DCB struggling these past 2 weeks

My 20 mos old DCB has been struggling these last 2 weeks. His mom is pregnant, due the end of the summer. I am not sure how much awareness he has about what is going on and if this is contributing to things or if he is just going through a phase of sorts.

He is struggling with the big transitions. Will start to cry for mommy whenever we go from outside to inside or for nap. Is OK when we go from one activity to the next and can be distracted but he has been screaming for his mom for the last 40 mins of nap. This is a new behaviour. I checked on him and laid him down but he continued after I left and is still crying.

He has always been very "happy, go lucky" and there has definitely been a sharp change. He has been more challenging for his parents as well when it is time to get ready in the morning etc.

I emailed the parents and asked if anything has changed at home (aside from the pregnancy) and asked about his awareness around what is going on with the pregnancy.

My concern is also that they want to keep him with me for part or the whole mat leave. I would love to have him as he is a super cool kid however, how is he going to manage daycare when he knows mommy is at home with the new baby? He is definitely a mamma's boy and will even ask for her when dad comes and picks him up. I also have 2, 2 year olds on my wait list for September that want his spot and who knows how long he will be with me or if they will yank him if he continues to struggle. I was open with his mom in the email about how well he will manage during the mat leave etc. Just a waiting a reply.

How is his sleep? It's always the very first thing I look into when kids start displaying these types of behaviors.

Has there been anything going around lately? My bunch caught a cold and I've found that they kinda look tired still and just not up to snuff just yet.

Are you spending more time outside because of the nicer weather? Maybe it's tiring him out?

It's weird for this kind of behavior to come up out of the blue but then again, if he really is a mommas boy he may just be entering a stage where he is going to test her love for him.

I once had a major mommas boy only he struggled from day one. He eventually got a little better...until he went on mat leave. We dropped to once per day and it got so bad that I let him go, permanently. I'm not saying that this is what will happen with this DCB though, especially if before he was fine. Hopefully it's just a phase.

Some kids really love going to daycare while mom is home on mat leave. They quickly learn that home becomes routine of feeding/diaper changes/naps and all the laundry and all that stuff. Mom is often busy and occupied and baby is the focus. Going to daycare to see their friends and escape 'baby land' can be a welcome relief. It will obviously depend on many factors but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the child will be upset that mom is home with baby.

At 20months the child may just be hitting another separation phase. My 2yr old definitely started one a little before 2yrs. I think they suddenly get smarter and realize they are apart from mom and can't handle it. Keep consistent, don't feed into the crying too much and hopefully it passes soon enough.

Good luck!

Just wanted to say: wow this sounds very similar to my situation in the past few months. DCB started acting very differently around 21 months, the next week found out mom is expecting and they had been talking about it to him. He's settled in but I'm also nervous for when the new one arrives and he drops down to a few days a week here. Hope it works out for both of us!

I have a little boy that turned 2 last Sept, he started with me in March 2014. His Mom got pregnant at the end of Sept. Since then he has cried and screamed EVERY time he comes and occasionally through out the day. He was originally attending 4 days a week until Mom became unemployed in January so he dropped to 2 days per week. I absolutely believe he is acting out because of. Both the pregnancy and the change in schedule.