My daughter has got sleep problems since being in hospital

[shelltilly]

Hi
Can anyone help?
My daughter was omitted to hospital 8 weeks ago and she stayed in hospital for a week but since she has come home , she is waking in the middle of the night. Before she went into hospital, she use to sleep through the night and she has a really good bedtime routine. She wakes about 12 at night and I will get her back to sleep and as soon as I leave the room, 5 minutes later she will start crying, she wants me in the room with her. I have tried controlled crying but it did not work. Has anyone got any ideas?
Thanks
Shelley

shell, how old is your dd?

She is 18 months old

Hi shell, I would be kind rather than strict about bedtime routines. Your dd has just been through a difficult time. How were her nights like in the hospital?

My dd had surgery when she was 4 months' old and I roomed in with her co-sleeping the first night. The next morning she had surgery. Then I roomed in with her as soon as the doctors allowed her to be off the ward. It is very disorientating and frightening for a young child to be in a hospital.

I would just concentrate on giving her comfort at this time.

hospital always throws dd out. She's probably anxious and it will take a while.

It's so difficult isn't it?

It brings back memories of when my dd2 was in hospital - she was 16/17 months old. She didn't sleep in the horrible hospital cot and refused to go back into her cot at home, and from that point onwards I just let her sleep in our bed. I couldn't bear to leave her alone crying after she had been so ill. When she was about 2 and a half I finally managed to move her out of our bed into her own bed in her sister's bedroom.

She slept find in the hospital but I think that was because she knew I was there. When she came out of the hospital, I did stay in her room until she fell asleep and I did this for a few weeks but then she started playing around, so while I was in the room she was trying to play and was not even attempting to go to sleep, so I walked out and had to let her cry herself to sleep as I had been in her room for about 3 hours and she still was not going to sleep, this started to happen every night. I also tried to bring her into our room but she will not go to sleep, so I decided to do the CC but this is not working, so I need another solution. I think she has got separation anxiety but I don't know what I do to about this.
Thanks for all your comments
Shelley

hi shelley, around 18 months is the peak period for separation anxiety so that could very well be an important factor. I would continue to offer my presence to help her to sleep, as you have done.

If she is playing rather than going to sleep, then I think you could try to wait until she is more tired before putting her in bed. She could be cutting down on her sleep at this age.

Either cut out or shorten nap times or postpone her bedtime by, say, an hour and see if she plays up less.