I logged in here after a very long absence because your post really spoke to me... my heart aches for you... the sleep deprivation of having a newborn who won't sleep is TORTURE. And I don't use that word lightly. It is HELL.
Newborns generally sleep like sh!t. Older babies don't sleep much better. (Personal opinion: I suspect that the ones for whom methods like Babywise work are generally the ones that would sleep well enough had their parents followed no method at all.)
Despite the existence of a "baby sleep industry," I've yet to see any evidence that anything besides common sense really works. And even then, common sense doesn't always work! Common sense = swaddling, white noise, swinging/motion, having baby rest in an upright position a la Rock n' Play if s/he has reflux, and once baby is old enough, putting down while drowsy but awake.
When my daughter was a newborn, I wish I focused more on my own self-care and less on trying to trick her into sleeping... I would have gotten a better return on my time investment.
So here's one suggestion that has GUARANTEED returns: focus on what you CAN control, not what you CAN'T control.It's quite possible that your baby will still be waking every 2 hours when you go back to work next month. Deep breath. (I remember how badly I was freaking out at 6 weeks, when I was thinking about my inevitable return to work.) Is there any way you can delay your return? Longer unpaid leave?
Can you shift your sleep schedule by getting additional childcare and pumping bottles, so you can get more/ better/ longer naps during the day?
Do you have someone who will listen non-judgmentally as you vent about how much this bullsh!t sucks? A caring mother figure who won't say dumb sh!t like "this too will pass," but rather will validate how it feels impossible to get through this while you're in the thick of it?
Instead of having to get out of bed, can your husband get up to retrieve the baby, so you're not standing up constantly?
Can you learn to nurse side-lying, so you can doze while baby is latched?
Think coping, not fixing. Think surviving, not thriving.
Once home though I do want to try pumping before I go to bed and have my husband, who goes to bed later than me, give her a bottle once she starts to fuss the first time to give me that 2-4 hour stretch I need.
Yes, yes, yes - a million times yes to this! This is a great idea! And then he needs to do that for a few weeks straight.
Assuming that you can't FORCE another human being to go to sleep -
what else can you do to take care of YOU, and help you get the rest that you need?