4.5 month old routine changed...

Xander seems to be doing a few 'new' things as of late.. I can't figure out if he is getting sick, or teething or who knows? He was vaccinated 2 weeks ago, and his head has felt very hot to touch since then (but he doesn't have a temp if I take his temperature). He has also suddenly stopped sleeping through the night and cries a little even in his sleep... when he wakes it escalates to some serious wailing which can only be calmed by offering him a BF - which usually turns into a comfort suck after about 10mins ;) . He'll drift off again, but wakes as soon as I put him back down in his cot (he never did this before) and I've spent several nights co-sleeping for an hour here or there until I can get him back into his cot again.
He is chewing and dribbling on everything in site, but his gums don't look red or anything - tho I can see the teeth clearly in his gums. During the day he has been grumpier than usual and very clingy to me. It has been hot in Perth, but I've kept him cool with the air con and dips in our spa.

Is this normal behaviour at this age or do I need to see a Dr?

From what I've heard on here, its extremely normal for a 4.5 - 5 month old to dramatically change their temperment as well as sleeping patterns. Its all explained in the book the Wonder Weeks & someone else will probably be able to explain it better :)

Anna, I'm going through the exact same thing with Nina, so it's probably normal. I too have had to co-sleep lately and during the day she's very cranky. Nights are a hassle too. Feeding every 2-3 hours and around twice a night at different times she'll wake up and become really unsettled and it'll take us over an hour to settle her, normally resulting in bringing her into bed with us.
I have the Wonder Weeks book but haven't had a chance to read the 16 week growth spurt info. I'll have a read and hopefully some of what she's doing will make some sense.
Good luck with Xander.

A lot of Mums have reported their bubs beginning to wake during the night again around the 4 month mark.

The belief I am lead to believe, is that with the 4 month mark they are learning a whole new bag of skills, and their little brains are just in overdrive.
Remember when you used to study for an exam...and when you tried to go to sleep your brain wouldn't shut down...apparently its kinda like that for the babies.

Good luck!!

Spot on chrissyt!!!!

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From what I've heard on here, its extremely normal for a 4.5 - 5 month old to dramatically change their temperment as well as sleeping patterns.

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That explains why I hardly recognise my son at the moment... he is just such a different baby to the one I had gotten to know up until this point in time.
The brain in overdrive makes a lot of sense - but it doesn't help stop me feeling like I'm doing something wrong at the moment. I just can't seem to make him happy for more than a short period of time.

I think it's known as a "growth spurt".
I'm not sure where I read it - but someone printed all the "troublesome" months... you could maybe do a search for growth spurt on bellybelly and see if you can find anything?

Do you post in your "belly Belly" buddies who have babies born in the same month?
If not, you might want to check it out and see if other babies are going through the same things...

My baby is 7 months old... and is still waiting for his first tooth... although he chewed and dribbled non-stop from 3 months. Every day I thought a tooth would pop through! And he didn't sleep well for his first 6 months. So I can't be much help personally.

Another help might be the book: "what to expect...in their first year". This book has been really helpful for me because it's so big, and the index is great when there are specific things you want to look up. It also does month-by-month analysis so you know what to expect in advance.

good luck. Don't stress too much.