2 weeks of bad sleep so far

[Shelley B]

I need help, my 5 month old son started to wake about 4 times a night in the last 2 weeks. He normally only wakes for a feed once at about 4am. i have noticed that when he wakes all these extra times he is really crying and his eyes arent open. Its like he is crying i his sleep. I have started ignoring him and he will go quite after about 5 mins. Does anyone know why he could be doing this?? I thought he might be teething and feeling pain while he is asleep or something. He was such a good boy until this started, feels like Im looking after a new born again!

[Liz]

We had this, and it did turn out to be teeth. He almost sounded terrified, and when I picked him up he'd hang on to me for dear life! I couldnt' see any teeth coming.. but lo and behold a bit later they'd cut through (5 at once!)

Can you perhaps co-sleep for a few nights to see if he settles down? Co-sleeping was our saviour during periods like this.

[Shelley B]

I think you may be right, he is dribbling a bit and sucking his hands alot. I will try co-sleeping and see what happens. I cant see any teeth yet but I expect they will pop up very soon.

[Mellybubz]

I think he might be having a growth spurt. My sister (who is a midwife) told me to expect my baby to wake more frequently and want to feed more frequently around 6 weeks and again at about 5 months because of that reason.