The 5 month phenomenon - no sleep, fussy feeding anything else

[Pheebe]

This isn't really a request for help but more a point of interest. My ds was born at the end of September and so has just turned 5 months. Tracking through alot of past threads I've noticed what seems to be a '5-month phenomena' where bubs seem to go all fussy with their food, change their sleeping patterns, sometimes dramatically and all in all seem to regress several weeks. My ds went from a baby who would drink 6-7 ounces at a time every 3-4 hours, napped regularly and well, although not for long, and slept 10-12 hours stright with 1 dream feed and the occasional early morning wake up from which he easily settled back often on his own. He's now difficult to settle, day or night, wakes freqently in the night and fusses continuously on his bottle, frequently spitting it out, crying and trying to chew on it, sometimes only taking a couple of ounces. Although we've had the added complication of a nasty bout of gastroenteritis, there still seems to be a definite pattern here.

I'd be interested to know why this might be, how other MNers have coped with this stage, and how long its likely to last.

[elliesmoomoo]

I think there is something in it. 5 months seems to be a comman age for things to go awry. People give many explanations :

1. Teething
   
2. Need for solids (contraversial!!!)
   
3. Growth Spurt
   And many more buts its hard to know which applies to you lil one. I have started putting DD down to sleep awake. And a very rigid bedtime routine. But as yet no effect on her waking 3-5 times a night. She too was an angel up to a few weeks ago.

[highlander]

DS cut teeth at 5 months, went through a lot of developmental milestones and had a growth spurt. Fussy feeding, daytime naps dropping to 30 mins, suddenly waking up a few times in the night etc etc. He's 23 weeks now and is settling again. I tried a bit of rice cereal for tea but it only made him constipated

If he wakes in the night I always give him a bit of booby. I think his body and mind are going through a lot, that I'm just 'going with it' and not worrying too much about the waking.

The only thing I'm quite rigid about is making sure he gets his naps during the day. He gets pretty pooped after 2 hours so I always try and get him down for a nap.

[bobbybob]

I think the books should mention this phenomenon. So much energy goes into worrying about this stage and trying to solve it.

[highlander]

last night was the second night in a row (after an unsettled month) that's he's only woken once for the magic booby.

I'm sure it's a funny wee stage they got through. Isn't regression of this sort common at 1 year as well?

[TracyK]

Just wait ladies - the 5 month stage reappears at 7 months, 10 months etc. Although they do go through good phases too - but I've learned to enjoy the good phases and 'go with the flow' when they regress. Neither phases last very long so not worth worrying about.
I can look back at my old postings and laugh at how stressed I was with sleeping/feeding etc.