Seperation Anxiety?

My girls have been in daycare since they were 5.5 mos. - are very social, happy girls. Almost to the point where I'd feel bad because they could care when I left them at daycare. Natalie is my independent one, Carley my Mamma's girl. For the past week and a half or so, Natalie has just screamed when I leave daycare now, and is so clingly etc. I know they go through seperation anxiety, but I thought it was earlier (6-9mos) I know it's a phase and it too shall pass, but Im running into Natalie waking up at 2am - crying / screaming. I've tried to do my normal pick up, give sip of water, change diaper if needed, or just pat on the back, let her know I'm still in the house etc., but nothing has been working the past couple of nights. And this little bugger is Stubborn! The past 3 nights, I've taken her in my room / bed with me, just so she wouldn't wake Carley, and so I could get some sleep too. My question is - am I creating a bad habit with her doing this? I just don't want her to wake Carley as then I have 2 babes awake that need some kind of attention, and I'm a single Mom, so only one set of arms. Is Natalie waking like this due to seperation anxiety? and is it okay for me to go to her? We worked so hard with CIO and they were champs and came through great STTN after 4 nights of CIO - so I don't want to mess it up, and in my gut I feel Natalie just needs reassuring etc. WWYD??? TIA!

 

Typically my DH drops the kids off at daycare and I pick them up. He has been traveling for work lately and when I drop them off in the morning, they both scream while I am there. It has gotten to the point that I just drop them off, give them a kiss and am out the door in about 1 minute. Once I am gone they are fine and they never do this with DH. In the afternoon I have to hide around the corner to get my update from our daycare provider so the kids don't see me because they start screaming immediately to be held. I am really trying to not pick them up when they do that and it seems to be helping. My DS has stopped doing it and DD is getting better (she is a red head and also very stubborn). I haven't had the night-time wake up issues yet. Could she be teething and be in some pain? Maybe some Tylenol might help her. I think it could just be a phase they are going through and am hopeful that it passes for you.

 

Both of ours went through a phase around 15 months where they would wake up crying during the night. We started picking them up and rocking them. After about a week of us rocking them for 45 minutes or longer, thinking they are asleep, laying them back down, and then they start screaming again, we decided we had to do CIO again. After one night of CIO, they started sleeping through the night again. One of them had been sick and was coughing a lot so we started going to her, but once she was well they kept waking up and wanting us. We decided we had started something we didn't want to continue. They have been fine since then.

 

Don't know if it's separation anxiety but I do wonder about creating a habit by taking her into bed with you. I have lots of compassion for only one set of arms (I swear I do not know how you single mothers do it - my hat and everything else is off to you!!!!

When one of my girls was 11 months she got sick and the only way she would go back to sleep in the middle of the night was on my chest.....even once she was better she just did not want to go back into her crib - and who could blame her? I did CIO with them shortly after that and they've been fine since (ok, so it was only a month ago!)

That said, wonder if it might be teething or something- I do think some orajel, teething tablets/tylenol might be worth a try.

Good luck (you Amazing Mama, you!)

 

I was wondering about teething too when I read your post. Around that age, I would give them Ibuprofen right before I went to bed (they had already been sleeping for about 3 hours but would wake up around 4 screaming). When I gave them the medicine they wouldn't wake up. Soon after teeth where in.

This past week (they are now 2). Each night one would wake up screaming and end up in bed with us. After 3 nights of this it was time to CIO again. The first night it lasted 30 minutes and last night it was about 10 minutes so hopefully tonight they won't be waking up!