First of all little babies and plenty of big babies don't tend to self settle. They often still need our help whether it is by holding, rocking, feeding etc. Also little babies rarely "sleep through". I know for many weeks that Maggie never had long stretches of sleep. In those early days it really was a repetitive cycle of feeding, changing and sleeping.
Do you mind explain exactly what you expect from her at the moment? Maybe if you alter your expectations then it wont be so stressful for both you and her. Just asking this as I got both Maggie and myself so stressed after listening too much to the "should brigade". Once I realised that I was expecting the wrong thing for us, the situation improved greatly.
I found what really helped me was a sling (Hug-A-Bub) etc. Maggie would often fall asleep in it (as long as I was moving around). It has the advantage that Bubs gets a good sleep and you can get a few things done, which in turn helps reduce your own stress levels.
Up until 9 weeks, Coco had no routine whatsoever, and didn't sleep well at all. I was VERY lucky to get a 3 hour stretch at night. Mostly she woke every 2 hours or so. In the day she was known to go 12 hours NO nap!! Really it took the first 9 weeks of this until she was able to go down on her own and sleep for longer periods. We actually had 3 months of sleeping through. Now she's 6 months and since 5 months she's been waking up all through the night!! Only thing I can say is that I didn't expect her to sleep well, so Im not overly upset about it. Sure Im tired, but I know that I can't expect her to be a perfect sleeper at this age. Hang in there and if things don't improve or aren't how you like them, maybe look on the internet for some sleeping ideas (or books). But don't expect too much, that's when it gets upsetting!! Good luck, and just know there are LOTS of mums out there in a similar situation!! xoxoxo
It can be so hard can't it.
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