Why has my baby become so clingy all of a sudden?

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Why has my baby become so clingy all of a sudden?

Can you remember the first moment you got to hold your newborn? I could not even believe that I made that life inside my body. Those tiny fingers, toes, and the little nose got me from the first second I saw them. When we came home I did not want to keep him down although I was tired and sleepy. I held him as much as possible until I started to get back to work. There was mom guilt haunting me every day for leaving him alone. He did not mind me leaving but it was hurting me.

But then he came to this clingy and cranky age where he did not want me to leave his sight. He did not let me go to work and cried out loud if I had to leave to the bathroom while playing with him. This is when spending time with the baby became stressful to me. I knew he is going to scream at the moment I stand up to leave and sometimes I did not have the energy to deal with his nonstop cries.

 This is a phase that every baby passes through and you must be reading this article because your little boo is also passing this clingy stage of his life. Let us see what makes the babies clingy all of a sudden and how we can deal with it. 

CONTENT

1.   Why has my baby become so clingy all of a sudden?

2.   How to deal with a clingy baby?

1.    Why has my baby become so clingy all of a sudden?

The baby becomes more aware of his surrounding

The babies come out of the mother’s tummy knowing nothing about their surroundings. They do not know who they are or who their parents are. Your baby chemically recognized you as his mommy in his initial days in this world. You were around him all the time and were holding him as much as you could.

During this time, your baby has no idea that you are a separate living being from him. He felt so comfortable in your arms and was secured by the feeling that you are part of him that does not leave him alone. But as he grows up, he will understand that you leave him alone or with other people. The insecure feeling of not having his most loved mommy/daddy around will make him cling to you more than he did before.

“If I can’t see it, it does not exist”

It takes time for the babies to understand how things happen in the world. Young babies think that the things which go out of their sight do not exist anymore after disappearing. They cannot understand the fact that people and things stay the same even when they cannot see them.

This is why your baby cries when you try to leave him. He is scared that you will never come back if you leave his sight. If you think from your baby’s perspective, it is a very scary feeling to think that your mommy or daddy will not come back to him again.

You can gradually teach your baby that you come back every time you leave and pick-a-boo is a great method to teach that lesson.

The bond with the parents have strengthened

You are the only person in the world that your baby can trust for love, nourishment, and safety. Therefore, nature has hard-wired the babies to crave the warmth of the parents. They know that they are safe as long as their parents are nearby them. Therefore, the babies love to have the comfort of having you around.

This is a situation which has both good and bad aspects. Being the most loved one of your baby is a blessing and also it assures the wellbeing of the baby. On the other hand, it leaves you no easy escape out of the house without a clingy baby screaming the life out of him.

Developmental milestones

When your baby is about to hit developmental milestones, they are more likely to be clingy. Many things are happening inside their bodies, and they do not have the words to explain what they are feeling. Hence, they turn to you, the one they believe to be the greatest on the earth for comfort. You will observe more Clinginess, Crankiness, and Crying which are known as the 3Cs in their “wonder weeks”. Generally, weeks 5, 8, 12, 19, 26, 37, 46, 64, 55, and 75 are known as the wonder weeks.

There is no scientific explanation for why the babies become cranky, clingy, and cry more than usual in these wonder weeks but, many parents around the world believe in it. If your baby is passing through one of the wonder weeks and is so clingy, you can expect your baby to show you a cool new trick in near future.

Why has my baby become clingy all of a sudden?

Separation anxiety

This is one of the most common reasons why your baby becomes clingy at once. It also appears parallel to developmental milestones. But it does not make it easier for the parents.  Separation anxiety is a little beyond the usual clinginess. A baby with separation anxiety will need to be held all the time by their favorite parent. He will cry even if his beloved mother is ten feet away from his sight just because she is not holding him in her arms.  Separation anxiety will also make the baby pay less attention to the other parent because he has no time or mind to spend time with another person.

Physical discomforts

A cold or fever is not a big thing for us adults. But a baby who has never experienced a stuffy nose or a rise in his body temperature can be a shocking experience. These feelings of fear and discomfort will make your baby cling to you more than usual. They will look for comfort in your warmth, and the confidence of having the parent near them will ease their fears. Your baby will continue to be clingy even after healing from sickness because he has no idea what happened and needs the safety of your presence to feel secure.

Dislike for the caregiver

Did you recently change your baby’s caregiver who will be there with him when you leave, and now he has become clingy like crazy? Please check with the caregiver if he is looking after the baby right according to your guidance. When the caregiver mistreats your baby, he will be scared of the thought of you leaving him alone with a person who hurts him. Your baby cannot express his fear and pain in words so he clings on to you instead. 

This is a sign that you should be very conscious as it can be the first hint of child abuse. 

2.    How to deal with a clingy baby?

Train them to be alone but in a step-by-step approach. Leave the room for a minute after letting him know that you will be back. Gradually increase the time that you spend away from him but always appear back in the time you promised (If you promised him to be back before his bedtime, do not disappoint him.

  • Introduce a comforter like a soft toy, security blanket, or pacifier, and let it be there with him when you leave.
  • When your baby decides to be alone by crawling into another room or under a table, just let them be there and get used to the idea of being happy with themselves.
  • Set a routine for your baby where your departure and arrival are a part of it. For example, the baby can have breakfast before you leave and have an evening bath with you when you come back home.
  • Do not sneak out thinking it will solve the problem. It will only make the problem worse by making your baby more attentive on your from next time. Hug him, kiss him and give a proper goodbye with a promise to come back soon.

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