Throwing blankie out of crib

Litgirl77

We've been through a few rounds of this with LO, but they usually resolve quickly. My standard routine was to give it back once after 10 minutes, and then not again. I'd sneak back in once he fell asleep and lay it next to him. Worked like a charm and he'd stop throwing it out.

And then last week we had a night where he would throw it out, cry, and finally fall asleep. Then wake up later, after I had put it back in with him, throw it out, have a fit, etc. Over and over. 

So I stopped giving it back at all. And surprisingly, other than crying for a minute when I first leave the room, he goes to sleep just fine without it. There have been a couple nights where he would wake around 1am, fuss and call for his blankie (but he went back to sleep on his own after about 5-10 min). So…I guess he's done with his blankie?

Then last night, he woke every 30-45 minutes and either fussed, called out for blankie, or full on cried. But never for longer than a few minutes and he always went back down on his own.

So is this just a phase of bad separation anxiety and he's venting his frustration by throwing his blankie out? The end of sleeping with blankie forever? I know it's hard to say, but I guess the only thing to do is to stick to my guns and not give it back since it just escalates the situation when I give it back. Other thoughts? Trying to decide if I should even give it to him at bedtime anymore. Sigh… toddlers!

brachysira

My DD throws everything out of her crib, and over gates.  I think it is experimental physics.  My rule with sleep is to never go in unless she is full on hysterical, which is either when she is fully awake and soaking wet or something or when she is pretty much asleep and having a nightmare, I guess.  If she is just fussy or crying a bit, the behavior category into which blankey loss falls, we do not go in, and the blankey stays on the floor until morning, when I give it back and hope she'll go back to sleep for a bit.  She is usually happy to see it and does not sleep but is content to snuggle it while I get dressed.  At 19 months, she certainly does not like to go to bed without her blankey and has pure joy on her face when she finds it throughout the day, so I am sure tossing the blankey is not related to not wanting it in our case.