4 month sleep regression experiences/tips please

[GrumpySprout]

I’m a first time mum to a 15 week old little boy.

Pretty much since day one I’ve seen warnings about the 4 month sleep regression babies go through. It sounds pretty rough with some babies waking every 30 mins through the night etc.

My anxieties are a little high about going through this. Could you please share your experiences of the 4 month sleep regression and any tips on getting through it?

Thanks!

We suffered for a few weeks. I'm afraid there isn't much you can do as all babies go through it but some aren't directly affected if that makes sense. It is a permanent change in their sleep patterns. The only thing I can say is to try and make sure baby is able to get back to sleep without you if at all possible. I'm not talking about going down for the first time I mean if baby wakes up can they go back to sleep without dummy, feeding, rocking etc. As that may help a bit if they can do that on their own. Having said that my boy was pretty good at this and did still suffer with multiple night wakings. It didn't last long though. Unfortunately there are sooooooo many points of poor sleep for one reason or another so I'm afraid this may keep happening!!! Don't overthink it. You will be fine honestly :)

Hi GrumpySprout,

All I can contribute to your question is that - All babies are different and not every baby experiences this. My little girl who is 18 weeks sleeps from half 10 at night to around half 7 in the morning..

are you bottle or breast feeding? X

We had an extra night feed for a couple of weeks (2 rather than 1),but I couldn't really tell if that was sleep regression related, or down to a growth spurt, as she did seem hungrier on the whole about then. So for us, it was fine.

Thank you for your replies!

It just seems daunting but I’m sure it’ll be one of those things where once your in the midst of it you just get on with it.

@mummybear I’m breastfeeding.

My DD is nearly five months and breastfed. We were very lucky with her sleeping eight, nine hours straight every night until the four month regression hit and she suddenly started waking up every hour! Lasted about two weeks and it was very tough, I was utterly exhausted. DP really helped by stepping up as much as he could and my NCT mums were a great support - all their babies’ sleep changed at four months.

DD is now waking up two or three times a night which is much more manageable. I still mourn for my through the night sleeper!

Ours was fucking horrendous - every (every) nap from 3.5 months until 5.5 months had to happen in a sling while moving. Outside. December-Feb.

My advice, fwiw, is to have a good routine beforehand - clear sleep cues, naps in a bed, a vague bedtime routine, white noise, a dummy, a stuffed toy, whatever, so that that is in place before it hits. DD had had most naps on me before then, until she couldn’t. Not sure if it would help, but that’s what I’ll be trying with any siblings.

Nighttime was unaffected here .

It seems like a really mixed bag of experience!

I guess it just goes to show that the saying ‘no two babies are the same’ is true.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

We had hourly restlessness, she didnt even woke up just would whinge for her dummy roughly every hour through out the night. only lasted about 3 weeks though. My hv told me it's because at 4 months babies start having sleep cycles like adults but their brains cant link the cycles together so they wake briefly at the end of each cycle. Luckily all she needed was her dummy back and she would go off again