She hasn't slept through since before Christmas.

Oh, hang on, wait let me revise that... she has woke AT LEAST 2 times a night EVERY night since before Christmas.

Oh, hang on, let me correct that again... I have been woken AT LEAST 2 times a night EVERY SINGLE BLOODY NIGHT since BEFORE Christmas.

If she woke once, I would be absolutely 100% happy with that. Most nights I am ok with twice.

But FOUR times a night? FOUR TIMES. At 6 months? FOUR TIMES?!?!?!?!

*sigh* Sorry, ok I'll be calm now.

Ok... so the last two weeks it has been four times a night every night. Between early December and mid-January it was anywhere from 2-4 times a night, generally 2 or 3, with the odd 4 times. Now I'm lucky to get 2 hours of sleep at a time and I just can't do it anymore. Every time she wakes up I feel like screaming. I always look at the clock when she wakes for the second time, and pray its close to 4am, and its generally only midnight.

She wakes and cried until I either get her up or feed her. If I get her up she is happy to stay awake for the next two hours while I cry my eyes out (honestly...). If I feed her she will fall asleep for two hours until she cries again and the whole 'do I get her up or feed her' things starts again.

During the day she has 2, sometimes 3, sleeps a day. Her morning one, which is usually 2 hours. A lunchtime one, which is anywhere from 1-2 hours. And sometimes an afternoon one, which will usually be 1 hour max. She is on solids, eats 3 times a day (guts!) and has a bf usually every 3-4 hours.

She goes down for her sleeps easily, including the night time one. If she's still awake but tired when she's decided she's had enough booby then I give her a kiss, say "I love you, time for a sleep" shut the door and she'll whinge for a minute or two then go to sleep.

I just don't know what else to try... I've tried cutting out some solids, I thought she might have had a tummy ache but it makes no difference. I've tried encouraging that afternoon sleep, but whether she has it or not it makes absolutely no difference. I'm 99% sure its not wind or anything like that as I have gotten up and tried burping her, but she doesn't burp when I try, and she's pretty good at bringing her own wind up now anyway. I change her when she's wet. We co-sleep, and I've tried having her in the cot by herself. No difference. We are sidecarring now but that makes no difference as well. I've tried patting, rocking, bouncing, shhhhhhh-ing, and all the other variations...

A week ago Shel was encouraging me to wean, but then when I said "ok, I might get some more sleep if you can do a night feed on the weekend" she backflipped and won't let me now. She won't even let me supp. Which, of course is fine and lovely, and I know it probably won't help anyway except I'm at the end of my rope with this waking, I feel like I am a zombie, in tears most of the day, I am so tired but have never been able to sleep during the day and still can't despite how tired I am, I have too many things running through my head when I try, all i can think is of all the things I should be doing... studying, cleaning/tidying, things Shel has asked me to do for her...

Some nights I want to just let her cry a bit to settle herself. But I can't even do that as Shel gets angry with being woken up, and then the next day acts as though shes the most hard-done-by person in the world to have been woken up during the night. When she doesn't even have to ****ing do anything anyway. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! (sorry, sore spot).

It's really impacting our relationship as well, apart from me being so bloody tired that I am dead to the world by 8pm, even when I am awake all i do is snap at her, partly because I'm so tired, and partly because I'm angry that she gets to go to sleep and stay in bed all night whereas I am up and down getting Jazz up, trying to settle her without feeding her, then having to feed her. When I do end up having to feed her I just get so irritated with having her 'attached' to me. It's not the feeding but actually having to feed that is getting to me.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

There is a sleep school in Brisbane. Has anyone been? I can't find any info on it and my CHN isn't any help as she says "just persist in the patting/rocking/shhhh-ing". I don't think she likes the school? Or maybe there is just to much paperwork involved?


And if you tell me that waking 4 times a night is normal at 6 months I'm going to jump through the computer and deck you.