Separation anxiety or 4 month sleep regression? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Separation anxiety or 4 month sleep regression?

651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 20:34

Hi ladies,

Hoping you can shed some light on either issue:

DH left last week sunday on a business trip and returned yesterday morning (it was his first trip away since DD was born - she is 16 weeks). Everything was going swell up until Wednesday! DD normally has 2 x 1hr naps in the morning and 1 x 2-3hr nap in the afternoon. On Wednesday her morning naps went down to 30min and afternoon nap to 1hr :/: She also became clingy and fussy! Nothing changed with her nighttime sleep however, she still went down as per normal with no fuss 7pm - 7am! DH only sees DD for 30min everyday which is in the morning when she wakes. He never sees her in the evening as she is in bed by the time he gets home!

When he returned home yesterday morning, he went to pick her up from her morning nap and instead of giving him her usual big toothless grin, she almost broke out into a cry when she saw him! I had to pick her up, as we did not want to unsettle her too much! Throughout the day, she did not take her eyes off me and almost made no eye contact with DH :( Today she was better and gave him a few smiles and was much more calm and content when they spent time together!

Forgot to add: when I tried to put her down for her naps on Wed & Thurs, she creamed the roof off! I had to rock and shush her to calm her down :\:

Can anyone shed some light on what could possibly be happening? Very abnormal behaviour as she has been such a contented baby of late :(

Ps. I have not ruled out a growth spurt and teething either! I'm giving her Ashton & Parsons for the teething as she
definitely has a pearly white that is trying to make an appearance! I also got her the Amber Teething necklace today.
<em>edited by plumie on 26/03/2011</em>

651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 28 March 2011 - 07:51
Pheewww - almost thought my sweet little DD was kidnapped by aliens and replaced with a fussy little monster ;) Good to know I'm not the only one who is going through some nasty little changes!
308
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 21:51
Plumie we are a week behind you and going through the same thing as of 4 days ago. My normally happy, giggly, delightful 15 week old has turned into a screaming, dribbly, fussy, clingy mess! Daytime nap schedule is out the window, she wont lay on her playmat or in the chair, wants to be picked up all the time. Will go down at 7pm as usual but up as 3,4,5 and wont settle, whereas she used to be a 7-7 baby too. Took her to the doctor today for a once-over, she said the same thing: 4-Month regression and teething. Its just a stage, she said. Setting myself up for less sleep for the forseeable future! x
651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 20:52
Hhhmmm, am starting to think it is teething too :( And I think I spoke too soon - crying, screaming and throwing up when we put her down for the night time! She did however only throw up when we gave her the Calpol :( And she literally sucked the life out of my shoulder when I held her, my shirt was soaking! She finally went down at 7:45pm and luckily I had DH here to help, no idea what I am going to do when he leaves on Tuesday?! :\:
79
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 17:41
Hey Plumie! My DD is 15 weeks and we are going through the same thing. She only naps for half an hour at a time during the day. She goes to DH, but only for a little while, she wont let him soothe her at all, she only wants mommy. I do think she is teething, all the signs are there. So no advice, just to let you know you are not alone. xx
56
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 12:36
Plumie... I also find that Noah tends to have shorter naps during the day where they used to 1/2/3 hours long... And we have found that sometimes when he cries and DH picks him up- he just continues crying, he tends to soothe easier if i pick him up. It could just be that as the spend majority of their time with us they are more "comfortable" with us. And it is hard with our DH's working and only getting to spend minimal time with them. And also with your DH traveling- it could be similar to what a puppy does when you come home from a day at work- they feel you've neglected them and they give you the cold shoulder for a little while. Hopefully it will be back to normal soon - it might be the same each time DH goes away.. but it should be ok after a few days i think. Hugs to you xx
651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 11:40
Bump! Anyone else with similar experiences at this age? Shell - her Dad only gets to spend 30min in the morning with her before he goes to work and by the time he gets home in the evening she is being put down already :(
1403
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 21:29
Try and make sure he gets as much quality daddy/daughter time with her as possible while he's home!
651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 21:25
No her sleep pattern has never been affected. Maybe she thinks you'll leave too? It must be so hard seeing this, especially for your DH :( I'm sure she will warm up to her daddy again very very soon. Hopefully someone will have some advice or have been through this before. Thanks chick! He leaves on Tuesday again and only back on Saturday :( Have a feeling just as she starts to warm up to him again, off he goes and then she is left wondering again?! Felt so bad for him yesterday :(
1403
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 21:22
No her sleep pattern has never been affected. Maybe she thinks you'll leave too? It must be so hard seeing this, especially for your DH :( I'm sure she will warm up to her daddy again very very soon. Hopefully someone will have some advice or have been through this before.
651
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 21:15
Was her sleeping pattern affected at all? When we went out for lunch in Thursday, she was quite fine and content when 2 of my friends held her whilst i ate my food! She even fell asleep whilst another friend pushed her in her buggy?!?! The fact that she gave DH the "cold shoulder" yesterday, makes it all so confusing :\: You think she knew he was gone? Became clingy as she was afraid i would leave her too?
1403
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 26 March 2011 - 20:46
Babe, can't help with the 4 month sleep regression as it never happened to DD, but she has, since around the 4 month mark, been very very choosy about who she allows to cuddle her. Basically since then, no one can hold her without her getting upset, crying and physically leaning towards me to 'save' her from whoever is holding her. Only me and DH are the ones she'll allow to hold her, and she used to be extremely outgoing with other people cuddling her. Yesterday, out with friends and we noticed a massive improvement with her and there was no crying when they held her, so hopefully she's betting over this phase. She'll constantly smile and giggle at everyone, until they want to hold her. Have been told this is a phase at this age...
 
 

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