5 mo NW. Not sure is paci is causing the problem or milestones

[Girlcrystal]

My ds is 5 months and 4 days old. About 1 month ago he started waking a lot in the night. I thought this was from a developmental milestone as he was just getting good at rolling over. He sleeps on his belly and can roll from belly to back easily. I know he could roll from his back to belly (strength wise) but he has not done it yet.

His A time is about 2 hrs and I am trying to bring it to 2.25 hrs now.
We have a bedtime and nap routine and he goes to sleep about 50% of the time by himself. The other 50% of the time I need to do some variation of the shush pat for a few minutes. His last nap (catnap) and bedtime seem to be the hardest to get him to go sleep by himself. He does not get a soother to fall asleep unless we are in the car or out and about.

His daytime naps are about 1.5 hrs though I am trying to get them to 2 hrs cause he tries to sleep for about 45-50 for his cat nap when I aim for 25 minutes as I don't want it affecting his night time sleep or bedtime.

For the last month he started waking around 1230am-2am. He rolls to his back and plays quietly in his crib. He plays with his hands and feet etc.  Once he wakes the 1st time he seems to wake almost every hour until morning. I don't go in and roll him over till he fusses cause I found that when I went in too early he would just roll back onto his back and play a bit more. Sometimes he is awake for not even 5 minutes before he fusses. He is so quiet when he wakes I don't always hear him right away. I do have a video monitor though so I can see him.

When I do go in and flip him over I give him the soother to go back to sleep. He falls asleep almost instantly.
Prior to his nw which started at 4 months he would start to wake only around 5-6 am and the soother would get him back to sleep quickly until morning. Could the soother be a prop or because he falls asleep generally independently could it be the culprit.

Also about 2 weeks ago he started waking 2-3 hrs after we put him to bed crying (has happened about 5 times now). Normally I can just go up and pick him up and soothe him could he be having night terrors already?

His bedtime is between 730-8pm and he wakes for the last time around 730am in the morning.

[Layla]

When I do go in and flip him over I give him the soother to go back to sleep. He falls asleep almost instantly.
Prior to his nw which started at 4 months he would start to wake only around 5-6 am and the soother would get him back to sleep quickly until morning. Could the soother be a prop or because he falls asleep generally independently could it be the culprit.

If you need to roll his and plug in the soother for him to get back to sleep, then imo you and the soother is a prop.

It could also be that he is in the 3-2 nap transition and here is a link which explains it better All about the 3-2 transition- 5/6 months

His daytime naps are about 1.5 hrs though I am trying to get them to 2 hrs cause he tries to sleep for about 45-50 for his cat nap when I aim for 25 minutes as I don't want it affecting his night time sleep or bedtime.

If he's sleeping 1.5hrs, that is a good enough nap and not sure how you would be able to extend it  . With the increased A times, you might find him taking longer naps. But even when he's down to 2 naps, if they are 1.5hrs each, which is considered restorative enough. What are his A times at the moment? Could you post your routine? It might be better to stretch the A times and as opposed to giving him a CN, doing an earlier bedtime?

Also about 2 weeks ago he started waking 2-3 hrs after we put him to bed crying (has happened about 5 times now). Normally I can just go up and pick him up and soothe him could he be having night terrors already?

Waking up and crying in the earlier part of the night meant overtired for us. Is he teething at all? Do you think he might be in pain?

[Girlcrystal]

He could definitely be teething but I think this teething may go on for a month or two more still.  His last couple of days have been really bad, as he is so tired from being up all night he can barely make a 2 hr A time.

Our routine for the last 2 weeks is close to this

Wake & E 730-8am
A
S 930/10am-11/1130am

E-1130AM
A
S 130/2-3:30/4

E 330/4
A
Catnap at 545/6- was ending close to 645:( ugg

A
Bath
Story and Bedtime 730-745-8 ish depending on when he woke up from last nap

His bedtime has gotten later as I am having trouble getting that cat nap in and end up fighting with him to go down for around 45 minutes.
Tonite I  ended up skipping catnap as my mom was watching him and couldn't get him sleep for half an hour so she got him up and continued on..

[Layla]

If he hasn't had a CN, are you doing an earlier bedtime? Try and aim for bedtime no more than 3hrs from when the last nap ended so if he's up at 3.30 from 2nd nap, put him down for the night at 6.30pm (to be asleep by). This is what I am doing at the moment with my LO, she is not yet 5mo but she's down to 2 naps and her A time before bed is 3hrs.