September 20, 2011

Caitlyn doesn't like Daddy

The unthinkable has happened. Caitlyn has officially shut me out of her life. I might as well go burn all the “Daddy’s Girl,” onsies and bibs we have. She’s all Mommy’s girl now.

I didn’t really notice any change in her behavior until this past Sunday night while I was trying to put her to bed. As usual, she was crying and kicking up a storm as I tried unsuccessfully to get her to calm down. After hearing the baby cry long enough, the wife stepped in and the baby miraculously stopped crying when she held her.

After putting her down to sleep, the wife goes about her business again, but a few moments later, Caitlyn starts crying. I go back to pick her up to soothe, but once again, it’s only when Jessie’s holding her does she stop crying.

At the time, I was just thinking, “Hmm…the wife’s just a better soother than me,” and didn’t think any more of it.

Yesterday, after I come back from work, the wife tells me that her mom came over in the afternoon and the baby cried each time she tried to hold her. I didn’t put two and two together yet, thinking that perhaps our baby only liked the wife and me since we were her primary caretakers.

But later that night, when I put Caitlyn in her baby carrier for a walk outside, she just kept crying and crying. Something she doesn’t normally do whenever she’s in the carrier. We thought this was due to the fact that we had perhaps put her in the carrier too soon after feeding her.

However, even after taking her out and having me holding her, the crying continued. And it continued when we got back home. Until, of course, when I handed the baby to the wife. That’s when it slowly started to sink in. My baby only likes her mommy, not daddy! I was devastated. I felt like crying. And that’s when I went into panic mode.

The most obvious reason for this drastic shift must be from the fact that the wife stays home and bonds all day with the baby while I only get to see her at night. I looked online to see if people had any advice for situations like this. It comforted me a bit knowing that many people see this type of behavior in their babies too.

I knew the best way to reverse this behavior would be increasing the amount of time spent with Caitlyn. Reading a story, snapping some photos, and pinching her cheeks a few times each night wouldn’t cut it anymore. Sending the wife out of the house so the baby can’t see or smell her is also an option.

I read that it’s sometimes helpful to have your partner wear your shirt while she’s holding the baby. This way, she smells my scent too. A good idea, but not good enough.

Therefore, I took it to the next level by demanding the wife give me the shirt she was wearing so I could wear it. It was a lacy, fuchsia-colored, plunging v-neck nightie that would have made any cross dresser squeal with delight.

Somehow, I managed to squeeze myself into it and patiently waited for Caitlyn to wake up so I could feed her. The only problem was that it was nearing midnight now, and she didn’t seem to be waking up any time soon. Eventually, I had to admit defeat and head off to bed.

Even with that minor setback, my plan for winning Caitlyn back is still fully intact. Tonight, I'm breaking out my A-game, fuchsia-colored nightie and all!

 Mommy's girl lifting her head

 Mommy's girl smiling

 Mommy's girl playing with Harry Hippo

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