sense “object permanence.” Translation: my son goes loony if I’m not in his direct line of vision all the time - he’s having major ”separation anxiety” (I love buzzwords!)
This presents a problem for me. I’ve never been real good at having people rely on me for their every need and want. I’m good for a time, and then I want my space. Don’t get me wrong, I was tender and loving when my son was a little teeny infant. He didn’t know better then; he was so innocent. The problem now is that the more my son cries for me, the more I want to run away screaming.
This doesn’t mean I don’t love my son to death. It’s just since I’ve always been independent and self-sufficient, I’m really trying to instill this in him at a young age (you know I’ll regret this in a year). For instance, I was so proud that I taught him to hold his own bottle at 6 months. All my NMFs who still had their babies sitting on their laps eating were jealous. And over the past few months, I’ve taught my son the benefits of watching Go, Diego Go! while “mommy gets dressed for work” (don’t tell me you haven’t done this), and to play with blocks while “mommy cleans the kitchen,” (and checks her BlackBerry). He seems to be quite content to do such activities. It’s all good.
Lately, however, none of these tactics seem to work. The only thing that has kept him calm over the past week is me holding his now 22-lb. frame. This has resulted in a very sore back (even if my biceps are buff).
That’s why this morning I could barely wait to get out the door for work. Needy, clingy, whiny clients are way better than needy, clingy, whiny babies.
Tags: separation anxiety, child care, mom rants
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