Oh my. What has happened to my sweet-natured, easy going, happy little girl? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that I picked her up from church nursery and was told by that week's volunteers that she should get the "best baby ever" award for being so cheerful and happy?? I'm sure this past Sunday's volunteers wouldn't be handing over that award at all!
Savannah has just recently hit both the stranger danger and separation anxiety phase. She cries when a not-so-familiar face is around, and really flips out if that person tries to hold her or if I attempt to leave her in a room with them (even if for a second.) I'm somewhat confused, since she seems terrified of her Papa (my dad), even though she sees him pretty often. I have a theory that she's more fearful of dark-haired people, especially men. Poor Papa.
This past week she really flipped out in the church nursery. For the few weeks prior she had a bit of pouting and uncertainty when I walked out the door, but then she always was distracted and happy within minutes. This week, though, she full out started sobbing when I turned and walked away, and they actually had to come get me at one point out of the service, because she just couldn't simmer down. They said that she would stop crying for a bit but then start up again. Just at the moment that I walked up to the door, though, she fell asleep, so they signaled for me to go on back to the service. I guess after that she slept the rest of the time.
It's so hard for me to know how best to handle Savannah's fears during this new stage. On the one hand, I want to just allow her to always stay with me at all times so she doesn't have to be sad. But then again, do I really want a child that literally cannot feel safe and comfortable unless she's attached to my hip at all times? Once fall starts up, I'm thinking that Savannah will probably have two drop-offs each week (both lasting about an hour and a half) - church and MOPS. Also, I hope to do at least one class with her each week (most likely at the library.) And then, of course, we'll go on errands and have a playdate every now and again. I'm hoping that doing these outings, especially the drop-offs, will help her get used to something other than just being at home with Mommy. Also, during each drop off I'm just down the hall and can come to get her at any point.
Hopefully this stage will be short lived, but we shall see! I'm sure this is one of many difficult stages that we will face as Savannah continues to grow and move towards the toddler phase (I can't even stand to think of her as anything but a baby, but she is almost a toddler! Ahh!) If any of you experienced mommies have any wisdom in dealing with this, I'll consider any advice you might have!
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