Toddler Not Acting as Happy as She Did a Few Weeks Ago

Laura,
There is a lot going on here. How does she acts with your husband other than avoiding eye contact? Is she okay with him holding her? Is she okay with her being alone with him? You need to check these things out. The fact that he is the father it doesn't mean that he is able to take care of her for an entire week. Had you done this before? I know that at that age every little change to them is huge! Listen, she was missing you and you weren't there, point blank is that a father is not the same as a mother. No matter how good your husband might be he doesn't have motherly instincts and he doesn't comfort her like you do. So, you were gone and she was left without you for a long time (in her sight).
I would suggest, that if you can take a day off (or maybe two) in a week and see if you can spend some quality time with her and get her to forgive you for leaving her for so long. If you can't then maybe take 1/2 a day off from work and go pick her up early from daycare and do something with her.
I hope this helps.
I.

well it could just be that her whole routine of things changed.. .and you were gone, and she was sick... and probably it is a young child's way of "coping" with things.
Also at this age, a child's emotions are not fully developed, and they can't "know" what their every emotion means... and maybe she is just wondering if Mommy will be gone... and it is not a good feeling for her. And her being "stoic" may be the way that she is coping with it all. Perhaps trying to not feel, sad.

"Regression" in a child, is a symptom of stress. And at this mere age, they can't articulate everything, nor their emotions... and so their reactions reflect this.

And yes, at varying ages, there is still separation anxiety... manifested in different ways.

So although you said that nothing happened at home and you/hubby get along... your daughter DID go through a LOT of "changes" while you were gone, and then she was sick.. and then her whole daily routine was different. AND when she heard your voice on the phone, it made her sob. She missed you. It affected her. She is still probably trying to cope.

And, did her and Daddy have a nice time together? Did he keep her routines the same? Did Daddy say how things went with them alone? Was she fine or sad everyday? How did HE respond to her sadness? Did they do things together? Or did she just get plopped down and not interacted with? Did she get told "stop crying" if she was crying? Maybe she is now "stoic" because she was told not to cry... or made to feel naughty/bad about it, for expressing herself.

Did her Daycare know you were gone? How did they handle it if your daughter had a hard time at daycare?

She just needs comforting... and probably, she does not know if this, your being gone etc., will happen again or not. 1 week for an adult is not a long time... but a baby/child has no concept of "time", and to her, it was probably a very long time of Mommy being gone.

All the best,
Susan

My daughter was 9month old when we tried daycare for the first time and she got a stomach bug. she was sick for two days straight vomiting and not eating much.
even after she got better and had no symptoms, she would not go with my husband, she only wanted me. she was clingy and whiny all day long, I could barely put her down to eat, prepare her bottle etc.
It took her about two weeks to be back to normal, and finally be crawling around and held by my husband again.

**also I agree with Laura, just because your husband is her dad doesn't mean they are good at taking good care of them; my husband likes to rough house with her and play a lot, but if I'm not there she would starve to death. he is not good at preparing bottles, giving her fruit or snacks, nothing! I don't trust him enough to leave her with him for a whole week but that's my hubby I don't mean to say yours is the same**

It could be separation anxiety or just not feeling well. My 22mo old goes through some moods -- last week was a good example. I almost thought I should put her in a new daycare she was so mopey and sad.

However, did you talk to your husband about everything? Are you sure nothing happened while you were away? Strange things can set kids off, but they are also pretty truthful if something serious has affected them.

Good luck.

I don't want to be the only one thinking/saying this, but it has to be said. you were gone for a week. Are you 100% certain that nothing happened between your husband and your daughter? Can you bee 100 % certain that he did not act inappropriately?
If so, then it could just be that your child is a little mad that you went away. You put a kink in her schedule. She'll get over this. In the meantime, as for why she is not looking your husband in the eye, that could be just her way of getting a little extra attention and her way of controlling her surroundings. She is 14 months old, and nearing the age where she should be exerting some independence.