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Controlled crying OK for 20-month old?

3 replies

choucroutegarnie · 27/08/2006 20:02

Our 20-month-old son has been a fab sleeper since 10 weeks - 7pm to 7am, that kind of thing. Never a problem falling asleep on his own.
Now he's hysterical when I leave the room - never with his dad, which is weird. After 5 minutes I will go in to calm him down and reassure him (not pick him up) but it seems to take many attempts before he finally settles. It feels very cruel now - he's actually howling as I write this - and I could do with some advice!
Thanks

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morningpaper · 27/08/2006 20:04

Is his dad not available every night?

How long does it take him to fall asleep if you stay?

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TitianRed · 27/08/2006 20:07

Is he teething? My DD is going through phases of this at the moment. XX

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choucroutegarnie · 27/08/2006 20:17

Thanks for the quick responses! He seems to have settled now, after 2 rounds of 10 minutes of crying...
Unfortunately his dad is not around every night. Though I'd happily 'delegate' the putting to bed to him, it seems a bit of a cop-out not to be able to do it myself.
He has been teething a bit lately, but he's so cheerful throughout the day, it is quite shocking to see his mood change so abruptly. One minute, when I put him in his sleeping bag, he giggles, then the next, when I say 'night night' he goes wild!
As for how long it woudl take him to fall asleep if I stay, I am not sure but VERY LONG. Before I started this controlled crying, I stayed next to him stroking his head and he was just delighted, chatting, pointing, playing. I remember it took an hour once, and still no sign of sleep!