When baby won't sleep

So Eleanor has recently undergone a change in her sleep pattern. From birth, she has been an easy sleeper. She goes down easily, and doesn't wake up angry in the middle of the night. Rather, I wake up to her "squeaky door noise" as we like to call it. (Think of the sound effect used in movies - ehhhhhhhhh - that is her.) Because we co-sleep, I've been able to scoop her up, latch her on, and rest while she nurses before falling back asleep.

We first noticed it this weekend. She was waking up multiple time throughout the night, and was a little more fussy than usual. On Sunday night we were up about every 45 minutes - 2 hours. Sunday night was rough - I think I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep. Alan & I took turns cuddling with her, I nursed her 4 times, we tried Gripe Water, but nothing seemed to be a solution. We were able to calm her down, and get her back to sleep, but within a little while, she was up again. Needless to say, Monday morning was tough.

Monday night, we decided to try some brown rice cereal in addition to nursing before bed. She was tired, and didn't want the cereal, so I nursed her and put her down as usual. She slept soundly for a couple of hours, but started waking up frequently around midnight, flopping around  like she couldn't get comfortable. Combine that with a heart-breaking little cry, and none of us managed to get much sleep. I again tried nursing, Gripe Water, singing, and Alan walked with her, but we were only able to settle her down for short snippets of sleep. That was night two of 3 hours of sleep...not good for baby, Momma, Daddy, or big brother, who came in to check on her. "Just say 'Peace' if you need me to come and talk to her, okay, MaRae*?" (*MaRae is what Seth calls me. Translation: Mama Rachel)

Last night she ate really well before bed - both brown rice and 2 marathon nursing sessions. But then, around 11:15, she woke up crying - wailing even, which is totally out of character for her, and upsetting for me. I ended up rocking her and singing to her in her (future) room for about 1 1/2 hours, and then moving back to bed where I slept sitting up with her on my chest for the rest of the night. She still woke up about 3 more times between 12:30 and 5:00 am, but I was able to soothe her pretty quickly. I'd guess that last night was about 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

We are confused, befuddle, lost, and even a little worried. It is unsettling when your child's behavior suddenly changes. As mothers, we pride ourselves on intuitively knowing what our children need. We can distinguish between a hungry and a sleepy cry. We can tell when a child needs a nap or just needs to get out excess energy. But for this, I can't find a "solution." And maybe that is the solution - there is no solution. We comfort her as needed, and forgo sleep, hoping that this phase will vanish as quickly as it arrived. It is hard, though. Sunday night, I was irritated. (It is hard to admit that, but it is true...) Monday, I was upset, and sat it bed nursing her and crying that I couldn't help her find rest. Last night, I transitioned into worry. "What is wrong? Is she in pain?" Maybe tonight I will reach acceptance that this is our current reality, and we just have to find a way to cope...

Any sage advice would be greatly appreciated...magic cures would be even more greatly appreciated.