almost 4 year old clingy/needy, school refusal, etc.

[jewelsJZ]

My dd will be 4 in April. For about a month now she has been crying when we put her to bed, wanting to be carried/held constantly, and not wanting to go to preschool, which she previously loved.
We are just going with it, in terms of comforting her a lot and holding her as much as possible. With school, I've talked to the teacher, talked to my daughter about it many times. She is fine once we drop her off but leading up to is crying, refusing to put shoes on, etc. She has several friends at school and loves playing with them. If I drop her off at a friend's house for a playdate she is totally fine.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and has any words of wisdom to share.
Other pertinent info: She has a 6 year old brother and a 14 mo. old brother. She goes to bed at the same time as her 6 year old brother in our master bedroom. Dh and I co-sleep with her and the baby in our bed.
Thanks in advance, mommas.

[maddymama]

DD1 has gone through stages like that (she's 3 1/2 now)- mainly when DD1 was born last summer. It helped us to help her name her emotions and to talk about why she might be feeling them.
Good luck!
~maddymama

[MissNo]

Right after the holiday break we had similar issues with our now 4 year old and. She is fine after I leave, but cries and fusses up to that point. I keep the same routine, and try not to get too upset about it. I encourage her to name her feelings and talk about her fears, but I think it is just a phase. I hope it is just a phase, because she loves school.