She won't give me a chance!

[Elle23]

First off, I want to say that I love my patient's family, and they have been nothing but kind and gracious to me

However, I have been having a bit of a problem. I work night shift for a 10 month old baby. He has been having crying episodes at night due to some medical issues.

The problem I am having is that the baby isn't crying for more than a minute or two before the PCG comes out to console him.

I am getting frustrated because it is making it harder and harder for me to calm him, so she is having to get up more and more.

The other evening when I came to work, she was busy when he started fussing, so it was up to me to calm him. It took a few minutes, but he finally responded and fell asleep in my arms. After that, we had a great night. He was easy to console, and I had no problems comforting him.

He is fussy tonight, and the PCG has been up for a while with him (~2:30 am).

It makes me feel bad because I feel like they wonder why I can't console him better after almost 6 months. But it is very hard to find what works for us when she intervenes so quickly. The more she steps in, the less he is going to accept me.

Any suggestions on what I can do? Do I just accept it and not feel guilty that she is choosing to get up at night? I feel bad for the PCG when she has to go without sleep. I am supposed to be here to relieve them so they can rest! I would be happy to be the one to comfort him if she would give me a chance!

[CloudySue]

My 22-month-old client has been great since birth, but recently wakes up cranky as anything in the night and won't let me console her. Mom don't play that! So we just let her cry it out. Babies/toddlers are constantly changing their tactics, week to week! Once you learn their game, they change the rules! Same w parenting in general.

[ventmommy]

CloudySue, your baby is a perfect example of how special needs babies exhibit many of the same characteristics and attitudes of typical children.

[Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN]

This sounds like a super tough situation- and you're handling it well. Keep us posted!

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[Elle23]

Things have been MUCH better the last few shifts!! I hope it continues!

He was only difficult to console once, and even then I think he would have calmed with a little more time.

The family has been very kind and understanding. I appreciate them so much.

I can't imagine a better family or situation to have started with in private duty. I came very close to starting with a super difficult family they couldn't keep staffed, and realize now that I dodged a bullet!