Really desperately could do with some opinions on this.
DD is 8 months old and am finding things are getting harder and harder by the day. She's breastfed on demand and we're doing blw. She has never slept well but at least when she was a newborn she did some occasional long stretches.
From the age of about four months till now she's woken on average every hour, often every half hour. We try to get her to sleep on futon in eve then bedshare for rest of night. She'll often take an hour or two to settle in the eve. Only way she'll settle is on the boob but she can be on and off for hours till she sleeps. She'll then often wake after ten mins then after another hour then same again we'll go to bed ourselves. So most the eve spent trying to get her to sleep.
She'll occasionally feed to sleep in the day but 99% of the time she'll only sleep in the sling outside on a walk. I stop at traffic lights, she wakes up. Someone says hi to me, she wakes. The second I step in the house she wakes.
She's also awful in the car and won't tolerate the pushchair at all. She looks in pain, writhing about and screaming. We can't travel in car more than five mins as it's too stressful.
I'm seriously mentally and physically exhausted. I either spend my day out hiking with her in all weathers trying to get her to sleep or listening to her groan cos she's so sleep deprived. Finding it harder and harder to socialise as our day just revolves around this.
Have tried shushing and patting, considered no cry solution but can't bring myself to effectively wake her up if it's taken two hours to get her down, and this wouldn't help her daytime sleep issues, white noise, swaddling, routine, no routine, trying to get her off at first sign off tiredness, swaying, rocking, swing, blanket and cuddly toy, music, silence, dark room, self settling. Nothing works.
She's on med for silent reflux which has helped discomfort after feeding but hasn't helped her sleep or the car seat/pushchair issue.
I don't have any time to myself, she's nearly always attached to me, can't do any jobs, can't sleep when she does or even put my feet up as she wakes soon as we get home, back and shoulders knackered from slings even though they're good, supportive ones (Connecta and Beco), as she's in them so much.
She won't take bottle or dummy. DM convinced she's hungry and need to do spoon feeding. Have researched it and link between food and sleep seems to be inconclusive. She was low birth weight and still way behind her peers. She is v enthusiastic about trying food but often only has a few nibbles. She will sometimes take a spoon on odd times I've tried but prefers to feed herself.
Could just about cope with the awful nights if the days were easier but I can feel myself getting more and more isolated as having to say no to things unless they're a walk as she'll be tired and grumpy if I don't get her to sleep. My one break was going for a run when DH gets home but can't do that now as too tired from the walking to get her to sleep.
When she's had enough sleep and just after she wakes she's like a different baby. She seems to be meeting all her milestones.
I love her so much and when she is happy it's the best thing in the world looking after her but just feel that she should be happier than this by eight months and that lack of sleep is key.
Back off to gp today but don't quite know what to say. They don't think it's dairy intolerance but I still wonder about it.
Any advice please?? Can feel myself getting more and more fed up and while I don't feel depressed, I worry that the way things are going I might end up that way.