Baby Crying with others?

Babies develop a sense of stranger awareness at different stages of their development, some as young as four months, others as late as twelve months plus. They are also very sensitive to smells and security as well as visual recognition of their parents. People who wear strong perfume or aftershave may upset a baby who is sensitive to smell; some babies are particularly sensitive to the chemicals in perfumes or aftershaves and can feel quite overwhelmed. The same is true if the person holding them has recently smoked a cigarette, some babies really object to this! (It is always advisable for parents to avoid wearing perfume in the first few months after the baby is born) Babies are also sensitive to a person’s confidence and the sense of security they give them. A person who is nervous of holding a baby will soon pass this sense of insecurity on to the baby who will naturally wish to move away from the insecurity in the only way they can – by shouting for help! If you wish to develop a relationship with a baby it is far better to get down on the floor at the baby’s level and gradually introduce yourself by playing alongside and chatting to the small person. The question to ask is – does the baby actually want to be picked up and held by someone they don’t know – or don’t know very well? In fact do they want to be picked up at all? Some people show babies very little respect and simply pick them up for a cuddle because that is what they want without considering the needs of the baby. A baby of this age will indicate if he or she wants a cuddle – show them some respect and wait to be invited!

Babies in general love routine and hate change, so if they are only used to being held by Mum & Dad and then get given to someone else that is a break in their routine and they have a bit of a panic, if you make a point of letting other people hold them as often as possible they should stop making such a fuss! x x

I've got a similar problem with my 12 week old. Except its only when her nanna holds her. Tried leaving her with her last night and we had to go get her 10 minutes after we left because she'd got herself into such a state! Needless to say this has left my mother in law rather upset but I just don't know what to do about it!! My sister's little one did a similar thing as your son at about the same age so I think it probably is just a phase he's going through and people saying its because he doesn't see them very often probably has some truth, my niece used to cry at me if she hadn't seen me for a while. I'm sure you're son will grow out of it!

My son is 20 weeks (almost 5 months) and over the past few weeks he has been crying when people other than myself or his dad hold him, is this something most babies do at this stage because it makes us feel terrible and people make comments that he doesn't see them enough so thats why he is like it but I don't believe it is and hope its just a stage he is going through??

Can anyone relate to this??

Is it normal for a 20 week old baby to cry when anyone else holds them other than their mum or dad?