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Original poster

Four month sleep regression...

42 replies

Runswithsquirrels · 24/10/2013 11:53

...it's almost four weeks now since she entered this phase early... Four weeks of not sleeping longer than two hours and frequently less...
Someone please tell me this will end soon. Please!

OP posts:
MrsDavies · 24/10/2013 20:29

can't tell you it will end as mine hasnt! Hmm

my DS is 5 months old and went from bed at 7, dream feed at 10, wake at 4am for a feed then up about 7 for the day, to waking every 2-2.5 hours through the night! I'm shattered as ebf too. can't wait until he's 18 and hungover and I can get my own back! ha Grin

jojie79 · 25/10/2013 02:23

This exact same thing has happened to us - 5 months old now and she woke up at 9pm, midnight, 2.30am (didn't go back to sleep until 3.30am), 5.30am, 6am and then we woke her at 7. Its been getting worse for about 3 or 4 weeks. Once in a while she will manage 2 wake ups again which gives us hope. I think its sleep regression plus teething (a tooth has just cut through her bottom gum) and a cold. Anything to reassure myself that things will go back to normal one day and this isn't permanent....

Lets hope someone comes along soon and tells us about coming through the other side.....!

Original poster
Runswithsquirrels · 25/10/2013 09:27

We got a slightly better night last night and the only difference was I took her out of her gro bag and went back to blankets.

OP posts:
BloodysocksAndGore · 25/10/2013 09:29

Mine only got better when we moved her into her own room at just over 6 months.She went from waking every two hours to sleeping through 8/10 times!

bionic77 · 25/10/2013 12:05

Watching with interest as my 5 month old is doing exact same thing. We've gone from going down at 7.30pm, waking at 4.30am for a feed and then back to sleep until 9am.

Now he is waking every 1.5hrs and doing anything to avoid sleep. He won't be BF to sleep, hates to be rocked but also doesn't want to be left on his own. Argh.

He won't nap during the day either. He has cut one tooth, so I'm guessing more are on the way. He's mastering new skills everyday so I'm sure it's that too.

Just wish he could self soothe. I'm thinking of putting him in his own room to see if that helps.

Any advice very gratefully received!!

Beesneeze82 · 25/10/2013 18:05

Watching with interest too, feeling like I've got a newborn again

purrtrillpadpadpad · 25/10/2013 18:12

Also with 5 month old with same routine (or lack thereof). As an aside, what does an emerging tooth look like? There's a bit on her bottom gums where the gum skin/fleshy bit is standing up, like a ridge. Is this a sign there's a tooth underneath pushing up? I don't want to prod it :/

cupcake78 · 25/10/2013 18:15

I'm also going through this dd 17 weeks. Read up on it today apparently it can last for 6+ weeksHmmHmmHmmHmm

Beesneeze82 · 25/10/2013 18:19

Purr, I'm wondering about that too. My DS has two such ridges on bottom gum. They do look like they could be the beginnings of teeth, just not sure how long they've been there...

purrtrillpadpadpad · 25/10/2013 18:21

Do you think we should prod them a bit? :/ If my DD gets her gums on my hand she starts slurping away, it's possibly the most disquieting experience I've had. yuck.

Mrsdonalddraper · 25/10/2013 18:26

Just joining in to say my 5 month has gone from sleeping 9pm-9am to waking every 1.5-2hrs. I can see her teeth clearly through her gums (large white lumps) at the top, but they're not that close to the gum line. I was also depressed to read that the bottom ones usually come in first and I can't see anything there. Ironically she slept better than this as a newborn...

She did just roll all the way over for the first time yesterday...

purrtrillpadpadpad · 25/10/2013 18:35

Ooh congratulations draper!

Mrsdonalddraper · 25/10/2013 19:06

Thanks! Though she's not a fan of being on her stomach, so she's yet to feel much of a sense of achievement Grin

Beesneeze82 · 25/10/2013 20:04

I have had a little feel when he's been chomping on my fingers actually and it does feel like teeny teeth could be under there. Don't look white at all though.

Liveinthepresent · 27/10/2013 16:40

I am in this gang too and so fed up!
I have only 8 more weeks of mat leave and can't believe it will have flown by in such a tired blur. No idea how I would work and survive on this sort of sleep pattern.
No teeth but lots of new skills like rolling over and grabbing feet - so at least there,is something to show for it.

Littlebagoflaughter · 27/10/2013 19:19

feeling everyone's pain, ds was only waking once for a feed and then at 17wks it literally changed overnight. He's 26wks today and overall things have improved over the past few weeks(though not back to pre-17wks bliss), though just as his nights have gotten better his evenings have become more disrupted, argh! Putting him in his own room has definitely helped as he was waking up to feed within an hour of whenever I went to bed as he knew I was there. I've also been following suggestions from the no-cry sleep solution. Stay strong everyone!

