One year old, falling asleep at night query.

[Turneeps]

Advice or reassurance wanted please.
My DD has slept really well last 4 months (put in cot awake, fell asleep on own happily, slept for 11 hours). Fantastic and realise how lucky we have been.

However....for last 3 weeks, every night, she has cried as we leave room, sits up, stands up, crying gets worse and worse if we leave her.
So we go in pick her up, 30 second cuddle (stops crying), back in cot, and then we sit and either hold her hand or hand on her back, she will grizzle, wriggle for up to 30mins before falling asleep. If I leave room sooner she cries again.

This is ok, but don't want to this forever and my 2nd baby due in 6 weeks.

Any advise on stopping the crying, or just a phase to ride out???

It won't be forever, but will need patience to help her feel content to go to sleep alone.

The more you sneek out before she is asleep, the more determined she'll be to stay awake so that you don't leave while she's awake. You can remove that battle completely by not leaving her side until she's fully asleep. Then no battle to stay awake, so going to sleep should get much quicker. I wouldn't expect it to take much more than 10 mins for her to fall asleep, if shectrusts you'll stay.

Then work on a process of withdrawing.

Start with hand on her back all the time. Then start removing you hand if calm, returning hand if distressed, removing when calm again. Always stay until asleep.

Then removing hand and turning away when calm, but staying next to cot. Turn back if distressed, turn away when calm. Don't leave until asleep

Then hand on back to settle and step away when calm. Back if needed, withdraw when calm. Stay until asleep. Then withdraw to doorway... and so on.

Cool, that makes sense. Think she will respond well to this (I was worried if we stayed with her too much she would become more reliant on is, rather than less).