Signs of the 4 Month Sleep Regression
Your Baby’s first sleep regression….is this it?
Is your baby between 13-22 weeks and still not sleeping longer than 2-3 hours at night? Does your baby seem to be regressing with sleep overall? Or just getting worse?
The 4-month sleep regression, the first of many sleep regressions, is totally normal because during this time, because baby is going through tons of neurological and biological advancements. Affecting children in a certain age range, this sleep regression can cause havoc on a perfect sleeper, or cause a baby’s sleep to get worse by the day.
Here are a couple of signs of the 4 month sleep regression and how to fix it:
Baby is 13-22 weeks old
Your baby might be going through the 4-month sleep regression if they are between 13-22 weeks old.
Gone are the days that baby can sleep through anything, feed on demand without messing up their nights, and go down quietly for every nap. Once baby hits that three month mark, naps will typically begin to shorten, feeds will become trickier, and night wakings may also increase.
Frequent Night Wakings
Your baby might be going through a 4-month sleep regression if they have random night wakings.
A super common thing your baby may experience during the 4-month sleep regression is night wakings. These random night wakings can be really tough. Some children will wake up every 2-3 hours just like their newborn days.
Try to give babies 5-10 minutes to re-settle themselves - sometimes boredom is the best remedy. If your baby is going through a 4-month sleep regression one thing you can do is embrace a little bit of protesting…. it’s ok for baby to fuss for short periods of time because they are learning new, healthier habits. During 4-month sleep regressions, baby might need a more customized approach. In these cases, we always recommend booking an appointment to chat directly with a consultant (you can do that here!)
Short Naps
Your baby might be going through the 4-month sleep regression if they are catnapping.
Catnaps are super common during this time. These naps may last 20-45 minutes. I know, I know… you definitely want a longer nap. Trust me, totally get it!
There is hope to sneak at least one larger nap in baby’s day, to ensure that baby does not become overtired. In our 3-4 month regression class, you can find out how we guarantee one big nap every, single, day. Really!
Snacking or Distracted Feeding
Your baby might be going through the 4-month sleep regression if they are snacking on demand every 1-2 hours, or only taking partial feeds due to distraction.
Baby is finally beginning to understand how they fit into your routines, their place in the household, the world even. Therefore, distraction is at an all-time high, causing many babies to become extremely distracted during a feed, ultimately leading to snacking (and becoming hungrier at night!)
To keep distraction low, try feeding/nursing baby in the nursery after the nap (see our favorite routine here on this blog post). To minimize snacking, feed baby every 4 hours, following a nap, or as directed by your doctor.
“Help! I’ve tried everything and my 3-month old baby is napping SO bad, and wakes all night!”
I have good news and bad news:
The good news is, this is just a developmental stage which means it is NOT your fault, and we can go through this together!
The bad news is, if you don't take the steps now to get on top of your baby's sleep habits, it will continue for months (even years).
I remember having no clue with my first baby, even after reading all the books I didn’t understand where to start??
Why is my baby's sleep gotten worse?Could I move to the crib?Why are these naps SO short??
Should I feed exactly 2.5 hours after a feed or from the start?? Ugh!
All. the. questions. And so much conflicting advice.
Tired Moms— I’ve been there. And omgggg it wasn’t easy. But my solution is!
Unlock the Secret To Solving Frequent Night Wakings and Short Naps during the 4-Month Regression with our newest class:
for babies 13-22 weeks old
I’ve made it my personal mission to teach you a gentle, hands-on, no cry-it-out sleep plan that works in #reallife. And, I want you to know it’s more than possible, even for your baby. This class designed for babies 13-22 weeks, covers all things sleep regression, putting baby down drowsy by awake in a gentle way, PLUS give you solutions to help baby in the middle of the night when they wake up— without making it worse (b/c yeah, it can get WAY worse).