Quinandthem · 29/10/2013 05:29

We've just hit this wall

Every 2 f-ing hours

Used to bf to sleep but even this is loosing its effectiveness as she's not that hungry. She'll fall asleep bf but wake when I transfer her.

Side note - she's currently swaddled, is it possible for them to self soothe in a swaddle?

Stay strong everyone

bigwellyfucker · 29/10/2013 09:46

We're also in this hell.

DD2 - beautiful sleeper right from newborn, and from five weeks she slept 11-13hours rarely waking for a feed. Napped beautifully. Fed ok ish.

Now 20weeks. Has got worse and worse and worse. Not just thr refusal to go down in her cot. But the waking 8 - 10 - 12 times a night. And the being awake for long stretches crying or cooing. And the vomiting ferss because she is too full because she doesn't actually want milk but in my eagerness to sleep I try feeding her. Naptimes have also become battlegrounds and last a mere fifteen minutes.

She (and we) is exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted. She has huge bags under her eyes and cries pretty much all day long, doesn't want to be held. Doesn't want to be put down. I've almost lost it with her I don't know how many times - 4am this morning I was sobbing in the spare room after baby had been awake two fucking hours solid after only an hours sleep, DH took her downstairs for an hour to let me sleep.

I have a tenuous grip on reality as it due to PTSD and depression, my DD1 is bearing the brunt of my bad temper too. She was a truly diabolical sleeper - up every 45minutes and awake for hours in the night so I know what babies are like. But then she was a cuddly baby, always recognised that we were there and in the main didn't cry at night was just awake. Dd2 on the other hand is downright miserable at night - screaming and shrieking. I genuinely think she wants to be asleep and is upset that she isn't.

So - averaging 3 hours sleep for me a night, this has been going on three weeks, I'm also on the verge of quitting breastfeeding as I hate it this time round.

Cake for all

Littlebagoflaughter · 29/10/2013 10:10

Oh bigwelly that sounds absolutely awful, really feel for you, it is absolutely heartbreaking when a good sleeper becomes a terrible one. Have you taken her to the doctor? Just wondered if there might be an underlying issue if she's so miserable in the day too. I'm really glad that I've breastfed but I definitely resent it at times, especially when I'm feeding him every hour in the evening because that's the only way he'll stop crying! I feel quite bitter about all the 'sleep experts' as I never fed him to sleep and he pretty much self settles at bedtime but still insists on beng fed almost every time he wakes up, I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do.

I would say wine for all but because I never know when he'll want feeding next that comfort is out the window :( cake and ice cream will have to do instead.

jojie79 · 30/10/2013 12:56

My sleep deprivation is such that I completely forgot that I had commented on this thread and never checked back....

Its heartening to hear that so many of us are dealing with this and that is it normal, even if no one has the answers.

On the teeth - you can see the white of the teeth coming through the gum and it feels sharp when they chew on your hand or finger. The teeth don't come out of the top of the gum ridge, they actually come out behind it - so not where you would think they would come through.

Hope things get better for everyone.

RigglinJigglinBones · 30/10/2013 19:45

Our house is the same, she's 24w and its been going on for 8 weeks. We are sleep walking through life at the moment. A good night is 3 wake ups, but two nights ago she was up 7 times in 4 hours.

I have no advice, I'm just eating cake to get me through.

Cake and Brew for all!

emeraldgirl1 · 31/10/2013 12:29

Sorry to report we have never recovered from 4 month regression and DD is 7.5m now... Tbf she wasn't a fabulous sleeper before 17w but she was going from 7.30 til 2am ish before waking persistently til 5am... These days we are lucky if she gets to midnight before waking to feed and her persistent waking is dreadful. Teething (I hope!!!) is the issue...

Bigwelly, hope you are ok, I thought we had it bad but you sound properly at the end of your tether, big hug xx

Good luck OP and everyone else!!! Xx

Original poster
Runswithsquirrels · 21/11/2013 19:13

Argh! Still facing the same.

I live in hope every night...

OP posts:
Kelly1814 · 21/11/2013 19:18

Lord. I have a 9 weeker whochardly sleeps, I am clinging to the premise that this gets better.

This thread has scared the bejesus out of me.

BusyCee · 21/11/2013 19:23

Me too. The Incredible Sleeping Baby hit 16wks and it's been downhill from there. Now 19wks and last night woke at 10; 130; 4; 530. Won't nap during the day and feeds constantly. I do not remember this from DS1.

I'd share more of my pain with you but I'm too fucking tired to type...Hmm