4*1/2 Month Wont Go to Sleep.

I wonder if he is going through a growth spurt. My kids always seemed to be more alert and more active for a couple of days leading up to a growth spurt. Also, since you are feeding him rice cereal now and possibly formula (not sure if you are supplementing with formula right now), consider the possibility of acid reflux or some kind of food intollerance. If that is a problem for him, that could cause some discomfort when he is lying down in bed.

It could be that you might be about to get your period. I always noticed a drop in my supply right before my period with my son. And they say that sometimes the milk tastes different.

You might also back off the cereal. It could be upsetting his system. From what you are saying his disruption started about the same time you started solids. Please take the time to google open gut as it relates to babies. There is a very good reason to wait till 6 months before introducing solids, especially with a breastfed baby.

Just follow his lead and continue to soothe him as best you can.

Have you tried a night light? That helped my little one when we went through this.

Babies/ kids are all about phases. As soon as you figure out their schedule, they change it. This too shall pass. I know it is frustrating, but I wouldn't get int the habit of taking him for a ride in the car to get him to go to sleep. That's a slippery downhill slope. He's still pretty little. Just hold him or lay him down and rub his back, etc. Hopefully he'll be out of this phase sooner than later.

Babies go through many stages and changes in their sleep patterns for the first 2 years or even longer. You just figure out one schedule and then they do something different.

It is possible that a growth spurt could be making your little guy hungrier right now.

It's also possible that the waking is conncected to the introduction of the cereal, since they happened simultaneously. I recently read that hunger is actually satisfied for shorter periods of time by high-carb cereal than by high-protein milk, even though it seems that more "solids" should stay with them longer. I wonder what would happen if you go back to breast milk exclusively for awhile.

If hunger is waking him up when he'd rather be sleeping, he's probably pretty crabby. I sure would be. I hope you can figure out a solution that works for you both.

Kids have phases.... my 4 1/2 month old is doing the same thing, momma. All you can do is remember that it's impossible to get a baby to bend to YOUR schedule, so it's better (and less frustrating) to just be there for whatever they're going through. Mentally prepare yourself to adjust your schedule until they get through it.