5.00 wakings for 15 month old - advice?

[systemsaddict]

Hi, my lovely 15 month old ds has woken up between 4.30 and 5.30 all week. He has been sleeping through for ages. We did do some sleep training around 7 months because he was waking every 2 hours and once he'd learned to get himself off to sleep on his own he slept through, sometimes with a slight stirring early am. He is now waking in distress, he is desperate to get back to sleep but can't settle until we give him Calpol, so something is hurting or uncomfortable somewhere. Maybe teeth? Once he's had the Calpol he then sleeps late (till 10.15 this morning!) after all the exhaustion of the crying. But then he's absolutely fine all day. No temperature or anything either, though he has a slight cold (as usual).

So my question is:

Do we just go in and give him Calpol as soon as he wakes up? How long can this go on for? Like I say, it's been a week, I don't just want to keep giving him medicine long-term. I've been trying everything else to settle him (milk, cuddles, leaving him for a bit, taking him into our bed, ...) but it's only the Calpol that works.

Don't really want to take him in to GP when he's so chirpy and very obviously healthy the rest of the time, it's embarrassing to seem like a neurotic mother! But don't want to miss anything important either ...

If it is teeth, it would be his final set of back molars - there are lumps and ridges there now but no pointy bits. He has been chewing things on and off, and signing 'hurts' and pointing to his cheek in the day sometimes, but not when he's crying in the night - he doesn't sign anything then, which is rather unhelpful!

Any thoughts?

[systemsaddict]

anyone?

[francagoestohollywood]

Gosh, I don't know... mainly because both my two didn't seem to be bothered that much by teething... or blocked nose?
You said that he has a slight cold, can't it be a bit of earache, possibly combined with the teething?
However, like you said, I wouldn't want to give him Calpol for longer... have you got a nice HV you can talk to?

[francagoestohollywood]

sorry blocked nose should have been next to earache

[systemsaddict]

thanks franca, good idea my hv is lovely, might give her a ring tomorrow just for advice. Wondered about ear but when he's had ear infections before he has SCREAMED - this is more that he is whimpering and can't settle - though of course it could be a milder one ...

[systemsaddict]

Well there is a bit of gunge in his usual bad ear this evening, so mystery seems to have solved itself! Once the gunge appears the pain has normally gone so fingers crossed for a quiet night ... Now just need to decide whether to take him to GP for yet another course of precautionary antibiotics or whether to do 'watchful waiting' - the more I read up on ear infections, the more antibiotics every time seems to be seen as unnecessary.

[francagoestohollywood]

I'll get the ears checked then. Yes, my gp is not keen on prescribing a/b for earache...