what's so special about me??

[firsttimemummy]

DS is a good sleeper and usually goes to bed with no fuss.  However, in the past few months he cries as soon as I leave the room; when DH or my Mum put him to bed he doesn't even make a sound 

Even when DH and I put DS to bed together (almost every night) if DS sees me leaving the room he gets upset.  DH is laying DS into the cot now as I am pregnant and DS is getting heavier!! (even before this DS was getting upset).

If DH has to go back in to see DS after laying him down, he just needs to give him a quick cuddle and that it that.  If I go in, DS will just want cuddled and cry as soon as I put him back down. At the very, very worst (if DS is really overtired) DH can cuddle him holding him until he is asleep and then lay him down, but I can't do this as DS is getting too heavy, with my bump, and we don't have a chair in the room any more ...

I have tried gradual withdrawal but DS just gets too excited if I am in the room; if I do WIWO he just gets more and more upset, no matter how often I keep trying ....

Any suggestions? It was me who taught DS how to sleep well, etc but recently it isn't working for me.  At the moment I am having to leave him to cry (but I do go in if he keeps crying and know if he is really upset and go to him, and then get in a muddle, as DS only then wants cuddled, etc etc). 

[JayLeigh]

We went through this about a month ago, he just needed to grow out of it, basically, as it was a time of SA for mommy. He just couldn't handle the sight of me leaving!!

So I had to change up his bedtime routine a little, we do what I call the night night routine. I will sit with him for a few minutes and say bye bye, night night, to just about every person/word that means anything to him, and I walk him over to the crib, all while saying night night. I say bye bye mommy, night night. Then give him about a dozen kisses and say night night, and he understand that now it is time for him to go to sleep. He even says night night back to me! Now he looks forward to the routine, gives me names to say good night to.

Just sharing because we found this worked wonderfully for us! He just needed a little more closure and cuddles from me at the end of the night. And things are back to normal, he just needed his mommy "cup" topped off before I left the room!

[firsttimemummy]

Thanks! I am hoping it is a phase  - he is fine the days I leave him at home with Mum/a friend or the creche to go to work (only 10 hours a week).  It's funny because "Daddy" is the popular one when we are at home together but still me when it comes to bedtime.

Was going to take a chair back into DS room so I can sit with him on my knee if I need to.  Will try talking to him a bit more about Mummy leaving the room before I go and see if that helps ....

[firsttimemummy]

Yesterday evening (DH was working late) I explained to DS that Mummy would put him in his bed etc then go downstairs and tidy up then go to bed ... as soon as I started to explain his lip fell and he started saying "no, no" - he did cry as I left but didn't take as long as normal to settle ....