Surviving The 4-Month Sleep Regression

I feel like the 4-month sleep regression just came out of nowhere.

Like one day, my little newborn baby girl went from being a pretty decent sleeper that would wake every 4 to 5 hours at night to waking up every 2 hours at night.

And not only that, she was having a hard time going down for her naps during the day as well.

It was like she had decided that she no longer needed sleep.

But we all know what happens when a baby doesn’t get a nap.

We wind up with a fussy, irritable, and overtired baby and those are the moments in parenthood that will have you questioning if you are really cut out for this.

My older daughter went through something similar but I can’t remember if it was something that lasted as long as this has.

Because we have been dealing with this for weeks now.

If you have been following along with me on the blog, then you know I have made a couple of other posts that describe “surviving” a certain phase with babies and toddlers.

Such as surviving breastfeeding a newborn at night and surviving the first trimester of pregnancy with a toddler.

The reason I title these posts as surviving is that these are harder phases of parenting and you do feel like you are just merely surviving.

Surviving means to live another day and sometimes that is all you can do.

You take one day at a time and keep going until you see the other side.

And it feels like we are beginning to see the other side with my baby girl, so I wanted to share what got us through and how we managed the 4-month sleep regression.

Here is how we have been surviving the 4-month sleep regression with my 4-month old infant.

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What Is The 4-Month Sleep Regression?

Before I get into what to do during the 4-month sleep regression, let’s define what it is for anyone unaware of what a sleep regression is.

A sleep regression is exactly what it means which is your baby regressing in previous sleep patterns.

Most sources will call it the 4-month sleep regression but babies can experience a sleep regression as early as 3 months or as late as 5 months.

It is a very normal thing that happens to most babies and it is usually the first of many regressions that your baby will experience.

So what causes babies to experience the 4-month sleep regression?

Especially if they were sleeping fine before?

Well according to The Bump, babies’ sleep patterns change to a more adult-like pattern, meaning they don’t drift into a deep sleep anymore, around 4 months.

They go on to say that this is a big developmental age in which your baby is more alert and learning new things such as rolling over.

The biggest sign that you are dealing with the 4-month regression is frequent waking at night.

Other signs include:

• Taking shorter naps
• Can’t put them down without waking
• Irritable and fussy

All of these signs are exactly what I was experiencing with my baby and how I knew that she must be experiencing a sleep regression.

And the bad thing is you won’t really have a clue when it will end.

The 4-month sleep regression can last anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, so you could be one of the lucky ones that only deal with it for a week or one of the ones, such as myself, that has to deal with it for a few weeks.

Since I figured out that this regression was the cause of my baby’s sleep troubles, I just knew that I was going to have to buckle down and do the best I can until we can get to the other side of it.

Now that we have defined what the 4-month sleep regression is, let’s get into what I did to survive the 4-month sleep regression.

Surviving The 4-Month Sleep Regression

Go With The Flow

So the very first thing I had to do once I realized that my baby was going through the 4-month sleep regression was to drop my expectations and just go with the flow.

Which is very hard for someone like me who likes having a schedule.

But as we know, babies have a tendency to make their own schedule.

So you might as well just do whatever it is that is working and stick with that until you find your new normal.

Once you realize it is easier going with the flow than against it, you will start to have better days and not be as frustrated with your little one.

And the way to start is with what you are doing during the day.

Give Them Time During The Day To Explore

A big part of this regression has to do with your baby’s development.

There are a lot of milestones that are happening at this age such rolling over, discovering their hands and feet, and even sitting up.

Our babies are starting to figure out their bodies and want to explore what their bodies can do.

I know my daughter started having trouble when she started rolling.

She would roll onto her stomach and then she would get stuck and start crying.

I would roll her back to her back and then she would roll back over and the cycle would start all over again.

Since she was so active during her naps, I started doing more activities to help her explore these developmental milestones she was meeting.

During her wake times, I would give her time to really practice rolling and being on her tummy and back, so she wouldn’t do it as much when it was time for a nap or bed.

