Comments on: How To Handle Your Baby or Toddler’s Separation Anxiety and Sleep Training

By: Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site

Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 22:26:41 +0000

In reply to Lauren.

Hi @Lauren – Thank you for writing to us, and so sorry to hear that your baby is struggling with sleep and separation! We know how hard this is, so hang in there Lauren! She may need a little reassurance during awake times, and a reminder that she can fall asleep on her own! it sounds like you do not want to do the extinction method again/now, which is completely fine! But I also suspect that you do not want to spend a full hour before every sleep helping her to sleep either. You can find balance and find what works for you all, and this article may help iwth some outlines on how you might proceed:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/5-baby-sleep-training-methods-explained/
We know that this can be a tough time, and if you’d like our help with this, please contact us so we can share more info about our offerings and what may be the best fit for you and your family, or you can check out our one on one consulting options here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/services

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 21:13:43 +0000

Hi there,
My 9 month old is experiencing separation anxiety exclusively at nap and bedtime. We’re certain it’s separation anxiety because she calms immediately after picking her up and cries as soon as we put her down.
We had previously sleep trained (when she was 6 months old) using the extinction method and she was a wonderful sleeper-but are now unsure what to do now. We’re going in and comforting but it’s taking an hour for her to eventually exhaust herself and sleep. Are we doing the right thing?

By: Danielle

Danielle — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 16:31:04 +0000

In reply to Kim.

Hi Kim,
Thank you for your comment! I’m so sorry to hear you’re struggling with these tough night wakings 🙁 They sound awful! Unfortunately, there a ton of things that could be causing night waking like you’re describing: a scheduling issue, nap trouble, a sleep association, etc. We’d need more information to be sure. If you’re a member, I’d encourage you to log-on to one of the member chats with a senior sleep consultant – she could definitely help! Otherwise, I’d really encourage you to look at the sleep consultation packages, so a sleep consultant could review your son’s entire schedule, bedtime routine, feeding, etc., and help you root out what’s going on and how to solve it. Please hang in there, and let us know if you have any questions!

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 30 Nov 2019 08:33:29 +0000

I have a 22 month old and for the last 3 weeks he has been waking numerous times throughout the night just screaming. He calms down as soon as one of us goes in there but loses his mind the minute we leave. We don’t pick him up but calming telling him to lay down and go back to sleep. He will do this eventually if we sit in the chair in his room. But the minute we stand up to leave it starts over again. I would say this happens most nights out of the week. I never went through this with my twins who are now almost 4. This will go on for hours at night until we give up and sleep in the chair while he happily stays in his crib. But we are exhausted, he is exhausted and no one is happy right now.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 20:21:10 +0000

In reply to Joan.

Hi Joan,
Thank you for being a loyal reader – I’m glad our articles have helped your family! There’s really no “right” answer to your question – it just depends on your family, your baby, and how urgent sleep coaching feels for you. Our usual recommendation is that it’s safe to sleep coach through separation anxiety, sleep regressions, teething, etc – with babies, there’s always something! But, if you don’t feel comfortable and would rather wait, you certainly can. I hope that helps, and good luck!

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 18:59:16 +0000

Hi,

Thank you for all the great articles! My baby is going through the 6-month wonder week and has severe separation anxiety–my previously-independent little girl wants to just be on me all the time all of a sudden. We were planning to start sleep training this week, but should we avoid it while she is going through this? Thank you!

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:17:14 +0000

In reply to Brooke.

Hi Brooke,
Thank you for checking out our sleepy little village! I’m sorry to hear your little one is struggling so much with naps. An issue like you describe is often a scheduling problem – maybe a naptime is too close or too far away from her last sleep? We have a sample 7 month-old schedule you can reference here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/7-month-old-baby-schedule/
And we have an article on other reasons naps might be short here, which I hope will help you troubleshoot: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
Good luck, and please let us know if you need further help!

By: Brooke

Brooke — Sun, 01 Sep 2019 21:58:11 +0000

My 7 month old was taking 2 naps a day for 1.5 to 2 hours each nap. All of the sudden she will not nap at all or it will be for like 20 min. She is so tired and cranky but will not sleep. I don’t know what to do. Do I let her cry it out, Do I go in lay her back down every so often. I am so lost on what to do.

By: Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site

Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 23:48:16 +0000

In reply to Pascal.

Hi @Pascal – Thanks for writing to us! Sorry to hear that your toddler has been having some sleep issues since transitioning to a toddler bed! This is a common occurrence, especially with younger toddlers, and separation anxiety can make this even tougher – you’re not alone! This article has some tips on how to help keep your toddler in their bed:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/crib-to-toddler-bed-transition-5-essential-tips/
For additional help, I’d recommend that you consider our e-Book, The 5 Step System to Better Toddler Sleep. It is written specifically to help parents of toddlers with sleep issues just like these!
You can find out more about this ebook, and order the book directly online here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/5-step-system-toddler/
I hope that things smooth out soon! Please contact us if you need any assistance at any time!

By: Pascal

Pascal — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:38:26 +0000

Hi, I’m Pascal.

So my 20 month year old needed to be sleep trained at 10 months. We chose to check on him and comfort him in increasing intervals. He started to climb out of his crib at 18 months, so he now sleeps in a toddler bed with a railing system. He has recently started to demand sleeping with my spouse in-order to fall asleep. We have tried several methods such as sleeping next to him, we went back to the interval training and even tried to let him cry it out. Nothing seems to work. It seems like more separation from my spouse. He clearly calls for “Momma” and throws full tantrums. Thoughts?