5 month old suddenly waking 3 times per night

[Omacdee]

Hi,
Apologies if this is a constantly covered question but I can't find our exact problem in the posts (could also be sleep deprivation!)

Our LO has been on EASY since birth and generally was a great sleeper at night waking only once and even a few times sleeping right thru. Dream feeds never worked so he would usually wake around 2/3am for a feed but otherwise sleep from 7.30/8pm until 6.30am. Over the past 3 weeks and following a bad head cold (which may also have been early teething symptoms) he has started to wake 3 times a night.

At 2 of these (11pm and 4am) he was literally looking for comfort and falls back asleep as soon as the bottle was in his mouth but at 2 am he will take nearly a full bottle (approx 5oz). Over the past few nights we have stopped giving him any bottle at the feeds where he wasn't actually hungry. At 11pm he roars for about an hour (PU/PD) and then falls asleep, at 4 am this takes about 5 mins. We delayed starting this little bit of tough love for fear of his crying waking our 2 year old so we may have helped reinforce the bad behaviour somewhat. She also was on EASY but she slept thru the night from 11 weeks so this is all new! We also decided to stick with giving him the 2am feed rather than trying to instigate the DF at 11 as this was when he seemed to naturally be hungry but maybe we should insist on food at 11pm and do PU/PD at 2am instead?

His current schedule looks something like this:
E 6.30am 3-4oz
A 7am- 8.30
S 8.30-10am
E 10am 5oz
A 10.30-12
S 12-1.30
E 1.30 5oz
A 2-3.30
S 3.30-4.15
E 5pm (tends to only take 3oz)
E 6.30 6oz
S 7.30pm

I should mention that he will also wake around 9pm but a little pat and he generally goes back til 11.

Any advice would be great.

[Omacdee]

Sorry I should also say that he settles himself to sleep really easily during the day with a pacifier and holding a blanket. He generally spits out the soother before he actually nods off. No shushing or PU/PD required. During the NW he roars when we offer the soother in place of the bottle. He might take it eventually and then start to calm or he will calm down without but it's not consistent.

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun, i would say it could be hunger. If you fed him at 11 did he take a full bottle or just went back to sleep? If he didn't take a full bottle than you could be right it's not hunger. But there is a GS around 6 months so it's not uncommon for lo's to go from one feed at night to two. But what you are doing by not feeding him at all wakings is great. A rule of thumb I use is if I resettle and they go back to sleep and don't wake with in 30min then it probably wasn't hunger. Your easy actually looks really good so it's hard to pin point what the cause of it is. If you think maybe teeth ahve you tried giving dream meds? Maybe give meds before you go to sleep while he's still sleeping to see if that makes a difference in the waking?

I would think at this age if he eats at 6:30 a full bottle he could last until 10:30/11 but then the 11 could be hunger then 3/4 would be the next feeding and last one. Do you think he could just be hungry at 11 and would take a full bottle then sleep?

[Omacdee]

Hi Siobhan,
Thanks for getting back to me and apologies for delay in responding - our Internet was down! I don't think it is hunger - at the later feeds he was only taking 20ml and falling back to sleep. Also during the day he wasn't taking the full bottle - maybe only 4oz. I have persevered with only feeding him once during the night and extended his daytime feeds to every 4 hours. He is definitely taking the bottle better during the day (up to 6/7oz) and at night wakes around 12.30am for a full bottle and then at 4am when he just seems to have a wakeful period (not hungry and can last an hour or more). 
I think I just have a wakeful little man. He is unbelievably cheerful and content so I suppose they get you some other way!
Thanks again,
Sarah

[Skadiver13]

Hi Sarah what's your EASY look like now? If he's happy at that 4am waking I'm wondering if he is UT.

[Omacdee]

Hi Skadiver,
I think just posting resulted in everything being thrown on its head! For the past 2 nights he has woken very hour to half hour from 10.30 until 5am. 

I think he's teething but he's fine all day and not miserable at night just edgy. Last night we gave him neurofen at 5am and he slept until 8 this morn. Prior to that he had woken every half hour from midnight until 5am. I dont have a problem giving him meds if he needs them but he has been teething for weeks now with no sign of any teeth so I'm worried that he would end up needing meds every night which is not a road i want to go down.  During the day he settles with the dody in his mouth but usually spits it out before he actually falls asleep and then resettles himself after 45 mins to sleep for 1.5hours so I don't believe it's a prop.

His normal schedule is
7am wake and bottle
8.45/9am - 10.30am sleep
11am eat solids plus bottle
1pm - 2.30 nap
3pm bottle
4pm-4.20/30 catnap
6.30 bottle
7pm bed
10.30 bottle

I know i have a gap in time from his waking until I feed him during the day but he actually eats better on a 4 hourly schedule. When he was on 3.5 hours he might only take 3-4 oz where on the 4 hourly he'll take 6oz and sometimes even 7.

From 10.30 it's anyone's guess. He seems to do his big sleep straight after the 7pm bottle so if he wakes at 10.30 then he will be unsettled for the rest of the night. He's now 5 months and up until about 3.5 months he was sleeping from 7.30 until 3.30 and then from 4am until 7am. If he woke earlier (say 2am) he would be up at 6am so the earlier portion of the night was always his better time and hence why we never dream fed him.

Do you think he could be under tired?
Sarah

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun sorry, how are things going?

[Omacdee]

Hi Siobhan,
Still the same unfortunately.  I'm beginning to think that his night time wakings are down to insufficient calories but I can't get anymore food into him no matter what I try. He has gone from being on the 25th percentile in terms of weight to now being below the 9th. I'm headed back to work in 2 weeks so really need to get him sorted as creche wont make the same level of effort i would to get calories into him. Headed to another doc this morning to see if they have any ideas. Last one told me he was just a cranky baby!! Child does nothing but smile and gurgle all day long! Fingers crossed....

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun, what did the doctor think? Have you tried posting about his eating on the BF board?

[Omacdee]

Hi Siobhan,
We are sorted. Little man has reflux albeit only very slight which is why it only bothers him at night when hes lying flat for long periods. I suggested this to last doc but he didn't agree as little man wasn't crying in pain. Based on symptoms second doc agreed and since Tuesday with baby gaviscon he is only waking once for food and otherwise sleeping thru the night.  Symptoms only presented in March following his inoculations which is strange but he is definitely a different baby since Tues.
thanks for your help,
Sarah

[Skadiver13]

Great to hear.