Jack's 9 months old now and since last Friday he has not wanted to settle to sleep on his own, which he has done since he was about 5 months old. He won't take his dummy for naps any more, though he has had a bit of a cold - cough and stuffy nose and his nose still seems a bit blocked so it might be that. He's generally fine and happy in himself apart from when teething pain is getting to him.

He used to settle for 2 naps a day and at night because I'd put him in his cot, dummy in, mobile on and leave the room. Now that he won't take his dummy, he won't settle. He's got himself in a state a few times, so I've had to rock him to sleep which I don't really mind but I can't do it for long as he is so heavy and my shoulder muscles play me up. He's often fell asleep and as soon as I put him down he wakes and cries. Sometimes I've stroked his face when he's been really tired and he's gone off then.

It's not that he's not tired, he yawns and rubs his eyes but just wants me there. I do normally leave him if he's just slightly whinging and he does sometimes go off after about 20 mins or so but if he starts to get really bad I have to go back in.

Do any of you have any experience of this and how long does it last??! He also whinges a bit even when I put him down on the mat for a nappy change which he's always been fine with. He's not so bad when I leave the room to do something though he does generally want my attention all the time but of course, that I can understand and is only natural. I just don't want him to get used to needing me there to sleep.

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Lewis went through this phase at around the same time too. It was awful because we were used to him sleeping independent. He used to have his bottle downstairs then go up in his cot still awake with his mobile on and snuggle blanket and that would be him off until morning.
When he started getting unsettled he wouldn't sleep at all on a night, he still had his naps through the day if we were out, he could never fight to keep himself awake in his pram lol!
We tried just giving him his bottle as usual and putting him in his cot. He was in our room in his cot until he was 1, then one of us used to lay on the bed and he used to go to sleep. It took a week or 2 until we started leaving him again and he would get himself upset then eventually calm down.
It could be a bit of separation anxiety like you think, most babies go through this phase at some point but come out of it fairly quickly.

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