Sleep regression almost 4 months - are we on the right track?!

[perkster]

OK, I have finally learnt about sleep regression and believe that is what we are going through right now. I just wanted to post this in case anyone has ideas or at least to let us know if we are on the right track with what we are doing.

Our DS will be 4 months old this Friday and has unbelievably been sleeping through for at least 8 hours... until last Sunday. We have had a week where the longest spell of sleep at night has been 2 hours the shortest, every 15mins between him sleeping and waking. He sleeps in his cot in his own room and we have been going in trying to settle him at which point he goes back to sleep very quickly and clearly is in distress not just crying for attention. I have not offered the breast only when I can tell he is hungry - nuzzling rather than trying to nod off again which is usually only once a night about 3am. I have also not taken him in with us as I think it would be a habit that may be hard to break.

He is also teething which gives him grief so we are applying some teething gel when he needs it. I have given him some liquid paracetamol occasionally when I can tell he really is suffering but this is in the daytime not at night. Oh, and on top of all this he gets a blocked nose due to his crying which really annoys him!

In the daytime he is not really sleeping to catch up on the lost sleep, yesterday was a miracle, he got 3 hours in one stint but nothing noteable during the week other than that.

I know this could last a while and really feel for him but whilst this is happening getting more than 2 hours sleep in one night would be nice.

Are you sure he isn't hungry? I think it's normal at this age to sleep less well if they are having growth spurt.

With my daughter if she woke in the night at that age we always offered her milk - I don't believe that they really wake up wanting milk 'deliberately' as the old wives tale suggests.

I don't think so as he seems so desparate for sleep when he wakes up. Later in the week I offered milk more when he was waking up but he wasn't so interested all the time.

If you think he's in pain teething and that is the cause then I would give him some calpol before bed. If he wakes up give him some more (unless it's within 4 hours obviously!). I tend to give it at night rather than during the day.

There's a big 16 week growth spurt. He may be hungry overnight (which is when most of the growing happens). DD had been sleeping up to five hours until she was 4 months and then grew and grew until she finally grew out of night feeds at 8 months!

Thanks so much for the advice we seem to have got through this really hard bit, he is sleeping better but wakes up in the small hours sometimes and needs a feed. Better than every 15mins during the night!