Separation

In my previous post, I mentioned that we are on vacation. On Saturday McKenna and I arrived in Ontario, after spending three weeks with my family in New Brunswick. Our flight was delayed getting in, McKenna was exhausted, and we hadn't seen daddy in nearly three weeks. While he was excited to hold his little girl in his arms again, I was concerned that she would have some issues warming up to him after being away for so long. After all, three weeks is a long time when you're only 7 months old, and she had been exhibiting some separation anxiety even before we went on vacation.
Sure enough, when we walked through the gates to meet him, she was less than happy to see him. Hopeful, he reached out his arms for her, and was met with tears. Undaunted, he tried again, this time succeeding in taking her from my arms. However, it was not without a great deal of fussing on her part. Eventually she did calm down and was willing to be held by her father, although she was still wary of him for the next several days. She also took some time to warm up to his family, just as she did with mine when we first arrived in NB. It's a developmental stage in her life that, although tiring, is completely normal and healthy. I would be worried if she wasn't more strongly attached to me than she was to anyone else, particularly those that she hasn't spent a lot of time with.
However, while being my daughter's sole source of comfort is great for my ego, it is not good for her or her relationship with her father. He adores her, and relates to her in a way that only a father can. I can tell that it hurts his heart when she turns away from him, or cries out when he gets too close. I would feel the same way if she ever reacted that way to me. So our task for the next few days is to strengthen that bond once again. While I will have to be the one providing comfort when she is really distressed, he can be there for her when she is in a good mood, and on her terms. Hopefully she will come around sooner rather than later.