Help - sleep deprived and need advice

[Sunshinemummy]

DD is 21 weeks and for the first three months was a wonderful night sleeper - regularly going right through the night until 7am.

For the last two months that has totally changed. She now goes to bed at around 8pm and sleeps for a couple of hours then is up every one to two hours all night. I also find that I can't just give her a dummy, the only thing that will settle her is the boob, even if it's clear she's not hungry (chewing rather than eating).

I'm really struggling to deal with this, am permanently tired and am going back to work in 6 weeks. Can anyone suggest any solutions?

Hi Sunshine, I feel for you! My DD is only 9 wks so I'm no expert but I do find that when we're having a bad night, co-sleeping is a lifesaver. If you feed lying down you barely have to wake to feed and there is no palava re-settling the baby. This has helped me to feel a little less sleep-deprived anyway! Could you try it for a night?

Hi - apologies for posting and running but I had to go and collect DS from nursery and then do bath/bedtime.

OK well we do do semi-co-sleeping, in that she still sleeps in our room and when she wakes I get her in bed with us to feed. Sometimes we drop off there but I do try and get her back into her own bed later as this just isn't sustainable for me when I go back to work. I need to try and get her sleeping or I'm going to struggle to function.

Starlight thanks for letting me know about everyone else's woes - it does help to know I'm not alone. I'd be able to cope if I thought this was short term but it's been two months now and it's not getting any better.