Does teething cause night wakings?

[boykelso]

My son is 6.5 months old and recently started waking in the night with what sounds like a near scream.

He started sleeping in his own room 10 days ago.  The first night, I put him down drowsy, he fussed a little an hour in, then slept for 10 hours straight.  I didn't want to get my hopes up and I'm glad I didn't, as now he's waking 4-5 times a night.

He's a textbook/angel baby, which makes the recent fussiness all the more confusing!  He eats solids 2-3 times a day and seems to have a little gas, but nothing painful.  He chews on everything he can get his little hands on.  Perhaps he's teething?

He transitioned himself from 3 to 2 naps over the last three or so weeks and consistently gets two naps in.  Here's a fairly typical routine:

8:30 - wake up
11:30 - 13:15 - sleep
16:30 - 18:15 - sleep
21:30 - bed time

He used to sleep through for 9 or 10 hours, or maybe wake up once/twice for a night feeding.

My concerns are...
- could teething cause this much discomfort?
- we swaddle during naps but not at night.  He enjoys his swaddle.  Should we discontinue it?

Thank you for your help!!!

[Katet]

It could be gas... Hard to judge if it's painful in another person... My DS1 slept poorly after all orange coloured veg... Stopped carrot sweet potato and pumpkin and he slept better.
Teething can also be very disturbing and often worse in the week/weeks before you see a tooth come through.

[cath~]

I found it can be really hard to work out exactly what the cause is but I think yes teething is certainly a possibility from what you've described, especially at this age.  We'd get those kinds of NWs when a tooth was close to cutting through.  Hopefully a tooth will pop through soon and that's the cause. 

[boykelso]

Thank you for the responses.  I've been hoping for a tooth, but since it's been two weeks that leads me to believe it's the carrot and sweet potato soup his dad is making him during the day.  I wonder if the gas is painful then.  He has been whining quite a bit but it usually happens when I walk away, so I thought it could be separation anxiety.

[Katet]

He's on the young side for SA but it could be,  but if he's uncomfortable then being close to the primary attachment in times of pain is also a factor.

Does the soup have any stock in if that could have salt? As salt can be problematic in babies also some combinations can upset them... It's definitely worth introducing a new single food every 3 days and stopping that food if there is change in anyway.

[boykelso]

There’s no stock in the soup. I think it’s a puree of carrot, sweet potato, parsley, and either lamb or chicken. My husband cooks it with onions but takes them out before blending it.

We’re in such a treacherous cycle now. DS only wants me to comfort him, not my husband. I used to be able to put him down in his crib for the night and he would fall asleep by himself. But now for nights and naps, the only way I can get him to sleep is by nursing. I don’t know where to start in fixing this

[Katet]

Did you test each component separately as if he's getting wind one of the foods could be an issue.
Also what are his bowel movements like?

In terms of comfort it's the primary attachment and if he is struggling at bedtime it could be so many factors.  If your DH used to be able to but him down, he still should be able to but you probably need to tweak how you do it. Do you have rituals for bedtime eg reading stories cuddles etc. They are never to young to have stories and it's a great ritual to indicate a transition time.
One of the reasons we end up nursing to sleep is we kind of get impatient about getting them to sleep and struggle with crying if they don't settle easily (I know I fell into that) so it's super important to have good calming rituals. AND being prepared to accept some days they struggle and need extra comfort and it can take an hour.

[boykelso]

Nope, we didn’t and we definitely should have. We’ll stick to oatmeal for a few days to let his system recover... that’s never given him any trouble.

I’ve been doing a routine for a couple months, but maybe it’s not long enough? We do a diaper change, darken the room, then read a book, then swaddle. It takes about 7-8 mins. I struggle so much with getting him to nap during the day. He wants to suck like a four week old. I have a love bite on my arm because he was so insistent yesterday!