Just when you thought you had your baby’s sleep figured out, along comes the dreaded 4-month sleep regression.
Now, your baby who was sleeping fairly well is difficult to get to sleep, waking up more often in the night, and taking short naps.
You’re exhausted, frustrated, and wondering what you can do to help.
The good news is that the 4-month sleep regression is a normal part of baby development and if handled the right way these disruptions to your little one’s sleep are only temporary.
What is the 4-Month Sleep Regression?
Right around the 4-month mark, a baby’s sleep goes through some pretty dramatic changes.
Newborns only have two stages of sleep. Then around 4 months of age there’s a re-organization of sleep as they add in two more stages. So, they’re transitioning from two stages to four in each sleep cycle.
This transition doesn’t always go smoothly and for some babies this can cause some disruptions to their sleep.
In addition to this re-organization of sleep, babies start to become more cognitively aware around the 4th month.
So, sure it might have worked well to feed or rock your baby to sleep as a newborn. But as your baby starts becoming more aware, this strategy of getting them to sleep will most likely stop working. And now, when you try to lay your sleeping baby in the crib or when they reach the end of a sleep cycle, they’re likely going to wake up and notice that something’s different. “I fell asleep on mommy and now she’s gone.” Instead of sliding into another sleep cycle, they may have a full wake-up and once again need your help to get back to sleep.
A baby going through the 4-month sleep regression may experience:
- More frequent nighttime wake-ups
- Difficulty falling asleep initially or after a nighttime wake-up
- Increased crying while falling asleep or upon waking
- Short naps
- Reduced total sleep time
There are a few things you can do to help minimize these sleep disruptions.
How You Can Help
If your baby already has healthy sleep skills, they should be able to handle this regression pretty easily. Continue to be consistent in your expectations around your baby’s sleep and stay consistent with their sleep routines. Any disruptions to their sleep should be mild and short-lived.
If, however, your baby strongly relies on a sleep prop, such as being fed or rocked to sleep, you’re likely going to notice and feel the effects of this regression a lot more.
Here are 5 tips for surviving the 4-month sleep regression:
- Avoid overtiredness by following a regular sleep schedule
- Keep consistent naptime and bedtime routines
- Keep your baby’s bedroom very dark and run some white noise
- During the day, give your baby plenty of playtime and exposure to sunlight
- Gradually teach your baby to fall asleep independently, without any sleep props
You may be wondering how and if it’s even possible for your baby to learn how to fall asleep without their favourite sleep prop.
And that’s exactly why I specialize in helping families, like yours, by creating customized sleep plans to gradually teach your baby their own skills for sleeping well.
Schedule a FREE Sleep Evaluation Call to learn how I can help you teach your baby to fall asleep peacefully and independently.