is this a growth spurt for 5 and half month old?

[londongirl]

HI
I have started my DS on cereal in the last few weeks twice a day.  he seems to enjoy it and gets very excited when he sees the bowl and wolfs it down.  he was having a dream feed at around 10/11pm and then would go through till about 4.30am when i would have to give another feed.  now he also waking at around 2am, and then again around 4.30am.  today (half an hour  ago in fact) i tried offering water but that didnt do the trick so i offered milk and he drank about 4 ounces.   he has in the last few weeks been drinking more at night, but i want to discourage this so he drinks more in the day.   im really not sure what is going on. he is dribbling like crazy, but no teeth yet.  he sleeps on his tummy and can roll over easily. he self soothes by putting his two fingers in his mouth.   
So the problem is that as well as a dream feed he is now also having one or two more feeds during the night.  i thought that starting cereal would help. i worry about overfeeding him. at the moment he is having about one or two tablespoons of cereal mixed with milk, i have also started veggies. Can that be causing any probs??? should i give more cereal? how much is the right amount?
thanks in advance for any advice. you would think this is my first child from all the questions but its amazing how having another baby  wipes out the memory!!


here is our routine:
6am milk
7.30am cereal
8am Sleep for 1.5-2 hours
10am milk
11.30 Sleep sleep for 1.5- 2 hours
2pm milk
3.30pm cereal
4pm Sleep for about 45mins - 1 hour.
5.30pm bath
6pm milk and bed soon after
10.30pm dreamfeed

[lilac83]

Hi -

Have you noticed the cereal or veggies giving him extra gas? Have his BM's remained pretty normal and routine?

He could be having his 6mos growth spurt a bit early, but usually that only lasts for 2-3 nights and then things should be back on track. His day is perfect, there should be nothing wrong with his routine. The only thing I could possibly suggest from that is to keep that catnap no longer than 45min.

Has he recently met a new milestone that could be interrupting his sleep?

[londongirl]

doesnt  appear to have any gas and is fine in day.  its just at night.  last night again.  woke for feed at 10pm, then woke again at 2ish for another feed. then was fussing and awake at 4am till 5am. i offered water and he had a couple of ounces. finally he went back to sleep at 5am and slept till 6.45am.   he is starting to get up on all fours and trying to crawl. that is the only milestone i can think of.

[lilac83]

He's probably getting ready to drop that catnap. Unsettled early mornings are usually a sign that they had too much day sleep. Do you think you could start pushing his morning A time a bit? As A times lengthen that catnap will get shorter and shorter until he won't need it anymore. It will probably be fully dropped in about a month, so this doesn't have to be a fast process. However, as he gets more A time during the day he shouldn't have to wake in the early mornings to find it. I hope that makes sense?

Have you noticed him trying to crawl in his crib? New milestones like that can cause a bit of sleep disruption as well.

[londongirl]

yes, he is up and on all fours   a lot now..... he woke at midnight for his feed last night (no dream feed as i had already gone to sleep) and then again at 4.30.  he was awake for ages but i mostly ignored him and eventually he fell asleep at 5.30, just in time for the older two to come in and tell me it was morning.  How long should he be awake now in the day? he manages a good two hours plus in the morning but less time for the second A period.
Thanks for the advice. :-)

[lilac83]

Most 5mos olds can handle about 2hr15. Between 4-6mos A time seems to increase pretty rapidly for most LO's. By the time he's 6mos he may be able to handle 2hr30min and by the time he's 7mos he could be ready to drop the catnap completely and have 3hr A time.

If he's already a bit over 2hr for his first A time, I would concentrate on extending the second A time a bit. You don't need to push him too much, an increase of just 10min should be enough and then wait a few days to see how he handles it. As the A times increase, his catnap should keep getting shortened. Once it hits about 15min you can decide if that 15min is worth it or you can do early bedtime for a bit until he can handle the day with just the 2 naps.