5 month old awake at least 5 times per night!

[ShrimpMumma]

My baby will be 6 months old in 2 weeks time. He used to sleep soundly from 10pm until 4am, wake up for a feed and then go back down until around 8am. For the past couple of days he won't sleep longer than 2 hours without a feed. He seems to be developing a pattern of waking at 12, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9am, give or take half an hour! He's also waking in between these times just crying for his dummy.
We share a room but not a bed, he's exclusively breastfed.
I've read that 5 month olds are perfectly capable of sleeping through the night and if they're waking and unable to get back to sleep without nursing it is just for attention rather than hunger. I also read that it may be helpful to wean night feeds. How is this even possible? My baby would just scream until he's fed and I don't intend on letting him scream as he seems hungry at every feed. Im exhausted and feeling like a bit of a failure. Any advice would be helpful please?

Some can some can't

I'm a year and a half in and nine still wakes 5 times a night

Do whatever gets you through the night

Five months is also a bit young for night weaning, when baby is older it can be the right time but it's the fastest way of getting little one back to sleep and through regressions and leaps at the moment plus I always think I often wake and face a drink/snack at night, why do we expect a baby to go 12 hours without anything ....

Mine in 10 months old and sometimes still wakes up for. A feed. She used to sleep through perfectly, but it will pass - just like you're little one. You're not a failure, you're doing a great job.

I've read that 5 month olds are perfectly capable of sleeping through the night and if they're waking and unable to get back to sleep without nursing it is just for attention rather than hunger.

Yes, 5 month olds are perfectly capable of not needing calories in the night.

Your night time breastfeed is not for calories, neither is it for attention. It's purpose is comfort. While your baby doesn't need calories, he does need comfort in order to go to sleep.

Comfort is a basic human need, like sleep and calories. So unless you have an alternate way to comfort baby that is not breastfeeding, the night feeds are necessary.

I'd suggest you work on finding a different way to comfort baby. That might mean cuddling, rocking, cosleeping. Or you could go for independent comfort mechanisms like dummy, comforter toy and in-cot settling like patting and shushing. These are all likely to involve crying though.

5 months is a crazy time in development - mine was up that much at that age too, also BF back to sleep each time. We co slept from about midnight to get through, so he was used to going to bed in his own cot but I wasn’t up and down all night long. When he started sleeping longer we phased out the co sleeping. And you’re not a failure! Never measure success as a parent by how well or badly baby sleeps. (Never try to measure success as a parent full stop - everyone is winging it!)