20 month old screaming awake / sep anxiety

[Rook]

We have a normally well sleeping 20 month old.  She's just getting over a cold and we just got back from vacation.  Since we got home, she goes to sleep, but wakes up about one hour later, screaming.  My wife will pick her up and rock her, but my daughter won't calm down.  It almost sounds like she's being hurt when she screams.  It usually takes about an hour for her to calm down.  If I try to take her, the screaming gets worse.  She's left bruises on my wife's arms where she's pulling her arms around her.  Any other time of the day, she's fine and has no anxiety problems.  Is this just her re-adjusting to being home?  We kept the same schedule while on holiday, with the exception of the plane ride home.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Katet]

Changes & Illness create insecurity in lo's & sometime between 7months & 3yo babies/toddlers do go through separation anxiety & that is heightened by change & illness. So make sure she gets lots of positve encouragement & support in the day time & if she gets upset in the day, be there for her too. She is at the stage of makeing sure the people she trusts are "truely" there for her & that is always worse at night.

Often when babies/toddlers wake up an hour or so after bedtime it is due to overtiredness at the actual bedtime, so they don't get into the next sleep cycle. So maybe try making bedtime 1/2 hour earlier or make the last 1/2 hour before bedtime REALLY quiet

If it is pretty much exactly the same time, you could try stirring her about 15mins before the normal wake up, to "break" the cycle.

But really apart from comforting her (day & night when she feels upset) this isn't a lot i can suggest. BTW day needs not being met can offten manifest themselves with night problems & after probably getting LOTS of attention on vacation, she will be getting less now & that may be her way of (unconsciously) getting the extra comfort she had when sick/vacatoning.

HTH

[Rook]

Thanks Katet.  Since both my wife and I were on vacation, we had both been spending all of our time with our daughter.  I did break up her cycle and got her up about 30 min before she usually does.  This helped, along with mom going back to work.  The first day was tough, but after that she dropped back into her same routine.  We now have normal sleeping hours and no more screaming.  Thanks for the help!