My 9-month-old baby is a ‘koala bear’!

EV is suffering from separation anxiety, or commonly known as ‘koala bear’ syndrome. Not that we mind her clinging on to us like one. Just that it can be quite trying, especially at night when we desire a good night’s sleep after a long day at work. As she is trying to figure out whether we will return or not when we leave the room, EV has been frightened of us leaving her alone recently. Even if we’re in the same room, she doesn’t want to be more than an arm’s length from either of us, and doesn’t like to be left alone in her cot. It used to be fine, and I would usually put her in her cot after breastfeeding. Until one day suddenly, she started crying every time I try to put her down. She would cling on to me and wouldn’t stop crying until I carry her again. Sometimes, even if I am successful in putting her in her cot, she will wake up soon after brawling.

We have read that in cases like these, it’s best to ignore her, and let her cry while monitoring her, otherwise she will get used to us running to her every time she cries. We have tried that. I must say our little EV is quite patient. She cried for almost 3 hours non-stop when we did that, and we continued for about two days. As working parents, it is hard for us to maintain that for more than a weekend, unless we want to content with sleepless nights that leave us extremely exhausted for work. Then we discovered about the ‘koala bear’ syndrome. We then decided that to help EV, and to help ourselves, we’ll let her sleep with us on the bed. Yes, many early childhood specialists advise again that, but it works for us. We both agreed that we will let her sleep with us for the time being, and then eventually, when she’s out of her ‘koala bear’ syndrome, we will ease her back to her cot.

So for now, the three of us are enjoying a peaceful sleep every night.