Please advise me.
My husband has ended up sleeping on the floor with our 12 month old daughter beside him for about a month now. He won't drag a mattress in because it would make the situation seem less temporary! Our daughter was an angel baby until about a month ago. She slept through the night from about six weeks (about 10.30 - 8). I know we've been unbelievably lucky so far. But why is our settled baby routine falling apart now? Is our daughter now going to insist on co-sleeping longer term?
She had her shots a few weeks ago. That coincided with a cold and getting her first teeth (four at once). She is your typical charming baby during the day, but putting her down in the evening is difficult because she begins to cry hysterically. The whole evening is a battle between the two of us as she works herself up and I become increasingly exhausted.
She then wakes at half hourly intervals during the night.
If picked up at once, she stops instantly and falls asleep on my husband's shoulder. He then goes to sleep with her lying on the floor beside him. She will continue to wake, sounding terrified, but he can usually reassure her quickly enough if he's right beside her. She becomes hysterical if he tries to resettle her in her cot. If the issue is forced, she becomes more and more distressed until it's full blown colic. He force feeds her chocolate shavings to defuse the tension.
I would quite happily do controlled crying if it was just ordinary crying. But standing outside the nursery door, I can pinpoint the moment at which her sobs become hysterical. At that point, she won't be able to stop when she sees me and won't lift her arms to be picked up. She has a catch in her breath that causes her head to jerk, like a tic. Nine times out of ten, she develops colic if she's left to cry like that for even a tiny length of time. Surely this isn't the sort of crying that we're supposed to ignore? It would only make her go buck daft next time she sees the cot. Is there something wrong with my baby that she does this?
And in case anyone is wondering...I have a disability that means I cannot be the one camping out beside the cot.