Teething or weaning 'pain' probs- waking in the night sudden

[nikipowerssa]

I wondered if anyone had a similar experience to me.  I have managed to solve just about all my dd probs so far but this one has me stumped as there are too many reasons!  She has had a great routine of easy in the day then bath 6.30 and bed by 7pm.  She has been pretty much sleeping through each night with a dream feed at 10pm barring illness.  She began teething about a month ago with no sight of teeth coming through ( very red cheeks though and stuffs her hands in her mouth and moans).  Not every night but sometimes we have a horrendous night.  She will wake almost every hour.  It  is wierd because I can sometimes get her back to sleep by pressing or massaging her belly in the citbed without picking her up almost instantly and on other occasions, she goes out likew a light just by picking her up and holding her horizontal but belly crunched and pressed to mine.  Now I thought it could be trapped wind so I did  a thorough winding before putting to bed- she sometin=mes pumps on the wakings but this is not unusual and has recently done poos in the night ( she never did this before).  I have started to wean her - she is nearly24weeks and is only on rice as she brings up any solids immediately so I assumed she was not ready ( only tried pear and sweet potato with lote of milk mixed).  She wriggles like crazy usually on these nights- it was so wierd as she was flat out as I came in to give  the DF last night but as soon as I began she beagn wriggling like a fish then it was pain cries every hour until 6.30am!  Could this be because she is not ready to wean?  I only began as she was nearly 6 'months' by terms of weeks- she was not waking to ask for food.  Am concernd I may be doing the wrong thing by weaning- am confident with everything else, including teething as the symptoms are so clear.  Any advice?

[Mommy in Moose Jaw]

Hi there.  We just started solid foods at almost exactly 5 months.  I wanted to wait until as close to 6 months as possible.  Until that point, breast milk was completely satisfying to her, so I thought no point in trying.  Suddenly, no matter how much I tried to increase my supply, dd started waking a lot, especially early AM and naps went down the drain.  She wanted to eat every 3 hours again.  Also, she is about 18 pounds at five months, so physically fairly 'mature'.  These were clear signs she was needing more nourishment during the day.  Since we began solids (only interested in bananas) sleep has vastly improved.  Due to your lo's tummy troubles, I would suspect solids are a factor.  My dd also wakes at night (usually around 2am with some gas that is remedied with a pick up and snug hold belly to belly) which has started with solids, so I'm sure it will take some time for her digestive system to adjust.  She also has some teething symptoms recently that made for a terrible night or two.  I jsut made sure I stuck with a consistent response and things will improve for a day or two before new symptoms appear.  Nice to know others have similar experiences!

[nikipowerssa]

Hi and many thanks for the reply.  She is going through her 6mth growth spurt now so hopefully her digestive system will be maturing as a result.  We are sticking to baby rice and trying a little pear mixed with lots of rice and milk still.  The 'bad' nights are few and far between and cuddles are definately the order of the day for the teething and gas pains! X