4 month sleep regression - HELP

[Newmum2127]

My 17 week old baby is currently going through the first major sleep regression. We are 3 weeks in and it is not getting better.

There is so much contradicting information on the web. It says that the regression is not a phase and is a developmental leap, so how is it going to come to an end ? My baby isn’t capable of self soothing, we literally do everything we can do to do things ‘right’ in terms of bed time, everything you can think of we have done.

I am just wondering what other people’s experience of this regression have been. How long did it go on for, when did it end ? How did it end ?

I don’t understand how it is going to get better, we’re not seeing any signs of change of change and improvement :(

We are exhausted beyond belief

Three years on, and another child turning one next one next week, and my stomach still dropped seeing the thread title! It can be absolutely brutal.

Think it lasted 5 weeks with DC1. I did think it started to improve a bit when I stopped getting her up as soon as she fussed (easier said than done when it's 3am and you're exhausted) but that may well have been a coincidence.

My only real advice is to buckle in, take shifts as much as you can (difficult if you're breastfeeding I know) and just do whatever you need to get through it.

Sending coffee!

(Incidentally, my second came with the sleep feature enabled, and the four month regression was the very slightest blip for about three nights, even though we didn't do anything different. So take heart, it's not your fault, and you may escape even if you have another baby!)

@MindyStClaire thanks for your reply !!

It really is brutal, 5 weeks I think we may be in for the same delightful time scale.

So it was just a case of sitting tight and waiting it out ?

Sleep enabled feature is funny, I hope my next has that feature (if I’m brave enough or mad enough to have another haha)

I do think that stuff you read about them learning to link sleep cycles has a ring of truth. I guess it's like walking or talking - you can nudge them in the right direction, but they have to get there in their own time.

She's a brilliant sleeper now though. It will pass.

(I haven't properly answered your question about how it passed for us because frankly my memories of that time are a bit sketchy... )