am i developing a bad habit??

[kbaby]

DD whos 11 months would go in her cot at 8pm and play for a bit before going to sleep but on sunday we put her in the cot and she screamed, we left her and kept checking etc and after 1 hr she fell asleep, she had also been sick. Monday night was the same but with 30 mins crying, again sick, wednesday we gave up. Weve now found that if we stay in the room she goes straight to sleep but if we leave she cries. Since wed weve just been staying in the room.
What I dont know is; as she used to go to bed ok could this just be a stage as she is also clingy in the day which may be carrying on into the night. is it ok to stay with her until she sleeps or am i just creating more problems and should just leave her to cry?
Since weve been staying in her room her sleeping during the night seems better and she now only wakes once at night but at least she sleeps all night in her cot.

Sounds like a stage to me. If all you have to do is stay in the room whilst she falls asleep I wouldn't worry too much, you will probably be able to do gradual withdrawl once she is over her separation anxiety. I am about to do the same thing with my 13 mo dd2 but it will be a bit tougher for us as she bfeeds to sleep. I've been advized by someone trained in sleep matters that by leaving her to cry at a time when she is already clingy, we would destroy the trust between us and only make things worse. HTH

My dd (18 months old) has phases of wanting me to stay in the room while she goes to sleep. I normally sit in a chair and make no eye contact/no talking, etc. When she looks all starey eyed I move towards the door and stand there with my back to her. If she stays quiet and doesnt stand up again I can then leave the room.

I think they just need reassurance sometimes and once they get over their anxieties they carry on as normal i.e. at the moment I can put dd in her cot at nap/bedtime and leave the room immediately. She will play about and call me to put her covers on a couple of times and then she will go to sleep with no fuss.

I have never left her to cry for more than a couple of minutes and as a result I think she finds her cot a nice place to be.