don't leave me momma!

I think separation anxiety has already struck my baby. For the past few weeks, ze lil boy has started protesting about being left alone. Mom or Dad should always be within his visual range or else he will start fussing. When left unattended, the fussing will turn into a full blown cry fest, which, fortunately, can be easily remedied by picking him up.

Whenever I need to be out of his sight for a while, I try to reassure Ziv by always talking to him, giving him a blow by blow of what I'm doing wherever I am at the house, like "Mommy's just (insert biological function here)," or "Mommy's just getting water" and so on. But he doesn't seem to be appeased by these auditory assurances. He really wants to see me, or his dad, all the time.

According to what I've read, this is a normal part of a child's development and should actually be considered a milestone. It proves that he has already formed an attachment to his caregivers. But no matter how nice it is to know that he prefers me and his dad over anybody else (awwww), hearing Ziv cry when we leave the room or hand him over to someone else is quite unsettling. Well, hearing him cry for whatever reason upsets us.

Ziv's development is amazing because just a few weeks ago, I could easily hand him over to someone else with ease but as with all things baby, that's a distant memory. Already.

I think just last month, he didn't mind when his Ninang Map carried him, but yesterday, look!

Ziv was crying even if I was right there! He wasn't crying the entire time though. He alternated between fuss and calm, fuss and calm. He just can't fully relax, I think.

Internet sources say separation/stranger anxiety can last for two to four months. That's quite a significant chunk of time but it's good to know that this stage will pass. I don't want people to feel rejected or to think my baby is suplado. But I think, any adult who would think that has some serious issues. Haha.

To help Ziv deal with his anxiety, I always play peek-a-boo and "where's the baby?" with him. These games will help him understand object permanence, or the idea that even if he couldn't see someone or something, it still exists. I also don't give in to his protests and allow him to not see me for a while, especially when I need to pee/poo. When I come back, I see to it that I kiss or hug him or tell him Momma's back so he'll know that even if our separation was quick, I missed him too.