lm8804
09-03-2006, 08:41 PM
I just wanted to thank you so much for doing this. I really think that you are providing a wonderful service to parents.
My 15 month old daughter has always been a difficult baby- diagnosed with silent reflux at 8 weeks when her feeding aversion turned into a feeding strike. She had Sandifer's, screamed all day and night literally for more than 6 months. She screamed in the car, even when you held her. She was always arching and burping, and was afraid of everything and everybody. Because her feeding strike persisted, we fell into a pattern of sleep feeding, as she would only feed when asleep and even that was a struggle. Luckily, we managed to get enough into her this way for her to gain weight, and she stayed on a curve around the 30-40th percentile. She wouldn't take solids, and we've been in feeding therapy for that. Because of all her medical appointments, she became so scared of everyone outside of our immediate family. If a stranger would look at her she'd cry hysterically, if we went somewhere new, she'd go crazy. Everything overwhelmed her- she definitely had sensory issues. Around a year, we stopped going to all the medical appointments, and interestingly, all this improved. She started to laugh and smile more, she started having more fun, she was playing so well by herself and could entertain herself for a very long time, she was no longer afraid of new things or places, or even people. We could leave her with familiar people. She was a happy child and was developing well. Her eating was still an issue, she would feed herself, but very small amounts. She's never slept well and had serious sleep issues at night, but that's another story.
Sorry for the long background...
As I said, she was doing so well. She started daycare last week. We did a slow introduction, with me staying with her for a bit the first day, then a bit longer the second day. I left her for 40 minutes on the third day, and she cried for about 10 minutes or so. She was fine when I brought her home. On the fourth day, I stayed for a bit, then left her for 2 hours. She cried on an off for about 15 minutes total. On the fifth day, I left her for 4 hours. She didn't cry very much (I was watching her through a special viewing window)... on and off for about 15 minutes total at the most. But then she started crying a lot during lunch time, and she wouldn't eat or drink anything (which isn't totally uncommon for her) the whole time she was there. When I went to pick her up, she wasn't crying until she saw me, then she started SCREACHING hysterically. She didn't stop for about an hour. She couldn't console herself. She cried the whole ride home. Since then, everything has been awful. She's been following me around the house, she won't let me put her down or she starts screaming, I can't leave her for a second without her going hysterical. She won't go to my husband anymore. She won't sit in her chair to eat. She just keep crying and crying if I'm not holding her. She's always woken up at night b/c her reflux hasn't been well controlled, but she's never done it for attention until now. Now she won't let me put her down at night either. She wants to be held or she's up sobbing. When we go in the car, the second I put her in her carseat she's screaming hysterically the whole ride until she vomits.
So I guess my question is, does this sound normal? My older daughter cried non stop at daycare for quite a while, but was fine as soon as I went to get her. I don't know if I'm hurting her psychologically by trying to put her in this situation. I also don't know how to deal with all of the clingy and crying behaviour. How long can this go on for before I have to worry?
Thank you so much for reading.
My 15 month old daughter has always been a difficult baby- diagnosed with silent reflux at 8 weeks when her feeding aversion turned into a feeding strike. She had Sandifer's, screamed all day and night literally for more than 6 months. She screamed in the car, even when you held her. She was always arching and burping, and was afraid of everything and everybody. Because her feeding strike persisted, we fell into a pattern of sleep feeding, as she would only feed when asleep and even that was a struggle. Luckily, we managed to get enough into her this way for her to gain weight, and she stayed on a curve around the 30-40th percentile. She wouldn't take solids, and we've been in feeding therapy for that. Because of all her medical appointments, she became so scared of everyone outside of our immediate family. If a stranger would look at her she'd cry hysterically, if we went somewhere new, she'd go crazy. Everything overwhelmed her- she definitely had sensory issues. Around a year, we stopped going to all the medical appointments, and interestingly, all this improved. She started to laugh and smile more, she started having more fun, she was playing so well by herself and could entertain herself for a very long time, she was no longer afraid of new things or places, or even people. We could leave her with familiar people. She was a happy child and was developing well. Her eating was still an issue, she would feed herself, but very small amounts. She's never slept well and had serious sleep issues at night, but that's another story.
Sorry for the long background...
As I said, she was doing so well. She started daycare last week. We did a slow introduction, with me staying with her for a bit the first day, then a bit longer the second day. I left her for 40 minutes on the third day, and she cried for about 10 minutes or so. She was fine when I brought her home. On the fourth day, I stayed for a bit, then left her for 2 hours. She cried on an off for about 15 minutes total. On the fifth day, I left her for 4 hours. She didn't cry very much (I was watching her through a special viewing window)... on and off for about 15 minutes total at the most. But then she started crying a lot during lunch time, and she wouldn't eat or drink anything (which isn't totally uncommon for her) the whole time she was there. When I went to pick her up, she wasn't crying until she saw me, then she started SCREACHING hysterically. She didn't stop for about an hour. She couldn't console herself. She cried the whole ride home. Since then, everything has been awful. She's been following me around the house, she won't let me put her down or she starts screaming, I can't leave her for a second without her going hysterical. She won't go to my husband anymore. She won't sit in her chair to eat. She just keep crying and crying if I'm not holding her. She's always woken up at night b/c her reflux hasn't been well controlled, but she's never done it for attention until now. Now she won't let me put her down at night either. She wants to be held or she's up sobbing. When we go in the car, the second I put her in her carseat she's screaming hysterically the whole ride until she vomits.
So I guess my question is, does this sound normal? My older daughter cried non stop at daycare for quite a while, but was fine as soon as I went to get her. I don't know if I'm hurting her psychologically by trying to put her in this situation. I also don't know how to deal with all of the clingy and crying behaviour. How long can this go on for before I have to worry?
Thank you so much for reading.