Hi all, I have a 16 month old that was never a solid sleeper but could count on going down without any issues and on his own for the last > 6 months up until recently.
The last 6 days have been plagued with what looks like separation anxiety (clingy to mom, hysterical crying in the crib until someone picks him up then it stops, goes ballistic as soon as he sees someone leave the room after attempting to go down for a nap).
We put him down and he immediately shoots up standing in the crib and starts squatting fast up and down and then hysterical crying. There are so many resources online about what to do and what not to do, a number of which conflict so was hoping to seek some real life experience and guidance here on what we should look for and to do.
The first few nights it was so frustrating one of us just sat in the room with him until he fell asleep (more primarily to just be there and not console or hold him although that happened on the second night). The third day nap time we tried to let him cry it out but that went for 1 hour unsuccessfully and it just became too much to bear, same for the fourth day nap. The fourth day night time we tried to keep the same bath, nightime routine but he woke up 2 hours into the sleep and was hysterical again and we ended up sleeping next to the crib on a sofa that night (I know not ideal).
We're now into the fifth day and we tried to consolidate a few strategies to make sure we have a dedicated approach and tried that during the nap (gentle but boring and firm goodbye then down for the nap, go in in 5 minute intervals - 1 if super fussy to just lay back down and pat once and say have a good nap, don't pickup and let him see you walk out). It seems to have made progress and worked but took 1.5 hours and he was almost drenched in sweat it seems.
So do we continue this approach and keep at it for the next 1-3 weeks or do we need to tweak some part of this? For instance, how long do we keep the 5 minute cycle intervals up - what if it goes into hour 2 during the nap? We've been just going in and laying him down but should we be staying there for a few more seconds/minutes so that he's able to sense we're still there (not until he falls asleep completely but maybe longer than the 20 seconds we've been doing?). If all else fails, is it okay to just physically be there in the room (not speaking or moving or looking at him) until he falls asleep?
The last 6 days have been plagued with what looks like separation anxiety (clingy to mom, hysterical crying in the crib until someone picks him up then it stops, goes ballistic as soon as he sees someone leave the room after attempting to go down for a nap).
We put him down and he immediately shoots up standing in the crib and starts squatting fast up and down and then hysterical crying. There are so many resources online about what to do and what not to do, a number of which conflict so was hoping to seek some real life experience and guidance here on what we should look for and to do.
The first few nights it was so frustrating one of us just sat in the room with him until he fell asleep (more primarily to just be there and not console or hold him although that happened on the second night). The third day nap time we tried to let him cry it out but that went for 1 hour unsuccessfully and it just became too much to bear, same for the fourth day nap. The fourth day night time we tried to keep the same bath, nightime routine but he woke up 2 hours into the sleep and was hysterical again and we ended up sleeping next to the crib on a sofa that night (I know not ideal).
We're now into the fifth day and we tried to consolidate a few strategies to make sure we have a dedicated approach and tried that during the nap (gentle but boring and firm goodbye then down for the nap, go in in 5 minute intervals - 1 if super fussy to just lay back down and pat once and say have a good nap, don't pickup and let him see you walk out). It seems to have made progress and worked but took 1.5 hours and he was almost drenched in sweat it seems.
So do we continue this approach and keep at it for the next 1-3 weeks or do we need to tweak some part of this? For instance, how long do we keep the 5 minute cycle intervals up - what if it goes into hour 2 during the nap? We've been just going in and laying him down but should we be staying there for a few more seconds/minutes so that he's able to sense we're still there (not until he falls asleep completely but maybe longer than the 20 seconds we've been doing?). If all else fails, is it okay to just physically be there in the room (not speaking or moving or looking at him) until he falls asleep?