Help please! 4mo waking frequently with horrible crying/coughing/gagging

[babydriver]

Hi, for the last week, ten days or so, DS2 has increasingly been waking up suddenly, with a mixture of what sounds like crying and coughing and gagging. He coughs and coughs but doesn't really bring much up, but also sounds a bit like he's gagging. Sometimes there's a burp in there but not always. He seems upset too but will usually soon settle again once I've picked him up. (If I leave him, I worry he will choke.)

During the day he's fine and he doesn't have a runny nose and doctor says his chest and nose are clear. his throat sounds a bit rattley but I don't know if it's mucus or milk. The waking usually happens at about 20mins after being put down, then at 45mins, and then sometimes as frequently as hourly through the night.

His cot is propped up, olbas oil and medised don't seem to make a difference & have tried 4 diff homeopathic remedies too to no avail. It also happens when sitting up too (eg today in his car seat).

Any idease??? I really need to get a bit of uninterrupted sleep, and so does DS2!!

Teething possibly? Then it could be mucus in his throat as they can produce more when teething. The pain from teething tends to be worse when lying down.

I'm assuming here that you haven't started weaning, so we don't need to consider that food is hurting him.

Nope, certainly not weaning yet! Getting a bit of fist in mouth during the day but not heavy duty so I hadn't thought of teeth yet really but I guess it's possible.

If anyone has any possible solutions, I'd love to find them. Just been up to settle DS2 after his latest bout, which involved him crying/coughing until he was sick - no fun for either of us.

Could it be reflux? It can come up through the oesophagus and hit the back of the throat, making baby cough and gag. If it's acid reflux it will be painful, hence the crying.

I wondered about that, but would it not have started earlier?

Not necessarily. Funny thing, reflux. It may be that he's had it all along, but it hasn't been coming up with enough force to hit the back of the throat. His muscles are getting stronger now. Reflux often peaks around the 4-5 month mark. It might be worth getting him checked out. What's his feeding been like, on the whole?

What did he bring up when he was sick?

If you suspect he is being choked by plegm then try humidifying the room.

Thanks for responding.

When he was sick, it was very liquid - looked like milk coming back. Not curdled, clotted or whatever.

He was a bit better last night. Don't know if the teething remedy has helped or if it was just a good night. We'll see how it goes tonight I guess.

Useful to know about the reflux peaking at this age. If things don't improve in the next few days then I might see if I can find out more about that.