My 5-month old DD has generally been a fairly good sleeper (growth spurts excepted!). She goes down at 7-7.30pm with no trouble, we wake her for a final bottle feed at 10.30-11pm (she is bf the rest of the time), then usually sleeps to between 3.30-4.30am, bf, then back down for another 2-3 hours. The last few nights however, she has started waking earlier, 3am, then last night 2.15am, so after failing to get her to settle I've fed her but then she has decided to play for a couple of hours! She is not distressed or crying, just playing happily (and very noisily) in her cot in our room. This is driving me and DH insane - he has to work, and I have got used to a reasonable nights sleep! Plus after an hour or two playing she does start to get upset (overtired?), and I struggle to get her to drop off again - I've tried feeding, cuddling, getting her into the bed, but she is very restless. She has eventually gone off after about 3 or 4 hours awake.
She naps during the day, usually half an hour in the morning, then anything between one and two hours between 1-3pm, then awake through until bedtime. She has generally been good at self-settling, with the exception she likes a dummy during the day to help her drop off. I've always been careful to make sure she is a least slightly awake when putting her down after a feed.
Any idea why she has suddenly decided 3am is playtime? And what can I do - just hope and pray it is a phase she will quickly come out of? We started weaning yesterday (unrelated to the sleep issue), not sure if this will help or not though?