eleshia, I hear you hon - at 12 months of age, your baby is that the peak of separation anxiety. It peaks at 12 months of age! So she could be having troubles settling because of this and even though you are sleep deprived to the max, this can pass without sleep training. I'm not a fan of Tressilian, sleep schools (I have been to one with my first born, for two weeks instead of three days and was basically kicked out because it wasn't working and there was no follow up help or support!) or letting babies 'cry it out' is well noted not to be successful in the short term for around 92% of mothers, and 800 studies backing it up to say that letting your baby to cry is not good - it releases cortisol (stress hormone) in the baby's brain which is the same chemical which is released when a baby is in pain.

So, what do you do?

1. Most importantly, remember this WILL pass. Like any other stage, with all that brain activity going on for a baby during these developmental milestones, it is a very unsettled period and one of those times you feel like you want to throw baby out the window! So perhaps some selftalk during the crying, 'this too will pass, this too will pass.'

2. Bring her into the bed with you. You wont have to get up and she will have the comfort of you being there.

3. Get hubby to help you more with settling - take turns

4. Get help / support during the day so you can catch up on sleep. From family, to friends, to daycare to a post-natal doula.

My son is 20 months and I have big burnouts every now and again too! But I remind myself that this is unfortunately a part of the job description and we have to either seek help from outside to help get things on track, ask, ask, ask! Remember once we never had to ask, we raised our children in our extended families and had that wisdom and extra hands. So don't be afraid to ask for it now.