The 4-month Sleep Regression
You’ve survived the newborn stage, or so you think. Your baby is about to turn 4 months old, and you are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Your baby is now sleeping longer stretches, with perhaps one or so wake up, and you get a sense of a schedule forming. And then BAM! Your baby hits the 4-month regression and it all just falls apart. More wake ups. Shorter naps. And everything you have strongly worked on, starts to fall apart. While with some babies it’s more noticeable than with others, it is very common for your baby to hit this 4-month regression. This is the exact definition of a sleep regression. When sleep was going well, and then something causes a sudden change in the baby’s sleeping (and/or feeding) patterns.
Why is there a 4-month regression?
When your baby turns 4 months old (or around 16 weeks) there’s a lot of changes going on in her body. She is going through a developmental burst, where she is becoming more awake and alert. She is becoming more interested in her surroundings, and starts engaging and focusing on all the exciting things. Often Moms will start noticing that it’s harder to actually nurse their baby as they start getting easily distracted. Developmentally some babies will start rolling over more, but getting stuck in their position as they can’t roll themselves back. This new-found milestone (as with others) will cause more wake ups.
The reason why this regression is one of the hardest is, because what used to so easily work to get your baby to sleep, is no longer working. Many will find their baby fighting and resisting the rocking and holding to sleep. Or after a feed, she will stay wide awake and won’t fall asleep during the feed, where she once used to so easily. While this can be frustrating because it means that you have less ability to soothe your baby to sleep, it is a sign that your child is growing and developing and probably needs less intervention or help from you. This is not to say that all babies are ready to soothe independently at this point, but they are nearing that point.
When does this regression typically happen and how long does it last?
This regression happens at the 4-month mark, 16 weeks, but there are some parents who start noticing at the 15-week mark. Remember if your baby was born early, it would be her adjusted age of 15/16 weeks. Usually sleep regressions last 2 or so weeks. However, it can sometimes last up to 1 month.
How to get through the 4-month regression and over to the other side.
During the 4-month regression, you will probably need to be more in a survival mode. Just like you have been doing up until now, you will need to respond to your baby as needed. If that means more feeds at night, then do so. Do not be afraid of introducing feeds that she wasn’t needing before, as this is just temporary to get through the regression. Some will in fact be going through a growth spurt, which is why you will be seeing an increase in night feeds. You can always work on removing those feeds later when she is ready. Trying to get your little one to sleep might be harder now, so try to think of new options. Try to explore of other ways to help her soothe and stay asleep. You want to avoid overstimulation, even though it seems like your baby is interested in playing more. Too much stimulation can make it harder for your baby to winddown to sleep. Because your little one is more alert, those on-the-go naps will be harder. Make sure to avoid too many of those, and try to get her sleeping in a dark/quiet room. If you are out and about, try to cover the stroller or car seat, lower the music, and perhaps have the travel white noise machine on to make it easier for her to fall asleep.
Once your little one has come out of the regression, which is usually around 18 weeks, is when you can start to get sleep back in order. While the regression is difficult, with more wake ups, shorter naps, and probably more feeds than usual, at 18 weeks is when you want to work on teaching your child self-soothing skills. To have your baby learn how to put herself to sleep independently and not rely on all the tricks you’ve been doing, will help improve her overall sleep. Where you have been rocking, holding, or feeding your baby to sleep, you will now need to put your baby down awake and have her learn to put herself to sleep. Once she learns how to do this at bedtime, she will be able to do this on her own for all other wake ups in the middle of the night, or during naps. The ability to self-soothe is vital in getting her to sleep longer stretches and connect the sleep cycles on her own, without relying on you. This is what sleep training is about; coaching your baby to learn the capability of self-soothing.
Is your little one going through a 4-month regression and need help? Let’s talk!