Hi all,
So our almost two year old (birthday this month) has had a dummy for just her nap and bed times for around a year and last week we took it off her as she was chewing through them. She woke up one day and she binned them herself because they had holes in so we took the opportunity to get rid altogether. First three days were great. She took a little longer to settle but still went to sleep on her own (we’ve always been able to lay her down say night and walk out).
However, since Friday she just will not settle without us being sat beside her cot at both nap and bedtimes. She cries the second she realises we’re leaving her no matter how many times we leave and renter to settle her again. We’ve had to sit next to her and wait till she falls asleep for the last three day naps and nights - literally just sitting there, don’t even need to be holding hands, shushing etc. I leave her to cry for as long as I’m comfortable with but she shows no signs of settling and it just gets worse and worse the longer we leave her. Soon as I walk in she lays down and stops crying! She has two bunny teddies that she’s always slept with so we hoped they would be a comfort but she cuddles them to sleep one night and doesn’t bother the next. She’s also started waking earlier (for her) around 5.30/6am and she’s usually 7.30 earliest.
Are we just stuck sitting with her for 45 minutes/an hour every time she sleeps now? We’re halfway through pregnancy with our second so really don’t want this to be the new normal when little one arrives - plus sitting on the floor for an hour is already incredibly uncomfortable for me. We’ve had it so good for the last year and a half. Don’t know what else to try apart from giving her dummy back which we really don’t want to do.