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I think this is super common....my LO is pretty independent and she still has weeks where she is like this. I try to distract her by getting her set up with several toys she hasn't seen recently, but that doesn't always work and sometimes I just let her whine/fuss while I finish what I need to do (like cooking dinner...I can't hold her while I cook and wouldn't baby wear while I'm lifting hot things in and out of the oven, or stirring hot things, etc).

My main issue is cooking, so I'm planning to buy a kitchen helper soon so she can be up on my level and see what I'm doing without being too close. Things like taxes...honestly, I wouldn't even attempt until LO is in bed for the night or it's a weekend and one parent can be on LO duty while the other gets stuff done.

Also, try cheesy kid's music. We have a CD someone gifted us with the worst, cheesy kid songs and I hate it...but LO loves it and just having that music on will reduce her crying/clinginess.

Very very common! I just went through this and thought I was going to lose my mind.

We had the same issues at that age. I would just explain to LO "Mommy would love to play with you but first I need to..." & then I would pry her off me if need be & do whatever it is really quickly. She usually screamed & it usually made me cry too but now at 14 months if I tell her I'm trying to get something done, 90% of the time she accepts that & goes to play & will ask for attention later. It sucked but I don't regret telling her no, I can't play right now.

My 1 year old is like this, although, it has gotten slightly better over the last month. She's generally mama mama mama all of the time. I babywear sometimes when I cook dinner, but it does hurt my back. Sometimes I put her in her high chair when I'm cooking so that she can see me. As for doing any sort of work (I WAH), it is only possible when she's either with the babysitter, with my DH, or sleeping.

Totally common! And you know what? It's weird that my LO is clingy like that ONLY when we are the only two people at home. When it's just me and her, she needs to be attached at my hip. But when we have people over, she's roaming the house independently, checking things out!

Both of my boys did that to me and my youngest used to cry when I stood up and walk one step away from him. He still does that from time-to-time (he's just over 2.5 years now!) b/c he wants me to stay with him. The way I dealt with it is to just let them cling onto my legs and tried to get things done, especially in the kitchen. It's really hard when you're cooking. I actually left a bottom drawer in the kitchen with all take out containers for my boys to play with (I literally left it like that for over 3 years until my youngest stopped being interested in it). You can also leave a bottom cabinet with just plastic containers or pots and pans you don't care about and let him play with it while you're in the kitchen. That worked well for me. I don't know how to help you with working on your taxes. Maybe when he's napping or sleeping? This can be just a phase. With my oldest it was. With my youngest it wasn't b/c, as I mentioned above, he's still this way. The way I see it is if it won't hurt to just let him cling or let him come with me to the bathroom, then it's okay with me. It's definitely harder with it's your first b/c they have no one to play with.

I've been wondering about this too. LO is 9 months and in the past he would play independently for a good 20 minutes. Now he needs something really interesting (usually a non-toy) to keep him interested for 5 minutes or so before he's pulling up on my legs. I was so proud of his independence but for the past 2 months he's been really clingy.

Very normal for 9 months. I constantly play peek a boo from the other room when I have to step over the gate. Since you can't baby wear, what about bringing an exersaucer or door jumper to the room you're in?

My DS is like this too at 1 year. In the morning he's kind of gotten used to it - when he wakes up I put him in his PnP in our room with a bottle of milk and he has to stay there while I shower and get dressed. It's a nightmare to let him out, so in he stays. Sometimes he gets upset but I have to ignore it to get us out the door. (I solo parent in the mornings).

He also does this other times of the day when I try to leave the playroom. If DH is around he'll try and distract him and he'll forget in a minute or two. Otherwise I bring him with me either put him in his walker so he can zoom around safely, or I put him in his high chair and give him something to munch on.