My 8 month old child was recently taken from me by her dad and his parents.
Before she went, she would eat 5 times a day. After eating her night time bottle, I would rock her and love on her and when I lay her down she would drift to sleep no problem. Now, one month after they took her I got her back and I have concerns with change in her behavior. Now, she doesnt ever let her bottle go and sucks it constantly. She has to have her bottle to sleep, and when she falls asleep and I try to gently take it from her she immediately wakes up crying until I give it back. Her father admitted to me that to make her more "independent", his mother would lay my baby down with a bottle about 9pm and close the door and let her cry by herself until she went to sleep. Im afraid they have caused her emotional trauma and I dont know what I can do to fix this. Im very concerned and need advice. Do I need to take her to a specialist or can i help her on my own, or is this normal and do i need to chill out?