4 month old was sleeping at night now not argh!

[hettie]

hi there,
delightfuly my ds was sleeping 7.30 pm till 5-5,30 am. But since monday this has gone horribly wrong. last night he woke 12.30, 2.30, 4.30 and 5ish. Also really really hard to settle (very unlike him), screaming tears etc
I think he might be teething- lots of drool, chewing on fist, what looks like white dot under gum..... So it wouldn't be suprising that he can't sleep. My question is do people think this might be the case and if so does it last? I mean will he go back to normal when tooth is not so sore, or will I have to think about helping him to learn to setlle again 9and if so how as he seemed to do it for himself last time)

Hi Hettie
Yes, it does sound like teething.
My DD was having some of the same symptoms at that age, though her first tooth only came through at 6.5months.
Don't worry, it's only a stage and will probably be quite short lived.
Babies seem to go through many good and bad stages in their sleep depending on teething, growth spurts etc.
I'm afraid that the best thing you can do for him is be supportive and understanding. The phase will pass and your little angel will return...until the next phase!!!

Good luck

hettie, definitely sounds like teething.

To add to what Ruth has said, others may disagree, but I would give your LO some calpol tonight if it happens again, at the first waking, or even at bedtime (pre-emptive strike...!). For both my two, a dose of painkiller has helped them to resettle, and then sleep through to normal time again. After all, if you had a tooth ache, you'd be upset, and would take an aspirin. Neither of them has needed to learn how to settle again after teething troubles - once the pain goes, he probably won't wake up anyway.

I agree with Ms Hippo - sounds like teething to me. At 4 mths babies can confuse the hell out of you as teething and signs of weaning can both keep them awake - this does sound like teeth though.
If you've already bought calpol or something similar, you bought it for a reason. If your baby is uncomfortable then personally I would use some - even if its just half a dose just to see. If in doubt, use some gel - if that calms him down then it is highly likely it is teeth , then use calpol. Sometimes their mouths are so sore they might not let you put a spoon near then, so you could use something like Medised where you can put some into a small amount of milk in a bottle.
Once it starts, teething is going to last months - but don't worry, it does come and go and you do get used to your babies symptoms (they can differ from baby to baby and from what the books tell you. My DD always gets really clingy!). Once you get over that initial "what the hell is this", "what should I do", you will relax and take it in your stride.

I've mixed milk with calpol and medised (not at the same time!). Or you can get a little syringe thing from the chemist that you can squirt. Works much better than a spoon in the middle of the night. Medised is great too because it has painkiller and sedative, so actually helps them get back off to sleep. I find it takes about 20 mins to kick in. I took it myself the other night when I woke with a really horrible cough that just wouldn't stop - worked for me too!

Just wanted to let you know that my fantastic sleeping routine also went out of the window around 4/5 months...He suddenly started waking up multiple times in the night and not being his usual little happy self at all. He too was drooling like a machine and I spotted a tell tale little white dot on the gum. I hung on in there and after just under two weeks things got back to normal. I think it was a combination between teething and a growth spurt...hang on in there it will get better!