5 month old suddenly waking every hour.

[KW89]

Hi, DS3 is 5 months old, he is formula fed. He's not been too bad a sleeper, the last two months or so he's been waking once or twice through the night, feeding and going back to sleep.
However the last week he's been waking around every hour, every two if we are lucky, I'm exhausted. He doesn't want feeding every time he wakes, often he'll settle if I just pop his dummy in, without me even picking him up, but it's just so constant.
He's not a great napper in the day, I know this probably doesn't help at night. He will only sleep on me in the day, I have tried putting him down awake for a nap in his crib, and his bouncy chair (won't go, will just scream) I've tried putting him down once asleep and he just wakes within 10 mins. If he sleeps on me he can sometimes sleep 1.5 hours. This is difficult tho as I do have 2 other children aged 4 and 2 who need me so sometimes baby has to go down.
His day pretty much goes like this
7am wake up
8am get dressed and have bottle.
(Mon, Weds, fri eldest gets dropped to preschool at 9.30)
10am nap
11am bottle
2am bottle (if it's a preschool day we need to pick up big brother at 2.30)
2.45 nap then usually finishes bottle.
6.15 bath and pyjamas.
6.45 story and then settled in bed by 7.30-8pm
Dreamfeed at 10pm.
The last couple of days he hasn't been taking his bottle as well during the day.
Please anything I can do?

Hold your nerve I think, so many phases with a baby of that age. May just stop doing it as suddenly as he started. Sorry cant be more constructive.

Did you go through the 4-month sleep regression with your other DCs? This sounds very much like that to me (it hit our DD at closer to five then four months). I have no advice unfortunately, just that if it is that, it does pass. For us the worst lasted around 10 days (waking 45 minutes all night) and after a month she was back to waking just once in the night. for you because it is EXHAUSTING. If you do have any support, make the most of it. Me and DH would sleep in shifts, me 9pm-2am, him 2am-7am.

DS1 was a great sleeper, was sleeping through at 12 weeks, at four months he would grizzle a couple of times through the night, but that would be it.
DS2 was not a great sleeper, from birth he'd be up a lot until he slept through consistently at 14 months, didn't notice any regressions with him.
I'll keep fingers crossed that it is that then and will pass soon.
I am lucky that DH does help as much as he can, though he works mon-fri and is up at 5.30 in the morning. X

Mine is doing this at the moment. He's nearly 5 months. Literally happened overnight. It's a massive difference from what we were used to. Fingers crossed its a phase which passes as quickly as it came. I'm trying to get him to settle himself.....as in once he's in his crib I don't get him out. But I don't leave him. I need him to know its sleep time and trying to teach him to do it himself. Moderate success so far. I will persist (unless I collapse with exhaustion first ).
Good luck.

Thanks! Good luck to you too!
Hoping it's a phase that will pass quickly, we were plodding along quite nicely on 1-2 wake ups a night. What I'd do to have those nights back! X

Ditto. May be a fluke but ds had his feed at 8.30. Put him down awake. It took him 30 mins of wriggling and grunting with me sat beside him, but eventually went to sleep by himself......he's still sleepingnow. I of course am wide awake!! He used to be able to self settle ish before this horrible phase, so hopefully he hasn't lost all of those skills? Or may need some gentle persuasion.
Sure it's a fluke. But I'm going to stick to it for naps and bedtime tomorrow. Hope your night isn't too shocking.

Yep I’m with you, DD is 5 and a half months and was an amazing sleeper and has been since about 8 weeks old. We’ve not changed anything in her routine! The last week has been tough, almost like the newborn phase again. I’m half tempted to try the old ‘sleep when the baby sleeps’ nap tomorrow as we aren’t going any where x

I was thinking maybe she is cutting a tooth, could your DS be teething?

Yes hazandduck I think he is. But it's hard to see and he won't let me touch his gums. Will try again tomorrow. Sure I can see white under gums.

My DD is the same, she’s got a new habit of squirming her head away if I try to look in her mouth or wipe her face! But I can see white under the gums. Poor little things :( x