At my wits end

[MrsMaker83]

My daughter is 13 months old. I am a sahm so with her most of the time.

She has always been very clingy, but lately i cant leave a room without her following me and whinging, which turns into hysterical crying if i don't pick her up straight away.

I cant go for a wee, get a drink, prepare her lunch, even answer the door without this performance every time. Its draining me.

I try to chat to her, involve her in what i am doing, bring toys to where ever i have gone, nothing works. Just incessant whinging.

Any tips to combat this?

I have given up making dinner and am now sat crying myself with her clinging to my leg.

It is normal.
You just have to try your best to be patient and smiley and take her with you. It is a phase and will pass, but the more you get upset and try to leave her the worse she will be.

You cannot make dinner with a tired 13 month old unless they are stood on a chair beside you with their own little job to do. They need to be glued to your side. You are not alone.

I did all my cooking in bulk, after my Dc were in bed. We ate vast quantities of spag bol, cottage pie, casserole, etc. All frozen or at least cooked ahead and in the fridge ready to heat up.

Frozen veg make life easier.

I found that taking mine out and walking them for miles was the best thing to do. Everything else got done when they were asleep.

I have just seen the time of your post.

Can you give her a quick snack, then bath, story and bed?

She is probably tired.

I have a 2&3 yr old and it took me a whole to realise days were easier if I ran them backwards in that the mornings are when I get dinner ready, make any phone calls/appts etc and then wind down as the day goes on so by 3/4pm I don't have anything I have to do as by that time the kids are tired and full on clingy and it's so much more stressful trying to gt anything done. I then do all all my morning prep in the evening once they have gone to bed.

I'm also prepared to give them the ipad occasionally to get something done or have a break and wee in peace

That's really good advise petallic, i have a 2.5 year old and an 11 month old and at the end of my tether! Doing your day backwards though is a great idea! Im off to make dinner!

My DGD has just discovered Peppa Pig - my DD really rations her viewing but it's a life saver if you want to cook dinner, empty the dishwasher etc!

Mine are now 9 and 12 but i remember doing my day backwards too. Woulc make dinner in the morning and do bathtime in the morning too. Made the end of the day far less stressful.

Thanks so much everyone, really good ideas

These are great ideas I had exactly the same with dd and now pregnant with number 3, was wondering hoe I was going to cope with this phase again !!

It is a really hard phase but it does pass. I know it's hard but crying in front of her will only make her more clingy as the phase is all about security. I remember losing it one day and I really regret shouting at DD to leave me alone. It was a wake up call for me that I really just needed to chill out about it all and adopt a different approach.

Do as much as you can when she is asleep and let things slide for a while that are really not that important. Get an early bedtime established to give you more space. My DD was a non-sleeping child who would stay awake until 11 at night and wouldn't sleep during the day at all, what is yours like?

She is a brill sleeper, 12 hours a night and a couple of short naps in the day though will only sleep on me in the day, wont be laid down anywhere.

I feel so guilty because she is fab, its just the clinginess that is draining me, its like she is glued to me 12 whole hours a day! Which i would be ok with if it didn't result in horrendous crying if i leave her side for a moment!

Thanks for kind words and ideas though everyone.

Well, that is good news, my DD never slept...at all. 2 hrs at a time in the night and nothing in the daytime.

It will pass, I promise you and soon enough you will be trying to get a cuddle and she won't want to know.

I know the constant whining makes you feel like running into traffic but it won't be forever. In fact the more you turn it around and make it feel like you want her to be involved in everything you do, the more she will want her own space.

It goes against the grain for me but kids tv transfixes them long enough sometimes for you to be able to go to the loo and put the kettle on.

At least she sleeps, count your blessings