Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

4 month sleep regression- how long does it last??

42 replies

nearlymumofone · 17/01/2011 18:59

On behalf of all the people in the same boat, going through the 4 month sleep regression, does anyone have experience of this that has come out the other side? what did you do if anything to improve the sleep situation? and how long did it last?

By the way- mine started bang on 16 weeks (to the day) and we've been through it for 3 weeks now. It's challenging, to say the least!!

Thanks!

OP posts:
MoonUnitAlpha · 17/01/2011 19:19

My ds's sleep got pretty bad 18-22 weeks. We changed a few things - got rid of his dummy, stopped feeding to sleep, only fed him twice a night (10.30pm and 3/4am) and had DP settle him in between, and moved him into his own room.

He's still hard to get to sleep at bedtime but sleeps pretty well 11pm-4am and 4am-7am now.

AngelDog · 17/01/2011 20:17

It's horrible, isn't it? It does pass, though.

There is a great book explaining it called The Wonder Weeks by two scientists who researched all the developmental spurts up to 13 months.

They say "Your baby may not settle down well at night now. It may be more difficult to get her to bed in the evenings, or she may lie awake at night. She may want a night feeding again, or she may even demand to be fed several times a night. She may also wake up much earlier in the morning."

They also say: "The fussy period preceding the developmental spurt will often last 5 weeks, although it may be as short as 1 week or as long as 6."

There?s useful information here, here, here and here.

HTH

Cosmosis · 18/01/2011 17:04

um, at the moment it's seeming endless.

Petsville · 18/01/2011 20:24

Hmm, I wasn't that impressed with the Wonder Weeks - the information is fine so far as it goes but the tone annoys me: they assume the reader's an idiot (and a woman, which annoyed DH), and it's very repetitive. I do loathe the way books about babies adopt a tone as though they were talking to the baby (all this "Mummy might XYZ" - I'm not your mummy, I'm just reading your book!) I'm quite tempted to get a spray can and write "I've had a baby, not a lobotomy!" across the pregnancy and child care shelves in my local bookshop.

Oh, and in our case it's eight weeks and counting - I don't know where they get their 1-6 weeks from.

LooL00 · 19/01/2011 09:42

10 weeks so far. You didn't want to know that did you?

imissbluesky · 19/01/2011 10:31

It's 10weeks here as well. I didn't know I could be this tired and carry on.

5DollarShake · 19/01/2011 10:48

DD slept through at 16 weeks exactly, 7AM-7PM, and it all fell apart literally right after that. She'll be 24 weeks this weekend.

I would love just ONE night's good sleep.

Petsville · 19/01/2011 16:11

5DollarShake, snap! DS and I got a cold when he was 16 weeks, which seemed to trigger the regression. He'd been sleeping really well up to then, but we've been up every two hours every night ever since.

imissbluesky I know exactly what you mean - I've had several days when I've said to DH that I don't think I can go on.

NoTeaForMe · 19/01/2011 16:30

My baby is 13 weeks and was sleeping well (bed at 7-8 ish and waking at around 3, then back to sleep til 7 ish) until last week or so, now she wakes every 3 hours on the dot! Is this an early regression? Do all babies go through that? What happens to their sleep then?

jandmmum · 19/01/2011 18:53

same here DD was doing fab until she got a cough at 16 weeks just one feed at 11 ish and now she's not sleeping more than 2 hours at a time. Doesn't always need feeding though. She's 24 weeks today. Feel like a zombie at the moment.

Original poster
nearlymumofone · 19/01/2011 20:10

God this is depressing, I was hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel!

Strangely this started bang on 16 weeks which was also when he and I got a bad cold, don't know if it triggered it at all.

OP posts:
beachavendrea · 19/01/2011 20:31

we had this and it almost killed me. we made a few changes, stopped nursing to sleep and I drew the line at only feeding twice at night and then we cut out these feeds, it was hard but his sleep improved in about 3 weeks. We
were quite proactive in 'sleep training' mostly because I was terrified he wouldn't get better on his own.

Now I only have the 9 month sleep regression to get through!

headfairy · 19/01/2011 20:32

DD's lasted 8 weeks I had a lovely two week respite before the 9 month one started early!!!

CountBapula · 19/01/2011 20:33

Oh god oh god ... this is so depressing. Started at 17wks for us and we're only on day 13 but it feels like FOREVER ...

headfairy · 19/01/2011 20:59

I barely noticed it with ds, but maybe that's because being the first I could catch up during the day, with dd it nearly killed me. I was a zombie for about 6 months. Thankfully she got over it in time for me to go back to work

LBsmum · 19/01/2011 21:03

DS finally sleapt through at 19 months and DD when haywire at 4 months and has been a night time horror show since ( she turned 1 last week)

Sorry

Potterjane · 20/01/2011 10:14

By the time my 4th and 5th babies arrived at 4 months I learnt not to pick them up or feed till 6am. Three bad nights, feeling guilty but by the fourth they slept through again and this lasted forever. Your in control remember.

Cosmosis · 20/01/2011 17:16

Potterjane that would just result in screaming which I am not prepared to ignore.

TheUnmentioned · 20/01/2011 17:18

In control? It isnt a power struggle, they are little babies. Hmm

Wish I hadnt read this, dd is a great sleeper and is 16 weeks - argh!

peasandbeans · 20/01/2011 17:38

DC4 is 4 and a half months old. The 4 month 'sleep regression' lasted about 5 days, until we dealt with it by introducing mashed banana and vegetable soup at tea time. She has now gone back to sleeping through from 6 till 6.

Cosmosis · 20/01/2011 17:41

Theunmentioned, it doesn't happen to them all, you may be lucky!

mazfah · 20/01/2011 17:51

Ds' sleep regression has lasted to 17 months.

TheUnmentioned · 20/01/2011 19:01

cosmosis i hope so, ds didnt sleep through until 3 years old + even now at 4 regularly wakes - i am due some luck surely!

CageBird · 20/01/2011 19:34

About 4 weeks for us. Nearly killed me. He'd wake once an hour every hour ALL NIGHT!!!!! And then it stopped as soon as it started. I'm still holding my breath, but it's been 2 weeks of sleeping through again, so I'm getting ready to exhale.

Stopped his dummy at night, I'm sure that's helped.

petisa · 21/01/2011 00:27

oh god i shouldn't have read this thread...