Five months old and he only wants to be held facing out

quiet_bottle_438512 Apr 2026

Held against my shoulder, he arches and complains until someone turns him round to face the room. Facing out, he's perfectly happy and watches everything: the fan, the caregiver, the cooker whistle. So one of us spends most evenings walking about with him on one arm like a tray, and my back has opinions. Will he grow out of it, or have we created this by always turning him round? Our caregiver says he's just nosy. I'm inclined to agree with her.

3 comments

apricot_camera_218212 Apr 2026
Nosy is exactly it 😄 Mine was the same around then. A carrier that allows forward-facing for short stretches saved my back. Ours was a basic one, nothing fancy. Once he started moving around on his own, he stopped caring how he was held.
coral_sandal_741612 Apr 2026
Five months is when the room gets more interesting than you. You didn't create it. Put him on a mat on the floor facing the action for part of the evening. Saves the back.
citrus_gecko_884412 Apr 2026
Two things are getting mixed up here. Wanting to see the room is normal. Only being happy on an adult's arm is a habit, and habits can be loosened a little at a time. A floor mat or bouncer in the middle of wherever everyone is gives him the view without needing the arm.
- quiet_bottle_438513 Apr 2026
  We put a mat in the middle of the hall last evening, right at the edge of all the activity. Twenty minutes of happy kicking before he wanted to be picked up, which is twenty minutes more than usual.