This weekend we had friends over who have a son who is 6 days younger than our son. They are both 9 months old. Our son seemed immediately timid around this other baby, (which is strange because we go to playgroup and have had babies visit and stay the night before), but with encouragement he would play on the floor near the other baby. He definitely needed me there and would often recoil into my lap. There were a few instances that first night were he would become upset if their son got too close or took a toy he was playing with, but with distraction we moved on. However, the next day every time their son was in the same room as our son, not even anywhere near him, the sight of him would cause him to burst into tears after a few moments and he was extremely difficult to console even after going into a different room. And of course their son would then begin to cry, as well. We were unable to be in the same room that day with both babies. We would rush our son by him if we had to go somewhere in the house so that he wouldn't notice him. What is this about? My approach was to sit with him, hold him if he wanted, stay away from the other baby, act as normal as possible, stick to our routine, and reassure him. We never pushed the issue, at all. Should I have done something differently? Is it just a strange day? Has anyone else experienced this?
I wonder if in the past if the other baby hit the one that cries and the parents didn't see it? I wonder if he had something happen. You need the babies to get used to each other. They may cry at first but it will be ok. I hope.
My son acted this same way at 11 months old when I satrted my home daycare. It got so bad I had to give notice to the parents of the 2 children I had that if I could not get him use to the kids being here I was going to close. It took about 5 weeks for him to get over it....a long 5 weeks, let me tell you :)lol You sound like you are doing all the right things. It may just be he needs some time.
Good luck!!
Hi S.,
I am sure there is a reason but you'll never know exactly what. Maybe your son is just uncomfortable around that baby for some reason and he cries. It can't just be getting used to someone new because you said he doesn't do it with other babies/kids. Maybe the other baby is a little more aggressive than your son and always takes his toys. Your son might remember that and doesn't like it. Or maybe the other baby accidentally hurt him while they were playing one time and your son remembers that. Or maybe something just bothered your son and he cried. I think sometimes babies are just like that. ????
My 2 1/2 year old sometimes cries when my friends son comes over. It's because my friends son scares him, chases him, antagonizes him and bugs him the whole time he's over. The boy is really hyper and active. He is a nice kid but sometimes aggressive (he's a few years older) and kind of "picks" on my boys. My son eventually warmed up and of course we stayed on top of my friend's sons behavior.
I'd give it a few more tries to see if your son (and the other baby) can adjust to each other.
Best of luck.
Maybe your son is getting jealous because he is not the center of attention when the other baby is there so he thinks if he cries he will get more attention. Who really knows what the problem is. I think that trying to avoid the other baby is not the right thing to do. I would suggest doing the same thing they suggest when introducing pets to each other. Make it a happy event and make your son feel like the other baby is nice and that he can still get your attention when the other baby is around but don't make it seem like all of your attention is focused on your son or the other baby.
