4 1/2 Month Old with Extreme Fussiness and Excessive Night Wakings

Well...first let me tell you a little about me. I'm a first time mom of a beautiful 8 month baby boy. I am a firm believer in breast feeding and co-sleeping, I practice both. My son was quite difficult for the first few months but we persisted with making him feel secure..i.e. alot of holding him and nursing on demand. I have to tell you that had it not been for the amazing doctors I take my son to, I don't think he would be such a content baby now. They are SOOOOO supportive of co-parenting and are so helpful. I cannot say enough about them. They really do go above and beyond. Only problem is that they don't take insurance and they are in Santa Monica. Not too bad for me, I live in Sherman Oaks, about a 15 miles drive from them. The doctor I see is Dr. Jodi Lappin, but the main dr. there is Jay Gordon. He has a website that is very helpful too. If you do a search on google, you'll find him. FYI..the only dr there I'm not crazy about is Nessbaum.
Hope this is helpful..just remember that it gets better as he gets older. Mine definitely did.
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i also had a boy at 40 weeks..pretty high needs..was fussy a lot..i found that Hyland's Colic Tablets helped..it was gas..also at 4.5 months he started to spit up..i had a bev hills doc that told me to put rice in a bottle...then the other doc there said NO..don't do that..to put a little oatmeal..rice constipates..it totally helped my son..and was way better for him than xantac
or however u spell that.
now we have a pedi in pasadena Dr. Schlundt..he's great...i hate the office staff they're known for being rude and i was once 10 minutes late and they punished me for that and made me wait for hours! but he's a great doc..i'm spreading out the shots too.
Dr. Schlundt takes time w/ patients ..has 2 boys of his own..gives good advice..seems to be a sweet man.
i bet its the reflux that's bothering your son..it's best not to give them solids so early but just a little oatmeal could really help...will he take a bottle? are u eating anything that could upset his belly...like broccoli?

What color is his poop?

My son had a very similar issue (poor sleep, excessive spit up but no GERD), which was easily solved when I realized that all his poop was green. My milk was unbalanced (due to overproduction for me, but can be other reasons, too) and he was getting too much watery foremilk and not enough creamy hindmilk. I starting pumping out the first 1-2 oz, and then putting him to the breast. Magic! The problem self-corrected at about 6 months because his needs went up overall. The extra foremilk wasn't an issue any longer and I didn't have to carry around the pump.

Also, are you still swaddling? Is he too hot in bed with you? If too hot, I recommend swaddling and putting to bed in a bassinet or crib.

About the teething, the drooling and discomfort starts long before the teeth come, but I would try lots of options before starting oral numbing gels, etc.

Full disclosure: I am 33 weeks preggo w/ no kids and all my "knowledge" comes from the baby books I'm reading. ha! But this exact topic--suddenly fussy at 4 months--has come up often in both "On Becoming Baby Wise" and "Happiest Baby on the Block."

According to "Happiest...," you should try tight swaddling at night. If you used to swaddle but baby outgrew it, give that a whirl again. According to "Babywise" (totally different POV, slightly right wing creepers but with some very practical advice), your baby is probably going through a growth spurt and may need an extra daytime feeding or two. But there is more to their system than that, so this advice may not help unless you are following their "feed-wake-sleep" schedule.

Good luck, A.!

Based on his raised gums and drooling and mouthing everything, I truely believe that he is teething, him being 4 1/2 months old - the time is right for it. Rub a drop of orajel on his gums for nap,-and nighttime and give him the attention and gentleness he needs. Hope this helps.