seperation anxiety

[thitz]

What should I do when my 6 month old starts to cry when I leave her room?

This is what typically happens.  She does a real cry so I go into her room and sometimes she'll curl up on her side to go to sleep as soon as she hears the door open, or if she's too worked up I go in and lay the blanket on her again and she curls up to go to sleep or if even more worked up I pick her up for a minute and lay her back down.  Once she's calm for a couple minutes laying in her crib, I patt her bum and say 'have a good sleep' and she's very calm but then starts to cry as soon as she realizes I've left the room. 

Am I supposed to leave the room and shut the door and go in right away again?  Last time I left and counted to 30 secs and by that time she stopped crying.  But I feel bad letting her cry even for that long.  What does BW recommend?

[Gigismom]

in my opinion, it is fine to let her cry for a min or two.  my dd usually goes down without anything more than a whimper, but occasionally, she will cry just a little.  i just let her cry.  she seems to just need to do that as part of her winding down.  she wakes up happy and is never afraid of her crib even on the times i let her cry a little.  it's up to you though and what you feel comfortable with.  just be careful that you do not become a HUMAN prop whom she has to see to fall asleep.