Infant Behavior

Ok, so I posted a few weeks ago looking for suggestions on the crying baby I've been caring for, and for the most part, things have gotten much, much better.

It seems though, like her behavior is kind of random. As long as she's here most of the week and we stay close to schedule, she's ok, but there is always one day during the week where she screams all day for no apparent reason. It's not been on Monday--she's just a bit fussy on Monday mornings until she settles in from the weekend. It's been on Tuesdays...she has absolute tantrum meltdowns first thing in the am, and they don't really end all day. But it can be any day, really. It's just been Tuesdays the last two weeks.

She's not hungry, or wet, or sitting in a poopy diaper, or in pain, or hurting, or teething, or sick. She was behaving as if she was exhausted, but her mom said she slept really well the night before. Is this normal behavior? I'm not looking for suggestions on how to manage it so much as making sure I'm not missing anything. I'm used to taking care of babies in my family, and we all kind of act the same, so I'm being broken in with a different temperament than I'm used to! I'm thinking she's still trying to get used to things, but after 6 weeks, I would think she wouldn't be that nervous here at all anymore...

[DCMomOf3]

I think it can be normal. I had one that would do that too the 2nd or 3rd day here. i think she was just adjusting to the consistency of my care and the differences from home. Like Monday she missed us, then Tues or Weds she was like... this again? She grew out of it, I am sure yours will too.

[littlemonkeys]

I have a 3 mo part time dcb that is the SAME way. Cries, no wait... she screams for no reason, even when being held. Really disrupts my daycare and is beginning to have a negative effect on the other dck's.

Just curious, do you tell the mom that she cries the "whole" day? I usually tell my dcp's how their child was doing, but it feels like I'm always reporting this crying/screaming behavior to this parent.

Originally Posted by littlemonkeys

I have a 3 mo part time dcb that is the SAME way. Cries, no wait... she screams for no reason, even when being held. Really disrupts my daycare and is beginning to have a negative effect on the other dck's.

Just curious, do you tell the mom that she cries the "whole" day? I usually tell my dcp's how their child was doing, but it feels like I'm always reporting this crying/screaming behavior to this parent.

I've never used the words "cried the whole day" with her, because technically, it's not accurate. She sleeps, she eats, she gets sung to, she gets held, she naps, she gets hugs and kisses, she plays, she gets read to, she watches tv, we walk when weather permits...so she doesn't actually cry the "whole" day. It just feels like it to me, because when she's not participating in one of the labor-intensive activities I listed, she's crying, but only when she's having a bad day.

I always tell the mom what her day was like, but I've started telling her in shorthand..."she had a good day; she was a perfect angel from heaven; she had a bad day; she had a REALLY fussy / hard day". The main reason I moved to this mode of communication is because I finally figured out from what her mom was saying in a very roundabout and very mild way was that her child has a very, very difficult temperament. I don't actually think she understands the realities of a daycare situation for a baby with a difficult temperament yet; one who would have done better from the start with a nanny to hold them like a parent all day long (but will adjust to a daycare eventually), but she's a pretty cool mom otherwise.

How have you been telling parents what their kids' day was like?

[SandeeAR]

I have a now, almost 1 year old, that started with that "very difficult temperament". She cried daily, almost all day from the beginning. Once she reached about 3 months, she spent a LOT of time in the paknplay, crying it out, in the other room. Her constant crying, started my other babies all crying. She was held a LOT at home too.

She eventually, got the idea, that crying meant the pak-n-play in the other room and now she is one of the best kids I have. Well, with the exception of nap time, she still cries most of that. But at nap I leave her in the bed, in a room by herself. She will cry and then sleep, cry and then sleep and cry and the sleep, until nap time is over.

[littlemonkeys]

Originally Posted by PeanutsGalore

I've never used the words "cried the whole day" with her, because technically, it's not accurate. She sleeps, she eats, she gets sung to, she gets held, she naps, she gets hugs and kisses, she plays, she gets read to, she watches tv, we walk when weather permits...so she doesn't actually cry the "whole" day. It just feels like it to me, because when she's not participating in one of the labor-intensive activities I listed, she's crying, but only when she's having a bad day.

I always tell the mom what her day was like, but I've started telling her in shorthand..."she had a good day; she was a perfect angel from heaven; she had a bad day; she had a REALLY fussy / hard day". The main reason I moved to this mode of communication is because I finally figured out from what her mom was saying in a very roundabout and very mild way was that her child has a very, very difficult temperament. I don't actually think she understands the realities of a daycare situation for a baby with a difficult temperament yet; one who would have done better from the start with a nanny to hold them like a parent all day long (but will adjust to a daycare eventually), but she's a pretty cool mom otherwise.

How have you been telling parents what their kids' day was like?

I know exactly what you mean about it seems like its all day. I would say for me my dcb either cries, whines, or screams for at least 75% of the day. I feel so bad for him and the other kids. I hold him, rock him, sing to him, etc... and he still cries. I usually just tell the mom the he had a really fussy day and leave it at that. I think I'm starting to develop a complex from this dcb though.