8 months no sleep I'm breaking down - Page 2

[jecombs]

I have soooo been there! My DD is now 2.5 and only having 1 night-waking! You will get there too, I promise. The time between 8 mo. and 1 yr. was the hardest for us. The only thing that got me through was full-time co-sleeping. We night-weaned DD when she was 14 mo. old and that was also a big turning point in her sleep (and my sleep, too). I know you're in the thick of it now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Recently, I've started doing Hypnobabies in preparation for LO #2. Last night I listened to one of my CDs with DD and I swear it really helped her fall asleep faster! They also have a down-loadable MP3 called "Peaceful sleep for the whole family" that I'm thinking about getting for all of us. That might be something for you to consider, because it sounds like you are so exhausted that it's causing some insomnia. Just a thought... here's a link to the MP3, in case you're interested.

[gbutterflykissesm]

I've been there, and was at my wit's end, having tried everything. I work FT and was hallucinating at work. I was depressed. It was awful. Since I do work and pump at work and DP gives DS a bottle, we began scheduling his daily feedings. I know this is not desireable, and may not work for everyone, but when we stopped nursing/feeding on demand (he's still EBF, just from a bottle when I'm at work) and stuck to a strict 3 hour feeding schedule, his nights really changed for the better.

Before that, we had been feeding him every hour and a half round the clock. I basically wasn't even reading his hunger cues, I was just sticking my boob in his mouth whenever he was fussy or if I wanted him to take a nap. Now, he's regulated himself so we still stick to the 3 hour schedule during the day on weekdays, but I can nurse him a little more often on the weekends. And he still does cluster feed in the early mornings, about every hour or hour and a half from 4:30AM onward, but I can get a few 3-4 hour sleeping sessions in before that and I am a new person.

It may not be something that will work for you, but it may be something to consider if you haven't tried it. It just came more easily to us since DP gives him the bottle during the day and if DP finds a job, DS will be in daycare anyway, where they prefer a schedule.