It all went wrong :-(

[MadameJ]

Dd is 14 months and until recently I always bf her to sleep but this stopped working. Being in the room with her appeared to make her worse so about 2 weeks ago I fed her, popped her into the cot, story and put her lullaby's on and left her. I would say on average she whinged for 10 mins max and then managed to get to sleep each night, I was amazed. However tonight I followed exactly the same routine and she went mad, screamed as soon as I left the room. I'm not sure if I did the right thing but I went back into her about every 5 minutes and laid her back down and just repeated "it's sleepy time" she eventually went to sleep after about 50 mins but it was horrendous seeing her in such a state. Even now (half an hour later) her breathing is still irregular from crying. I feel absolutely awful but I honestly don't know what else I could have done for her!
Any advice or reassurance would be greatly appreciated right now x

IMO you have done precisely the right thing. Today might have been a blip due to heat or teething. You've been firm and consistent without ignoring her. The only thing I would have done is given her some calpol in case it was teeth. If she wakes again I'd do that before settling her just the way you have done earlier.

Thank you so much for that, yes I will definitely give Calpol if she wakes again although she hasn't shown any signs of teething or illness today. I however feel physically sick :-(

In which case you need a nice cold wine or beer! The crying is heart breaking I know, but for my sanity I need mine to self settle, and each episode like this is an opportunity for them to learn. DS1 cracked the while thing at 8 weeks, then had a blip from 4.5-6 months and has been an angel since I got tough at 6 months. He's now 4 and the best sleeper ever. DS2 has been much harder, and at 19 months still has regular "opportunities" to revise the self settling curriculum!

It's mad because dd1 was always fed to sleep until that stopped working and she miraculously just learnt to fall asleep in her cot with minimal fuss, dd2 is a completely different kettle of fish!!