DS is 10 months old, almost 11 months. Never been a fab sleeper. Recently got better, and now is waking twice a night, sometimes for an hour or more. He no longer wants milk, happy to have boob, but sometimes can comfort without, as long as he has cuddles, he refuses to be comforted by DH, only me, at night, although daytimes he is fine with DH. Up to recently, he was happy to be cuddled/put back to sleep by DH at night time, unless he was hungry.
I am at work, mornings he is looked after by DH and afternoons I am home, get a couple of hours with him before DD comes home from school, but worked more last week, so less 1:1 time with him.
So, last few days, he has been extremely clingy, its steadily getting worse, and now, he will not be put down. At all. He is currently set down, next to me, but seems only as he can see I am sat down and he is 'with' me. If I go to stand, he cries, if I am holding him he will cry if I even look like I might put him down. He is like this when he is with DH, he cannot put him down either. He is fine with him in his arms, when I am not here, but cries his heart out at first when i leave.
He is fine if carried on my or DH's hip, clinging like a little koala bear.
He is refusing to sleep for his naps, we are having to drive around for hours to get him to sleep.
He is eating ok. Not great, but ok, and will mostly eat if he is on our laps. This has changed in the last couple of days as prior to that he ate like a little piglet (and drunk lots of milk too).
He does have a runny nose and a mild cough at night, but not enough that would warrant the screaming fits when put down. He turns into an 'angry' imp, bouncing in his cot, or on the bed/floor/sofa wherever he is placed, with a face like thunder!
He will distract himself and go off and do something, and then suddenly he realises he is not in our arms and crawls over and bounces crying till he gets picked up.
When distracted, or in our arms, he is a happy boy. And his general temperament is happy, chilled, non-crying, and well. So this sudden clinginess and fear/upset at being out of our arms is surprising. When not in our arms, he is happiest sat on the floor/cruising/being nosey while gripping some piece of food or other (currently stole a bit of naan bread from my lunch plate and stood next to me holding on to the sofa eating it and showing me it, chatting away).
If this is separation anxiety, what can I do to help it? ease it? help him adjust to the realisation he is not part of me?