Could this be a sign of teething? What would you do?

For the last week or so, my son has been waking up just about every hour at night. He needs a pacifier to go back to sleep and a bit of patting on the back. The week before this, he had just started sleeping from 7 to about 7, with a couple wake ups in the middle of the night, but no feeding required.

Would this be due to teething?

Also, are we spoiling him by getting up and 'helping' him get back to sleep each night? I hate to let him cry it out, but at the same time, it's so hard to get him to go to sleep for naps during the day, and I would love for him to be able to get to sleep on his own at night. I don't mind getting up every hour, although DH and I are both zombies during the day... but I don't want to do something that isn't good for my son. Would you still continue to jump when he wakes up, or would you let him cry for a bit?

Thanks!

Jack is 4 months old now and is definately teething since a little tooth popped up from his gum the otherday. We had some fussy nights and the Baby Orajel Nightime gel works great for us. He hates when I put it on, but it gets him through the night. As for his sleeping patterns he generally goes from 7-6:30 with one or two nighttime wake ups. I can usually tell if his fussing will stop and he will put himself back to sleep or if he will need a little help. Either way I usually give it 15 minutes. After that if he is still fussing I go in, put his music on, give a few pats and he usually goes back to sleep. I see no issues with 'helping' them get back to sleep every so often as long as you don't pick him up during the middle of the night. Otherwise, he may start to expect it and in my case, want a 2 am playtime!

Jack doesn't use a pacifer, so i can't speak to that.

Good luck!