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Can you give me advice for sleep and an 18MO? Separation anxiety?

2 replies

mellowmee · 14/09/2012 06:30

My DD is sleeping really badly at the moment and I have no idea what to do. She seems to want me to be with her the whole night, and is really crying for me. The last night two nights have been really bad and I have ended up taking her into bed with me but she is a terrible cosleeper and I had virtually no sleep both nights. I am starting to feel really resentful and I'm getting snappy with her and my DP because I am so exhausted.

She has never been a great sleeper and will often change when I think we have finally sorted her sleeping out. We have had a lot of changes recently - 6 weeks ago we moved to a new country and I started working full time and leaving her with a nanny. She took a couple of weeks to settle with this move but now she loves her nanny and seems fine and has been sleeping well for the last few weeks. She is on the whole more clingy towards me, and I am thinking this is probably a combination of separation anxiety along with me starting back at work. This week has been terrible. I haven't felt able to leave her to cry as I feel like she has gone through a lot recently and I want to reassure her not to make her anxious, but she is refusing to go to sleep, wanting me there and if I wait until she is asleep she wakes up and cries for me. I have previously, before the move, had to let her cry for a few minutes at bedtime when I leave the room, and literally after just 2 or 3 mins max she is fast asleep. Last night I let her cry for 15mins hoping that she might understand that she needs to sleep but she was getting more and more upset so I had to go in. She wouldn't settle until I took her into bed with me and then she looked at me and smiled and did a little laugh! Today I got sent home from work because I am so tired :(

She has about a 2 hour nap in the day 11-1ish, her bedtime is approx 7.30 and she is awake at 5.30 in the morning.

any ideas any one?

Thanks

OP posts:
mellowmee · 14/09/2012 09:39

bump

OP posts:
fififrog · 14/09/2012 21:03

Hiya sorry no great ideas but some empathy! And of course sympathy. What you say makes sense re all the changes and separation anxiety. My DD is nearly 18 months and we recently ha about the best 10 days of sleep ever, where she actually made it to 6am most days - our normal issue is early wakig - swiftly followed by the last week where I have had to sit with her to get her to sleep for 40mins a couple of times (normally asleep in 5-10 on her own) and waking 4.30 ish screaming for me half the time and just about managing to make it to 5am other days.

I wonder if the obvious developmental change are contributing?

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