Originally Posted by blandino:
I would give it more time, really honestly. I have had several infants who have acted similarly to this, and after some adjustment time they were happy,thriving, children. Some wouldn't take bottles for up to two weeks, and would scream when we tried to feed them. If you feel confident in the care giver's abilities, and level of care she is receiving (which it appears that you do), then I would just allow her to adjust to being there. Adjustment isn't always easy for the parent or child, but it sounds as if an adjustment period to being away from you is going to happen no matter where she is, so your best bet is to choose a daycare that you are comfortable with and just give her the time to adjust. I personally, say 1 month for your average child to adjust, and up to 2 months for some. If you just give it time, she will get used to and get into a groove with her new provider.
Now, I will say because her current provider is a new provider, she might not be used to the adjustment periods. I would just keep an open communication with her about it. Talk to the provider, and keep things consistent from daycare to home. Does the provider have a swing ? Is she allowed to let her sleep in it ? A lot of daycare providers legally can't let a child sleep in a swing, so if that's an issue for her - I would stop it at home. Having no major differences between the way things are done at daycare and at home, is the absolute easiest way to help her adjust. If she is allowed to let her fall asleep in a swing, then it might be worth it to bring your swing back and forth every day. Personally, I would not travel with the swing, and just switch to a new way of putting her to sleep that works for you both.
Even though she is 4 months, and cannot have actual separation anxiety - she is aware that things are different (different smells, different noises, different environment as a whole). It is going to take some adjustment on her part.
thank you for taking the time to read all that! I am so worried that she's going to start refusing bottles. If I don't have to go back to work, and could stay home, from your experience with similar kids would you say that it would be in her best interest to give her more time to get more comfortable with me being away? Perhaps leaving her now is just too soon? I'm worried that letting her CIO, so-to-speak, could be detrimental to her wellbeing since she is so young.