My 2yr old wakes all night long

I have a 2 year old daughter that has never slept through the night, i am getting myself into a rut beacuse im so tired all the time and i fear soon a trip to the doctor may be nessacery for depression if i dont get some good sleep soon, when she was newborn she would go 4 hourly then even 6. when she turned 1 she began waking about 4 or 5 times a night, now its on avarage 7 to 8 times a night.. e.g she falls asleep at 9 she will wake at 9.45 then 11.00 then 1.00 then 1.30 then 2.30 then 3.45 then 5.00 then 7:00 then up at 8:30 most days. when she wakes up she is always crying and sometimes she seems not there its strange... she wont fall back to sleep on her own i have to lye next to her and hold her until she goes back off which can take more than half hour a time so i am getting no sleep. she sleeps better in our bed... a big sin i know... but still wakes at least 4 times crying... i dont know what to do i really need some guidence.... thanks

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

This is such an abnormal sleep pattern that you should ask her pediatrician for a referral to a pediatric sleep disorder clinic. It would be irresponsible for me to suggest that you simply 'bite the bullet' and adhere to guidelines that are used to help children adapt to falling asleep on their own and resuming sleep on their own if they wake up. For such guidelines, you can read Richard Ferber's Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems (new edition). But I think you should arrange the sleep disorder evaluation nonetheless.