Hi, I've got a 14mo dd who has never really been a good sleeper, except for 3 blissful weeks of sleeping 6.30pm-6.30am when she was 8 mo. Since then we've had 5 months of problems and we're currently at a point where she can no longer settle herself when we first put her in her cot, we have to stay with her (usually with a hand on her back) until she falls asleep. She will then wake 1-3 times (sometimes needing us to pat her back to sleep, sometimes she sorts herself out) before I take her into bed with me at about 11pm. She will then either sleep through to 5.30-6-15am with two quick feeds in between or she will wake up at some point in the night for about 2 hours where nothing I do will help her go back to sleep. She's clearly tired when this happens but just can't get back to sleep.
Her routine is roughly (following a night of decent sleep):
wake 6.15am
nap 11.30-1.30 (or sometimes 2pm - she also needs help resettling during her naps)
bed by 6.30-7pm
She is still breast fed and generally eats quite well.
My main aim is to get her sleep for longer periods on her own. Next on the list would be for her to self settle again. Finally, for her to spend the majority of the night in her own cot. Don't want to leave her to cry for long periods as doesn't sit easily with me or DH. Sthan close her eyes, she's a very alert baby, always has been, and would rather study white painted walls than close her eyes, no matter how tired she appears to be! I have a feeling this will be the way of it until she's about 4 but in case I'm wrong, does anyone have any ideas what we can do?