Help! My angel is no angel

My 16 month old has always been the sweetest little girl ever.  She would sleep through the night and would just smile and stop what she was doing when you told her "no" but a few weeks ago she had a bronchial infection and was running high fevers, wouldn't eat much and was just miserable for about 5 days.  Of course when she was sick I babied and pampered her and gave her all the attention I possibly could.  Now that she is better, she still wants that treatment that she recieved when she was sick.  I can't even go to the bathroom without her.  I'm glad that we bonded even closer but she screams and takes a tantrum if I'm not holding her now or at least playing with her with all my attention.  She's too young to discipline so I've just been letting her cry because I don't want to give in and let her win every time but it breaks my heart to see tears running down her face with her arms streached out yelling ma ma, ma ma, ma ma.  Am I doing the right thing by not giving in and just letting her cry?  I know the neighbors must think that I'm beating her by all the crying.

[pertykitty]

at this age i wouldnt let her cry.  she needs you and what i do with my kids is go to them and pick them up.  calm them and if i need to do something get them involved in a toy or let them help me (best they can for that age lol).  my dd went to the bathroom with me till she was over 2, now she wanders in once in a while but not always.  

i dont feel its giving in but soothing her needs.  its possible now she is teething, my dd would always get much more needy when teething.  do what you feel is right, but remember love cant spoil her!

[Athena_M]

Yes I agree with pertkitty.  Don't let her cry.  She feels rejected and just needs your love and affection.  Just embrace her and give her the attention she needs from you.  She probably loves being with you alot and wants to be around you.  Let her go to the bathroom with you.  Try to find other things that will interest her like books, a puzzle, or a toy and occupy her with those things.  

[ReallySad36]

Thanks ladies.  Everyone just keeps telling me that I have spoiled her rotten becuase when I say she wants me to hold her all the time, I mean literately all the time but I do work full time and maybe she just needs me to make up for lost time.  I'm taking your advice and just ignore my family when they tell me she's spoiled.  You would think this is my first but she's not.  She's my third.

[AnnieBrooke]

If she wants you to hold her all the time, it's not a contest of wills, it's a need.  She needs reassurance that you still love her and act the way you did in her recent memory.  After she gets that reassurance (it might be a matter of weeks) she will begin to pull away again.  This is also the time for separation anxiety to begin, maybe it just started coincidentally with the illness.  Ignore your family, reassure your daughter.  

[mami1323]

I have a 2 1/2 year old who is still this way.  I still can't go to the bathroom without him following so closely that his head is practically up my behind.  He sometimes wants to be held and will grab a hold of me if I even try to put him down.  It's just what it is, they want affection, they want to be up your wazzoo.  Take advantage now because soon enough they will be so over us that we will wish we had our little babies back.

[AnnieBrooke]

That's true -- my sister whose son is 14 is envious of the fact that my 3-year-old still follows me into the bathroom.  She wistfully says she wishes her son still cared that much.