5 month old - waking for feeds in the night - advice please!

[wickedfairy]

DS2 is 5 months and ebf - he was previously sleeping from ~11pm - 5am but for the past few weeks has been waking up every 2.5 - 3 hours for feeds. He feeds quickly and then goes back to sleep. I am knackered and I also have an older 2 children. DS1 slept through early and DD didn't sleep through until 9.5 months, I can't remember how often she woke though.

DH has suggested giving him a bottle of formula at night - I am not opposed to this idea, but was wondering whether we should hod off a little longer. He has one bottle of formula a week (I had to go back to work and DD would take no milk from a bottle ever, so nursery was a struggle). The one bottle is purely to keep him used to drinking from a bottle, for when I need to return to work.

So, do you think this night waking is a growth spurt? Or was his previous period of "sleeping through" a phase? Should I just continue as we are until 6 months when we start to wean and maybe introduce formula then?

You'd think I would know the answers or at least how to proceed aster 2 children already, but I don't!! Any advice is much appreciated! TIA

[noblegiraffe]

How do you know he is waking up for feeds and not simply waking up? If he feeds quickly, perhaps it's not a hunger waking and he could be settled in some other way? Perhaps your DH could give it a go, because if baby smells the milk, he may decide he wants some.

[moondog]

That's what babies do.
He's tiny. He needs feeding little and often.

[TinyTear]

There is a 4 month sleep regression, so maybe that came a bit later.
Besides my daughter is now 14 month and only down to one wake up a night...

Formula making them sleep is a myth...

[wickedfairy]

True Noble. He is still in our room, so when he wakes I get him up fairly quickly and he latches on quickly. Maybe I should leave him longer to see if he self settles....

Moondog, you are right of course! I think we got a bit over excited when he started sleeping really well and now he seems to have regressed. He probably hasn't and its just the general ebb and flow of things....

[AmandaPayneAteTooMuchChocolate]

Yes, if he's been like this a few weeks and is five months then I'd say it was the four month regression. Baby books lead you to believe that sleep is a linear progression (and somehow that's what sticks even when you have older children ) but actually it's an ebb and flow.

[MacMac123]

My 5 month old does the same thing and I feed her right away be becuasse she's a quick feeder and I just want to get back to sleep. I've wondered about leaving her to start crying/self settle but I never do as then I'd be there next to her stressing and would wake DH up.
I think they are still quite little and the end of night wakings must be in site now! Who knows! Not much help sorry but you're not alone!

[wickedfairy]

Thanks for all the advice! Will just muster on through in the hope he starts sleeping longer soon!

[Piemother]

This is what they do leading up to weaning. Dd1 drove me mad at 5.5 months waking constantly. HV told me to do nothing until weaning established. At 7 months she was back to sleeping through.
Dd2 is 5 months now and waking constantly....

[cakesonatrain]

What moondog said.

[CitrusyOne]

I agree with piemother

I'm having exactly the same thing with dd at the moment. She's 5 and a half months and EBF. She was sleeping 4 or 5 hour stretches but for the last couple of weeks has been up every two hours. Saw HV yesterday who said there's a massive growth spurt at 5 months and it should settle down in a few days. She said as long as baby is putting on weight still that it's not a sign they need weaning early.

At 4am though after countless wakings I was beginning to question my decisions, then I remembered that this too shall pass......