Babywear For Daytime Naps

If your baby’s naps during the day are not lasting more than 20 minutes, then I recommend babywearing.

Once my daughter’s sleep at night started worsening, it spilled over into her daytime naps as well.

Every time I tried to lay her down, those little eyelids would fly open, and then the process of me trying to put her down started all over again.

I’m pretty sure I spent 2 hours one day trying to put her down for a nap and I ended up having to feed her again because she had gotten hungry again.

I knew that I didn’t want to have to do that every day so I started wearing her and I was finally able to get her to nap for more than 20 minutes.

And I had my hands free for my toddler who still very much needs me.

The carrier that I have been using is the Solly Baby Loop Carrier.

This baby carrier is made for bigger babies starting at 15 lbs and can be used well into toddlerhood since the maximum weight for this carrier is 45 lbs.

This carrier has been an absolute lifesaver for me during this phase because I’m able to extend her naps during the day in it.

You can get this carrier through my link here.

Create A Consistent Bedtime Routine

If you have not already, then this would be the time to create a bedtime for your little one.

Now don’t expect your little one to get it on the first night.

The whole point of creating a bedtime routine at this point is so your little one gets on a consistent routine and begins to make associations with this routine and know that it is bedtime.

We started my older daughter on a bedtime routine when she was about 4 months as well as and kept that same bedtime routine when she was a toddler.

When my baby girl started having trouble sleeping, we knew that it was time to start her on one as well.

I like to follow the 4 B’s when it comes to bedtime and that is:

• Bath
• Book
• Breast
• Bed

We started giving our baby a bath every day when she turned 2 months so that we could her used to getting a bath and she also seemed to sleep better after getting a bath.

After she has gotten a bath, I like to read her a book and then follow up with nursing her and then laying her in the pack and play.

Most of the time, I nurse her to sleep and then lay her down.

I do this every night even if she does wake up an hour later, but as I said above, this routine is to create consistency, and the more you do it, the more your baby will learn to make the association that it is bedtime.

Offer A Dream Feed

Another thing that I have incorporated into my baby’s bedtime is a dream feed.

If you are unfamiliar with what a dream feed is, then it is when you feed your baby while they are “sleeping”.

Most people will do this before they go to bed so that way they can get at least a few hours of sleep without having to worry about the baby waking up hungry.

You are essentially “topping your baby of” for the night in hopes that they will sleep a longer and therefore allows you to sleep a little longer too.

So my baby’s bedtime is around 8 every night, so I go through her bedtime and lay her down for bed around then.

I normally go to bed around 11 every night, so I gently pick up while she is in her bed and nurse her around 10:45 so that way I don’t have to worry about her waking up shortly after I go to bed.

This would buy me at least 2-3 hours during the regression and now that she is coming out of it, she will sleep anywhere between 5-6 hours after I do this.

So this can be something you can continue to do once they are the other side of it..

Bedsharing

And the last way we got through the 4-month sleep regression was through bedsharing.

You all know that bedsharing is what works for me and I have been doing it since we brought our daughter home.

I know that many will not agree with me on bedsharing, but I have been bedsharing with my daughter for months now and she has found comfort in being close to me at night.

So when she started having trouble sleeping, bedsharing was the only thing that made sense since she would wake up every 2 hours.

I breastfeed as well so it is much easier to pull out my breast to breastfeed her through the night when she is already in the bed with us.

I know some moms worry about creating a bad habit by bedsharing, but I can tell that you that I was able to successfully transition my first daughter from cosleeping to her crib.

If bedsharing works for you during this phase, then I will definitely tell you to do it.

You will eventually get your bed back.

Your Turn

Well, that is how we survived the 4-month sleep regression with our 4-month-old infant. Now I want to hear from you all now. Did your babies go through the 4-month sleep regression? What did you do to get through it? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Boosting My Mlik Supply As A Breastfeeding Mom

Love,

Just Jass