BIG HUG!!!!

I don't know where my daughter learned the phrase "BIG HUG". About 2 months ago, she started asking for a big hug about every 3 seconds. It seems to be related to her recently increased separation anxiety. Instead of crying, she will say (or most likely scream), "Mommy, BIG HUG!!!" Cute, yes. But not when I'm trying to, say...drink coffee. Or go to the bathroom. Or get dressed. And especially not when it's followed by screaming and crying. She has a lot of trouble letting me out of her sight, and doesn't like it when I'm on the computer, or brushing my teeth, or eating breakfast. I love Lauren with all my heart, but I need some "me time", or else I will go absolutely insane.

Lauren has been having a lot of trouble going to sleep at night lately. She will be fine up until we go to put her in the crib, and then she starts crying. Crying, and screaming, and working herself up, with a "big hug" thrown in here and there for good measure, and about a million "Mommy!"s. It is so sad, and nothing I do seems to prevent the crying altogether. I can go in there and comfort her, and that seems to work abut 50% of the time. The other half of the time she starts crying again, and I have to go in again. I have tried (UH-OH, here is Lauren asking for a big hug as I type) giving her extra "Mommy time" in her room before I put her down, but that just seemed to make her cry more. And if I go in right away (or up to 5 minutes after putting her down), that almost guarantees I will need to make 1 or more return visits. I just don't have the heart to let her CIO (cry it out) anymore, because she's such a real person now. So I have been going in about every 7 minutes or so, and she eventually does go to sleep. But it's so sad for me. I would love for her to go to sleep with no tears.

Everything is a phase.....