@ Taiwo- Good luck with your little one, you may want to work on some sleep coaching to help your daughter learn how to fall asleep and back to sleep on her own. There are different methods of sleep training that you can use to help teach her this including no cry and limited crying methods. Here is an article outlining different methods for helping teach her to sleep: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-from-no-cry-to-cry-series-part-1/
And an article about sleep associations that will help you understand her dependence on you:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-association/

Good luck!!! 🙂

@Lisa 20 minutes is pretty good compared to my boys! 🙂 Personalities are so complicated, but I would say that it is possible that she prefers a confidence boost from mommy rather than be alone. There are plenty of people who don’t like being alone, so in that way I can definitely understand why kids don’t want to be. I certainly have empathy about that. It can be so tricky having a good balance. All we can do is try to boost their confidence that it’s okay to be alone, sometimes, but they are not alone all the time. Hopefully, that gives them a healthy outlook as they grow older, too, rather than “relationship hop” for fear of being alone, for example. Parenting is so hard, isn’t it?? Thanks for commenting!

@Christine Thank you!! I’m so glad your one-on-one consultation was helpful to you! 🙂 Yes, my older son is very similar. I can see the confidence building over time and he doesn’t need to stand back and watch *as long* before jumping in, but he definitely still assesses the situation. I rather like that. I’d rather him think about potential consequences than do something dangerous. He is cautious by nature, so that’s good in some ways, at least. 😉 Thank you for sharing!

@Marcia I know exactly what you mean. My eldest was always afraid he’d miss the party in the other room and still does not like to think he’s missing something! He very very very rarely has slept somewhere other than his bed. Even on a trip down South for a Family Reunion he stayed awake IN THE CAR until 11 p.m. because he didn’t want to miss the state signs as we went into a new state. He never ceases to surprise me how much sleep he’ll miss just to be involved in what’s going on around him. 😀 Thank you for sharing!

@Ophelia You are definitely NOT alone in needing to be home to sleep! And, even those who have babies who sleep out and about, it isn’t necessarily healthy to let your baby “crash” in the stroller. My boys would sleep EVENTUALLY in a stroller but it was after they were beyond exhausted and that wasn’t good for anyone (especially Mr. Cranky Pants). 🙂 Of course, there are some who love their sleep and will sleep in a stroller even with a lot going on and they are good with that and that’s great! We are not all that lucky, for sure, though! Thank you for commenting!

@Lori He could be like me who is an introvert who leans extrovert sometimes. It’s blurry. 🙂 And, of course, he will start to change a lot. My youngest has always played SOOOO well on his own but nowadays he’s becoming much more social and is more often asking for someone to play with him much more often than before. Of course, we love playing with our kids but sometimes you have to cook dinner, do laundry, etc. so it’s been interesting to watch him grow and change. It’s always hard when family and friends don’t get it, but they would also probably be the first to wonder why you have such a whiny and misbehaved kid who is just overly tired, right? 😉

@Sharayou I know this can be challenging and you feel bad for the family members that so much want to engage with your child. He will grow and change and his confidence will build, I’m sure. When my youngest first started preschool the teachers didn’t even know if he could talk (though he talks A LOT at home), but he has opened up a lot over the last year. But, it did take a year!! Hang in there!!

@Manju Awww! He sounds very social and cute, I’m sure! It sounds like he believes he “needs” to be rocked or in the hammock to fall asleep. Although it may be a few rougher nights, if you got him accustomed to falling asleep without moving to sleep, first, but in the hammock, and then try the bed, it would probably go much smoother. Try rocking his hammock but then stop before he’s asleep and wean him off the movement. Then, try the bed later. Breaking it into pieces can make a big difference. With practice, we can always learn a new way to sleep. Good luck!

@Carnita You are definitely not alone! Not with the sleep and not with people who don’t understand. I just said that if they weren’t going to deal with the aftermath, they should not say anything about it. We are the ones who have to be up with them if they wake at night from being over-tired or what-not, right? 🙂

Thank you everyone for all the great conversation! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back to everyone. Cold/flu season is starting early in our house and it’s been a rough week. I hope this Winter is better than last, though!