Thanks for your reply. I definitely think separation anxiety is playing a role. I noticed in the last couple of days she cries if I put her down sometimes. She has been going through this for a couple of weeks. It started with her fussing when I left the room. I read the page on SA and her scream is definitely very different, high pitch, hysterical. It just doesn't feel right to let her cry!!!! I have always felt CIO goes against my instincts, and feel a mother should always follow her instincts. You have no idea how much I appreciate the support of this forum. You ladies are always a voice of reason when I am ready to lose it! It has been such a long challenging struggle. DD nursed to sleep until she was 5 months. She's a touchy baby, so I used shush pat since pu/pd wasn't recommended. She responded very well to shush/pat initially, but we have had so many regressions, every time we travel, or she teeths, or is going through a developmental leap. It seems like I get a week or two of decent sleep, and then we are back in another regression. I am not exaggerating
I've never gotten her to totally be an independent sleeper. She falls asleep on her own, but I have always stayed in the room, never having gotten to the point where I can leave. Before this most recent regression, I had her to the point where I could give her her blanky and she'd just fall asleep. The last 4 nights I did a combination of picking her up when she got hysterical and rocking her (she kept crying in my arms right until she fell asleep) and once I laid her down after she was calm and she fell asleep, another time I hugged her while she was in the crib, and most recently for her nap just now she got hysterical and I picked her up, she calmed, screamed when I put her down, I shushed while keeping my hand on her chest, she cried herself to sleep. It breaks my heart when she's looking me in the eyes screaming with her little arms outstretched
ugh....please tell me how to stop the screaming. I know picking her up is only reinforcing the screaming but I can't ignore her, and I don't know how else to sooth her. Here's our routine:
6:20 nurses (she seems to sort of sleep and doesn't fully wake until she finishes nursing around 6:45)
A6:45
8:15 solids
S9:45-10:55
E11:00 nurses
12:30 solids
S2:00-3:10
5:00 solids
7:00 BT routine, bath, nurse
7:45 asleep
BT had been later due to settling issues.