Four Month Sleep Regression

What is this “4-month sleep regression”?

So your baby was sleep great, and then all of the sudden, BAM at around 4 months of age, your baby is suddenly waking up more often and is extra fussy. You panic, you get frustrated, you are exhausted (again). Well, I don’t know if this comes as good news or bad news, but this is biologically normal for your baby to do this at this stage. Many people refer to this as the dreaded “4 Month Sleep Regression.”

How do I hack this regression?

Unfortunately there are no “hacks” to survive this regression… it is going to happen. There are, however, a few tips we can offer to help everyone survive. I promise, this too, shall pass! Here we will talk about baby and ways you can prepare your mind and body.

Start a predictable bedtime routine. It does not have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as change in to PJs, read a book, turn on sound machine, place in crib and swaddle. Do it in the same order every night so that baby knows that night time sleep is coming. HINT: babies thrive on consistency starting at this age.

Help your baby practice their new skills throughout the day. Practice a lot of tummy time and rolling over to help tire them out. The more time they spend practicing during the day, the less time they will spend practicing at night.

The one thing you can predict during this time is little sleep for YOU! With that being said, take that in to consideration with your own bed time. These trying few weeks might mean you save your Netflix binge watching until baby is back on track. Earlier bedtime for you can maybe grab you an extra hour or two of sleep!

You may also want to find a few extra minutes to exercise to help clear your mind. Yoga can really help clear your mind during these trying times. Take it from me, you and your partner can get so angry of over the silliest things with no sleep!

So what is this regression?

Around the 4 month mark, baby sleep cycles are maturing from two cycles to four cycles. As this development is becoming established learning to sleep through the transitions are becoming a new skill.

What are the causes?

The sleep cycles of your baby are transitioning. Now when baby falls asleep, they are in a non-REM deep sleep. Throughout the rest of the night, their sleep will bounce around between 3 non-REM stages to REM, lighter sleep. As this happens over 4 hours, your baby is likely to wake up during each of these transitions.

How long will this last?

This will most likely 2 to 4 weeks, so hang in there!

What are the signs?

The worst part of this sleep regression is you might be thinking you have a champion sleeping baby, and then suddenly your baby is partying all night long. This is normal for your baby and healthy development in the long run.

Baby might seem fussier than normal at bedtime and fight falling asleep. You might also notice that your baby is experiencing shorter naps or might even start dropping one nap and only taking 3 instead of 4.