My beautiful DD is 5 months old and her sleeping is at its worst. She has never been that great at settling/sleeping... There has been the odd week where she has miraculously slept through the night from 10pm - 6 or 7am in her cot, but that feels like so long ago now.

If I try to settle her in her cot of an evening, she gets so upset and cries and cries until eventually I take her to bed with me, however when I take her to bed with me it isnt as simple as lying down next to her, I have to nurse her and rock her until she sleeps, and sometimes have to hold her all night, if she stirs I rub her back until she goes back to sleep. I don't mind so much her sleeping with me, but the problem is what do I do with her between say 7pm and 9pm, when I want to be either having my dinner, or taking a shower, or just having some down time.... She just will not settle on her own. I don't understand it. I just feel terrible trying to persevere with getting her to sleep, as every night she cries and then I end up giving in and going to bed with her. I don't want to put her through that every night. I do not want to let her cry, but at the same time I can't go to bed at 7pm either.

Her day sleeps are rotten at the moment too. I have read so many books and nothing seems to help.

All the other babies in my mothers group are sleeping through the night in their own beds and taking regular long naps during the day. I just don't understand what I have done wrong and why she has suddenly regressed to not wanting to sleep at all unless I am holding her. I know there are plenty of people out there that probably have worse problems with their babies than this, but it is just getting me down that I seem to be the only one I know of, everyone else I know has had mild temprament'd babies that have slept. People keep saying it gets easier, but it only seems to be getting worse/harder.

I get comments from people implying that she has me wrapped around her little finger and to just let her cry, that she will learn. These people don't seem to realise that not all babies are wired the same way, and some babies have higher needs and need more attention from mum than others.

I have hurt my back from carrying and rocking her, and she won't have a bar of the sling, unless I am standing and sort of holding her, so it defeats the purpose.

I am sorry this is so long, I just feel like people think I don't know what I am doing and that I am doing something wrong, and now I guess I am staring to believe it too.