separation anxiety?

[Tomtom000]

Hi all,
my gf and I are looking for some advice please.
our 4 months old daughter has what it could be separation anxiety, but we are not sure, and in any case we are lost on how to handle it and I bit stuck to be honest.
basically most of the time during the day and specially during the night, she freaks out when she is not in our arms. as simple as that. maybe we are not challenging her enough during the day with activities and she gets bored somehow. but it seems strange on the other hand she very rarely can spend 5 minutes on her rocking chair without crying.
also during the night it s very difficult to get her back to sleep, litterally can keep us up all night easily...singing, rocking and cuddling get her asleep but the minute you put her down and she realizes that (most of the times) hell is unleashed.:)
we are not for the "cry out" method, we tried for few minutes and we couldnt stand it, and we think shes too young anyway. so... we are a bit stuck and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks alot to all
tom

Hi Tom! Personally I think your little one is too young for separation anxiety it usually sets in at about 8months or so I am lead to believe. Is she sleeping in your room at night? Maybe try putting a piece of clothing of yourself or your partner in her cot so that it smells like you. Also she might be hot/cold/ hungry? I won't try sleep training yet she is still so young!
With regards to daytime does she have a baby gym she can lie under and kick around? My DS is pretty much superglued to me so I know how you feel but when he was little I used to sit next to him while he played under his gym burning some energy!
Hope it help a little!

At that age they just want (and need) cuddles. Its perfectly natural and like sosotired says, its a bit young for separation anxiety, although in a way your baby is crying because she doesn't want to be apart from you, so you're right it will be making her anxious!

If you can, put off all non urgent household jobs and chores and spend the time playing with and holding her. Pretty soon, you'll have a more independent baby who will be happy to amuse herself because you'll have given her a secure and attentive "anchor" from which she can begin to explore her world.

many thanks for your answers, very useful... she is sleeping in our room during the night, we ll def try to put a piece of clothing or ourselves. re temperature is hard to say but i think we might try to cover her a bit more..we do have a gym and will try to use a bit more.. many thanks again and i'll let you know how it goes. :)

How are you guys getting on?