Night time separation anxiety?

Question

My 10 month old is having trouble sleeping after sleeping great. took her to the DR. there is nothing medically wrong with her. They suggested night time separation anxiety.

I go in and try to sooth her and sometimes it just makes it worse. Any suggestions? my friend said let her cry a bit, don't even change her diaper. i feel bad if she had a big wet diaper. what are your thoughts about it. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I went through this with my youngest son! He was about that age when i had finally had enough he still woke up to eat 2 times a night at this point and there was no reason for it!

i took him to the Dr's and was told that if i wanted it to stop then i needed to let him cry it out .

he told me don't go in there don't give him a bottle don't change the diaper don't feel bad its an attention thing!

so we let it go for about 2 weeks and yes it was hard listening to my baby cry in the middle of the night and trying to ignore it but i will tell you what one of the best things i have ever done!

2 weeks later he was sleeping soundly through the night no eating not even a peep and it was because i quit playing into his game every night and it taught him to self sooth and go back to sleep because it was still bed time! now he is 22 months old and sleeps through the night still and i am glad because the longer you let the negative behavior go on the harder it is to break pretty soon your baby will want to sleep in bed with you every night!

hope this helps

Answer 2

I talked with my friends about this because it was terrible. She suggested putting more nightlights in the rooms because for some reason at this age they start having nightmares and the lights sooth them. I use those warm glow night lights so they don't "light" up the room but instead make it warm.

Answer 3

sounds like your sweetie just wants you and is testing to see if her cries will bring you back. especially if she has been sleeping well so far. I would continue with a normal, consistent bedtime routine every night and make sure she has a lovey in bed with her(a blanket, stuffed animal,etc)

and then let her be. You are not forcing her to cry, you are allowing her to so she can learn how to put herself to sleep. This is the beginning of her testing to see how she can get you to come back. It is hard the first few times but I would let her cry (set a timer if you need to) depending on her personality it may only take 5-10 minutes of  hard crying before she gets the message or it make take an hour.

It is hard but it works... you still love your child you are just helping them with boundaries.

good luck.

a great resource- Happiest Baby on the block and Healthy Sleep Habits- Happy Child

as far as diapers go invest in nigh time diapers from Huggies to ease your mind.. those things are incredible and hold more than you can imagine!

Answer 4

I am going through the same thing.  I don't want to let my son cry it out because he stands up in his crib and I don't want him to fall and hit his face.  He has done it before.  So I go in and lay him down in the crib and rub his back.  He tries to get up a hundred times but I just lay him down and rub his back until he is tired of trying.  He will eventually go back to sleep but I am up forever.  I guess after a few night of this he will get the idea.  But it is hard.  

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Answer 5

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Answer 6

You could try satisfying her need for closeness and security. I keep my babies close to me at night, and we've never had nighttime issues. They feel loved, cared for, and protected. I can't imagine doing something to them that would cause them to suffer emotionally for my own convenience. Babies don't understand isolation, they think they're being abandoned. People treat babies like they're nothing more than lumps of flesh. They do have feelings, and how they're handled affects the wiring of their brains. They finally give up and stopped reaching out for comfort like nature made us to do, creating disattachment, and the parents think they've achieved some victory. I don't get it.

Answer 7

After about 6 months I did not change her diaper through the nite she was fine. Make sure you have a few binkis in the same place in the crib everytime. I let her cry for about 20 minutes then soothed her for 20 then let her cry again for 20 after about a week it takes affect. If you go in there everytime she cries you are training her to cry and you will come running.