Babies go through some brutal phases. No naps, frequent night wakings, the evening “witching hour,” teething … you name it.

That isn’t to say toddlerhood has been smooth sailing for us, but our little guy (henceforth “Little Y” – sadly, he has outgrown “Baby Y”) has been doing pretty well the past couple of months. He’s on a reliable nap schedule, he’s eating well, we just weaned without any major difficulty, and he’s been sleeping through the night.

But (and there’s always a but) …

He has become. so. clingy.

Yes, I will take clinginess over a sleep regression … but I still need a moment to vent. In the past couple weeks, I feel like I’ve literally grown a third leg. What little capacity Little Y had for independent play has evaporated.

Watching me like a hawk to make sure I’m no more than 5 feet away during storytime at the library.

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I’m lucky if I can unload even a third of the dishwasher before I hear the pitter-patter of little feet. I can barely make myself a sandwich without him pulling at my pants. And going to the bathroom with the door shut? Forget about it, unless I want to listen to him wail.

Even our fail-safe, rainy-day, got-nothing-better-to-do outing, the mall, is no longer fun. As soon as I sit down in the play area with Little Y, he looks around at all the other kids, whimpers, and scrambles onto my lap. I gently coax him to go play, and I’m lucky to get 60 seconds before he returns. We repeat this for about 20 minutes before I throw in the towel and we leave.

The most frustrating thing is that he reserves this mostly for me. When Papa Y is around, Little Y is content to toddle to and fro and play on the floor. He was great for his grandparents, who just visited. And I feel ridiculous trying to convince everyone that the happy-go-lucky little guy they see can be entirely different when I’m alone with him.

I’ve got several theories for the sudden clinginess, and it’s probably a combination of all of them: We just weaned, so he no longer gets to draw comfort from nursing. He’s still perfecting his walking, and apparently developmental leaps can lead to clinginess in some children. I recently left him for a couple days to attend a family funeral, which is the first time we’ve ever been apart longer than half a day or so. And finally, he’s turning 15 months, and separation anxiety tends to peak between 10 and 18 months.

Knowing this is a normal phase is little comfort, though. And while my husband reminds me that I will miss this when I one day have a teenager who pretends I don’t exist, he is also not the one who is suddenly living with an extra appendage.

So, aside from deep breaths and maybe a margarita, here’s what I’m going to try to do to get through this phase in one piece:

  • Give him new activities. While he certainly has plenty of toys, I could make more of an effort to get him involved in sensory play and other activities that might hold his attention longer.
  • Redouble my efforts to always get out of the house with him. Little Y always enjoys new places and faces, even if it just means walking around Target with him in the cart.
  • Let Papa Y have more one-on-one time with him. As I write this, Papa Y and Little Y are at Kindermusik together. Normally, I would go too, but after a day of clinginess followed by a trip to No Nap Land (otherwise known as Nonapistan) the break was much needed.
  • Try not to let my frustration show. Little Y feeds off my emotions. As soon as I let on that I’m ticked, he knows. And it just makes the situation worse.

Have you dealt with a clingy child? What helped you (and your child) get through it?