Bit confused as to what is going on?

Hi

Couple of new things are happening with my almost 5 month old with feeding that I would like some feedback on please so i can understand what is happening at this stage.

1) he has stared waking up in the middle of the night again. He is not doing this every night but just every few nights. He is fed at about 10.30pm each night and normally slept through until between 6-7am however over the last few weeks has woken every few nights at 3.30/4am. I haven't tried to resettle him but have fed him when this happens - should I be trying to resettle before offering a feed or just offering the feed? Also any ideas why he would wake some nights and not others?

2) As most of the time he is not good at giving signs that he would like to be fed ( i put this down to me having to wake him every 3 hours to feed for first 8 weeks or so due to him being sleepy baby so I don't think he ever learnt how to let me know - just my theory could be wrong) so at 5 months if he hasn't given me sign how often should I offer during the day? I think he will feed better the hungrier he is - see next points. Does this sound reasonable?

3) at some of his feeds he has started whinging slightly when feeding. He will stay attached but give tiny little cries. Sometimes then he drops the nipple and jumps back on and other times he pulls away from the breast with the nipple still in his mouth. Is he frustrated? He appears to be sucking fairly hard (can be painful at times when he gets on first of all on the right breast in particular). Would he be having having an issue with flow or supply?

4) at other feeds he will feed for a little while (few minutes) then take himself off and lie accross my legs and arch his back throwing his head over my legs. He doesn't appear to be in pain or distressed just stiffens his whole body and lies there looking around. Is this just distraction? Or could something else be causing it. How long should I leave him do this for before I give up and assume he has finished feeding. I normally try to get him up and burb him in case he has some wind and then try for a few minutes to get him to reattach. Anything else I should be doing? Is he not hungry enough to do proper feed so just a little bit hungry rather than very hungry IYKWIM?

Sorry know there is a few different things here but he seems to be going through a lot of changes at the moment so trying to get straight in my head (if that is possible with a baby) as to what is happening? FWIW his sleep pattern is also all over the place. Some days he will do long sleep in the morning and other days will just do little catnaps during the day.

Any feedback advice on any of my questions would be appreciated.

Cheers

Short answer - these sorts of irregularities and changes to routine are pretty common at this age. I think the best thing is to keep following bub's cues and just do whatever seems to work best.
DS got very distracted when feeding from around 4 months and I had to feed him in a quiet, darkened room. He also got a lot faster to feed - often would only feed for 2-3 minutes tops and the change was all of a sudden.
And sometimes they like to make up feeds during the night (which is great, hey?)

All the best~~

Hun, you are doing a really great job. There are so many things going on with babies at this age. Their brains are going through a rapid period of development, they are really alert and suddenly much more aware of everything around them, and they are gearing up to become mobile.

Often babies who have been sleeping through start waking at that age, and those that were already waking wake more often. Much research has been done into this and it seems it's at least partly related to the neurological development. You will probably also find that the night wakings continue, or increase, once he is about ready to crawl, and again with standing, and at this age, if he's not already sitting this could be part of what is going on. When babies are approaching a new milestone, or have just learnt the new skill, instead of self-settling when they stir, they wake up fully to keep practising their new activity. This is really normal and is part of how they learn.

The fussing during feeds is another thing that is common at this age. It seems to be mostly related to distraction, as you have guessed. Sometimes mums find that feeding in a quiet, darkened room can help, and feeding in a warm bath can also work. Often a breastfeeding necklace to keep the baby's focus on you helps too. If all else fails, babies generally feed better when sleepy at this age, so feeding Sam before he's fully awake, or as he's dozing off, or even during his light sleep cycle can work. It can be very worrying to know whether they are getting enough milk - but rest assured babies will drink what they need at that age. They are very effective at draining the breast quickly so he is probably getting more milk than you realise.

It sounds to me like you are doing a great job of knowing when to feed Sam. Babies are often hungry before they show the real signs of hunger so most mums are in the same position that you are. If it has been more than three hours since Sam fed, or if he shows any signs, or if it is nap time (see the point above about feeding when sleepy), then offering a feed is a good idea. You might even offer a feed because you'll be going out soon and now is convenient. There is no harm in offering - if he doesn't want it he won't take it. And if you don't offer in time he will show you sooner or later that he's hungry. Just keep going with what's working for you hun - you really are doing very well.

Just wanted to say that you have nothing to worry about, as the other ladies have said this is all fairly normal.

My DS started sleeping through at around 3 months. But when we got to 5 months that all went out the window :wall: I was sooo disappointed, I had thought that once we got him sleeping through that was it, unfortunately not. He did get his first two teeth and 5.5months, so I thought that was probably the cause. Could your LO be teething? But even now at nearly 7.5 months he wakes up at least once most nights. Occassionally (maybe once or twice a week) he will sleep through. But like MR said, I think it all has to do with the rapid development.

We also had similar challenges with feeding at around that time (and still do). They're so much more alert that they are so easily distracted (and feeding can be quite boring now). I find that if there is any noise or anyone else in the room DS will come off to have a look around. I usually just work with him, let him check out what is going on and then guide him back. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. When it doesn't I just figure that he isn't all that hungry and go with him.