Yesterday was Easter and Chloe's first big outing with a lot of people. One word.. DISASTER. I really think I should've read up more on preparing for your baby's first outing because to be honest, yesterday was a freaking disaster. Outside of our own house, Chloe only knows her Mimi and Grandpa's house and doesn't have too many problems when we go there.
So we get to my Aunt's house and get Chloe out of the car seat and get her ready to join the rest of the family, immediately I have family wanting to take her out of my hands and I can already see the fear in my own child's eyes. I think it's ok she will be fine and I walk away to grab something to eat. She did fine for about an hour total and when it came time to take some really cute pictures.. she lasted a whole 5 minutes before we had a complete and utter melt down which lasted about an hour. I knew she was not tired because she had a really good nap before we even got there and was nursed and full as well so I immediately knew, she was not comfortable in this current situation.
So we went into a quite place and I nursed her back to comfort. My mom is always helpful and comes in to reassure me that everything is ok and that she will be fine. She is then handed off again and once again another melt down occurs and I rush over to tend to her. I firmly DO NOT believe in crying it out.. I don't know why people think that is the right thing to do when a baby is crying in someone else's arms. Clearly there is generally something wrong and wants to be taken out of that situation. I heard all shorts of comments yesterday that really pissed me off.. "You need to let her cry it out" "She has you wrapped around your little finger" "Your going to have some serious problems" Excuse me? My daughter is 3 months old and is a BABY!! She is not a toddler nor is she a teen, she is a baby that needs her mother when she doesn't feel secure.
Do you just let an infant sit there and cry it out? No you go over to your child and see what is wrong? Even as an adult, if you are in pain and are hurt and in need of some sort of medical attention, should we just let you "cry it out" and see if it gets better an a half hour? Hell no, you take care of the situation.
I am a good mother that won't neglect her child when something is wrong. However I feel right now that I should've looked into over stimulation in a baby because clearly Chloe became very overstimulated. We even had a melt down when we got home to our own house. Now that I've experienced this type of behavior in Chloe from now on she will not be passed off immediately to someone she doesn't know nor remember. I will wear her in a sling when I get to someone's house so that she can feel comfortable in her surroundings and gradually be handed off to family members that want to hold her and love her up.
Here is a great article that I encourage all new moms to read about over stimulation in a baby.
