The 4 month sleep regression

Sleep at around the 3 month mark for many healthy infants begins to improve and some parents notice their baby beginning to sleep longer stretches. Sleep can begin to consolidate, a late evening feed no longer woken for and Mamma & Dadda begin to anticipate at least a 5 hour stretch..... often more! Hooray! Breastfeeding mums may 'risk' that small glass of wine in the early evening knowing they have plenty of time for the alcohol to leave their blood stream before the first feed of the night!

 

When things begin to shift, I hear lots of 'oh he was doing so well!' or 'she has been sleeping brilliantly until now.' And naturally, parents begin to wonder just what is going on?

 

In todays digital age, with information access at our fingertips, parents are aware of and often anticipate 'THE 4 MONTH SLEEP REGRESSION!' It's fair to say, there are some fortunate beings who pass through this regression with barely a blip in their baby's sleep habits, however the changes that occur at this stage of development are actual, real changes and 'things' won't 'go back to normal' because what has been normal until now has permanently changed. But please don't fret! This is not to say your baby will not sleep brilliantly again! It's often said that the regression at 4/5 months is not a regression at all, in fact it is a progression since this is a natural developmental stage where the maturing of the brain significantly alters sleep cycles which begin to settle into more distinctive stages; much more like an adult.

 

Before now, a young infant has not needed much support to settle into a deep sleep but now a state of deep, restorative sleep is not reached until approximately 30 minutes after falling asleep. So, depending on the sleep associations of your baby until this point, will depend on how 'THE 4 MONTH PROGRESSION' affects sleep in your household! If before now, baby has been held or rocked to sleep and then put down, your attempts to continue doing this may not be quite as successful since:

 

a) baby is still in a light sleep when you attempt to do this and so wakes when being transferred.

 

or 

 

b) a complete sleep cycle (approximately 25-40 minutes) has passed and since you are no longer holding/rocking/feeding, baby wakes and needs the same aid in order to return to sleep.

 

If you have been working on developing independent sleep habits, this stage will likely still disrupt day or night sleep (maybe both) though not in the same way. If your baby has begun to self settle at the beginning of the night, continue to comfort/respond in the same way you have. With consistency, the progression will last around 3 weeks.

 

However, if your baby is used to being parented to sleep (and I'm not judging since my son was reflux and held upright after feeds before nodding off on me for the first 11 months,) it's likely (though not always) they will continue to wake regularly (every 1-2/3 hours) throughout the night. 

 

If, after waiting a few weeks, sleep has not began to improve, naps continue to be missed or are on the short side, or baby is more fussy in general and night wakings are more frequent, it's likely your baby has internalised some particularly strong sleep associations. This means it's unlikely they will have developed the skills needed to self soothe and in turn, may not be getting the sleep they need to function at their best when awake.

 

It's certainly a tricky stage. During the day, continue to watch baby and be as responsive as possible to their sleep needs. A more predictable and secure daytime sleep schedule can begin to be shaped between 5-6 months. If you are seeking support to help establish positive sleep associations that will lead to independent sleep habits, contact me today. My sleep solutions are very gentle and successful and I offer a range of packages to help you resolve the difficulties you are experiencing.