MAJOR Seperation Anxiety

Funny, my daughter went through the same thing. I would just leave for a couple of hours, like four, on a saturday and my hubby would be the only one home with our daughter. She would usually pout for the first hour; then she started to warm up to him. He would also wake her up during the week early in the morning and take her to breakfast. She used to cry for this, but now, she loves it. There was a lot of forced time, but she got used to it and enjoys it now!

Your question was a little hard to understand. I think you and she took a trip without him?? It sounds like this is something she will get over very soon if you don't make a big deal out of it. Teething sure hasn't helped the situation. Tell her dad not to take this personally. Little kids are very touchy sometimes. Meet her needs and this should go away soon.

That could be just a phase. My oldest daughter was sort of like that for a long time. We just had to force time one on one. My daughter did it as a manipulation tactic, so we would just have to go. She still does it from time to time. I don't really have any advice for you. I can understand your pain and I hope things improve for you. My hubby felt sooo bad for sooo long about how she acted. Now, she adores him and often clings to daddy instead of mommy, but it seems to be a mood thing for her. I don't know!

Both my kids went through this alternately with my husband and I. Your daughter is not likely to ever want daddy when you are nearby and your husband is going to quickly throw in the towel when he knows you are there to bail him out as he is hurt and frustrated.

I would leave the two of them together for an hour or two at a time until she gets "used to" him again. The two of them will have an opportunity to "work out their differences" as they will be alone together. Kids are smart and they quickly figure out if they want to miserable or not and if she knows she is "stuck" with daddy, she might be more willing to give him the time of day. No matter what, it will pass.

Be sure to give your hubby some tlc and let him know that you have talked to other moms and they shared that most/all kids go through that phase and it WILL pass.

Separation anxiety happens because the child cannot maintain an image of you when you are out of sight..... this is a learned thing, and takes time. A few things help or speed the process. When you need to go to the bathroom, try to keep talking or singing while you are in there, so the sound of your voice is reassuring. At bedtime, playing a CD or cassette you have recorded reading stories helps reassure them and eases them into sleep. For the learning part, 3 games help. Plain old peek-a-boo. Where's-the-button? : you hide a toy under a blanket or behind a pillow, and ask "where's the -----/" Begin by having the child see you hide it, and help them find it at first. Then progress to hide it while they see it and then they find it on their own, and finally, hide it and have them look (be prepared to help if they get too frustrated). Third, Hide and Seek helps them to learn that things out of sight are not gone forever. Helps them get over that fear with "baby steps". After a bit, these games start to delight your child, and this is a good time to let Dad join in.

Rest assured, there will be times when you child will prefer your husband and ignore you. When my son was 20 months or so, he prefered the men in the family: hung out with Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, and shunned the aunts, Grandma and me. He outgrew that after about 6 weeks. It is part of the learning process. I hope your husband can tough this out with his feelings not too bruised.
Best of luck.L.

My husband is the same way and we went through this when he went back to work at one point between number 1 and 2. We really attributed it to her "punishing" daddy for leaving her with someone else instead of staying with her (he had been a stay at home dad for about 7 months at that point). We forced her to sit with daddy while I would take a shower or do something around the house. Eventually she would calm down and then daddy would start to tickle her or play with toys with her. Over time it did get better. I would say just to gently hand her over to daddy for care - start out for just a few minutes and slowly make the time longer. Prove to her that you'll be back, and it should work it's way out.

My daughter went through a TERRIBLE separation anxiety phase when she was two, too. At first my husband would laugh it off and try to tease and tickle her into warming up to him, but after a while he started taking it personally (wow, that was hard: a clingy kid and a grumpy dad!). Since my husband was in school for the first two years of my daughter's life, we didn't see very much of him, so she wasn't as used to spending time with him and we had to force it. Sometimes that went over well, sometimes it was a total disaster.
What I can tell you is that while my daughter (at 3) is still a Mama's girl, we stuck with the "special Daddy time" and I had to keep reminding him to try not to take it personally and now she loooooooves Daddy because he will play with her and take her to the park, all that fun stuff. It was sooooooo hard, and not every kid goes through this phase, but you just have to get through it! Try not to give in (not always possible, I know, especially when she's screaming for Mama and your ears and heart are hurting) or act like anything is different. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll get through it!
GOOD LUCK!!! I can totally relate to what you're feeling and it's awful to go through.