This is my first child and I am a stay at home mom. At home Lauren is very sweet and easy going. We spend our days at home by ourselves playing,laughing , watching Barney, and sitting outside by the pond watching nature. We occasionally go shopping-but with bottles q3-4hr and naps during the day - we dont go out much. Lauren sleeps through the night-9pm to 930am since she was 11 weeks old. My problem is when visiting my mother recently -who I visit with on the weekends- Lauren has starting screaming and wont stop when my mom or sister try to do anything with her. She will only calm down when I hold her. I know this is just a phase, but how long will it last?? I wasn't expecting it so soon or her screaming to last for so long at a time. My plan is to stay with my mom at her house for a longer period of time to let baby Lauren get used to her new surroundings. Does anyone have any other advise? Thanks signed~Frustrated in Memphis

Your life sounds a lot like mine! We live 25 miles north of the nearest small community (a town that has more than a post office and a gas station), and 45 miles south of the nearest big town, so we stay at home a lot too, and most of my days are spent either doing things with my daughter, who is nearly 2, or working on my "projects." I don't remember my daughter having separation anxiety when she was so young, but that may be what your child is experiencing. It seems that she is bonded very closely with you, and at this age, I think that is a GOOD thing. She may just need more time to get used to her surroundings, like you said, and I don't think you should force her to interact with others, just encourage her after she has had a while to get used to things--I know she is young, but even at her young age, she is able to make some of her needs and wants known and you should respect them if possible. Maybe you could put her in a baby seat or on the floor, and have your mom or sister talk to her and play with her for a while before they try to pick her up. Maybe she just doesn't like being held by a lot of people. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this age--she will probably grow out of it. When my daughter was that age, I was always worried about something, and things changed so fast with her that by the next week, I had always moved on to worrying about something else!

from my own childhood classes and experiences 4 month olds do not suffer from seperation anxiety....they might actually see a different person's face and not be comfortable with it......