Jacob went through a fairly long stage of separation anxiety. It wasn't easy - I'm not going to lie to you! In fact, it was very stressful, demanding, and damn hard work!

It does pass. It does get better. As the old saying goes - it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!

Things I found that helped a bit sometimes (but not a lot, and a great deal of emphasis on the 'sometimes'!) were to try and turn things into a game....e.g. peek-a-boo so that he knew that if I disappeared, I was coming back IYKWIM? I'd also talk to him no matter where I was so that he could hear me. I'd also make a point of trying to encourage him to come with me, or providing suitable toys in the other room I was going to etc etc. But above all, I always made sure I explained what was going on.

Basically, I found that giving him the cuddles and reassurance that he needed was what I had to do. Sometimes it wasn't always possible (let's face it I wasn't going to pick him up and cuddle him when I was on the loo ROFL) but basically, I did what he needed. I figured he was telling me that he was anxious and scared and needed me. If I felt like that and thought that the one person in the whole wide world who I trusted and loved above all others, was leaving me for good, then I'd want cuddles and reassurance too. I felt like all I did was carry him around for months on end and that whenever I wasn't holding him, he was crying. Dinner time I think was the worst - trying to prepare dinner with a screaming child lying over your feet is no fun Not fun for me and certainly not fun for Jacob - it was hard for both of us.

But one thing I can say is that I firmly believe that by giving him the cuddles whenever he needed them has made him more confident in himself. He knows that Mummy and Daddy are here whenever he needs them. He knows that he can also go off and explore of his own accord, knowing he can return for a cuddle or a bit of reassurance whenever he likes or if he gets scared or unsure of himself.

So although I know that's probably not given you a great deal of help, I want you to know that it does pass. It's hard to be holding them all the time, but I think that the rewards are endless. I can only speak from my own experience of course and I can honestly say that I really believe Jacob has more confidence in himself and his ability to explore/learn because he knows that we are here to help him and give him that love and reassurance IYKWIM?