4 month sleep regression- oh.my.god.

[hazel88]

So my DD has just hit the 4 month sleep regression hard. It sucks. It really sucks. for a short while she had been doing 6 hour chunks for the first part of the night followed by 1 or 2 wakings after. On the rare occasion she would just wake up once for a feed then that was it. BLISS. She's now waking up more times than I can count and I'm wondering if she'll ever sleep better again. I know about the 4 month sleep regression inside-out but would really appreciate experiences from others who have either gone through it or are going through it. I need some sanity restored...please?!

Thanks Zombie. Tonight is another chance to get things right so hopefully it will go better. I just find it hard to retain my optimism in the middle of the night! I think I might ditch the water idea as I don't think it fits that well with the gradual approach somehow.

Any joy with beanbag based napping? An hour and a half in the morning is great and you definitely are not a bad parent giving DS the opportunity to fall asleep!

DD is a bit grumbly and clingy today because of her teeth. Left one is nearly through at least! Nap 1 was a bit of a shambles and involved an extremely rare shhh whisper it, feed to sleep, but she slept well once she was down, nap 2 was a bit challenging but no feeding to sleep and it's been an hour so far. ...

Took the plunge and booked a cranial osteopath appointment for DD next Fri. Would be sooner if I could but that's when I get paid. Will report back!

Stupid question but, what is cranial osteopath? If it works I will follow!

He had another nAp in the end for about 30 mins, so all in all its the most he has slept in the day in ages. Hope it doesn't mess his bedtime up

Not a stupid question at all Zombie I probably wouldn't have heard of it were it not for the fact that my SIL went to a cranial osteopath with her DS as she had a forceps birth and he had a strained neck.

This explains it much better than I could community.babycentre.co.uk/post/a5292675/what_is_cranial_osteopathy . I don't really think there are any underlying physical problems causing DD to wake so much but I would still like to rule it out and there have been a heck of a lot of people who have had success with CO for multiple night wakings (not to be confused with the less gentle CIO !!!)

Hopefully DS's good day sleeps will mean a good bedtime as he won't be overtired going in.

Tonight I am going to try try try to look at the long term picture rather than expecting massive strides overnight with a gradual approach. Back to trying to settle in cot with no feed apart from one feed around 1 am but accepting that if she gets upset I will use the usual method but try again next time.

Hello all!

So last night was okay! Not brilliant but okay.

Woke 11.15, DH settled without feeding
Little unsettled around 12.30 when DH came to bed (we have a sidecar cot arrangement) but I shushed to sleep without picking up
Woke around 1.30, at this point about five hours since last feed so I fed - and then fell asleep with her in bed, NOT the plan
I woke at 3.15 and retured her to her cot with minimal fussage
Woke 5.45 and I took her into bed to feed - we both slept till 7.55

So that's three proper wake ups. Two feeds to sleep (naughty) but equally able to settle her well without feeding at other times. Several stretches of 2-3 hours. No real problems settling. It could be better but it coild also be a lot worse!!

How's the CC going for,those doing it?

penguin cranial osteo sounds like a good idea. Whereabouts are you, as I know a really good osteo in Yorkshire if that's your way? I just saw her myself recently and was saying if we still lived up there I'd have DD down her clinic like a flash.

Penguin that sounds like a game plan for tonight. Are you bf or ff?

Well let me know how it goes penguin! Will definitely look into it if it helps.

Glad your night wasn't too bad rp.

I managed to get a 3rd nap in today! But he was very lively this evening! I was trying to get him to sleep tonight then dm rang and said she would have him the night! I know it was bAd he's still awake now but it's great to have a break!

Hope everyone has a good night

Grrrrr third time of typing this as bloody phone keeps telling me that internet has stopped and eating my posts!

Great that you got a third nap in today Zombie. I dont think it's bad that you let your mum take DS for the night, you'll be much better able to parent if you are well rested. Same reason I packed DH off to the spare room tonight so he can get a good rest and take the pressure off me tomorrow.

Glad you had an ok night in the end RP, some real positives in there and you have made some great progress. Hope tonight is even better.

Thanks for the offer of an osteo recommendation, I actually live in Bucks so not exactly just down the road! The lady I will go to was the one who treated SIL's little boy and comes highly recommended. If nothing else DD should get a lovely relaxing treatment

Oh and I am BF still, we dabbled with formula at last feed for the past week but since hunger doesn't seem to really be the issue with DD's wakes am now back to ebf.

First real wake-up after 3 hours and feeling surprisingly upbeat for a change. Positives are that I neeeeearly managed to settle DD in cot without feeding (so close!) making me feel like there might actually be a time when I can. Ended up feeding as she got upset but that's ok. Fed her briefly but she kept crying when taken off the boob then when I put her back in her cot (just to see what would happen) she settled instantly next time will try doing that a bit sooner.

May the sleep gods be with you all!

That's great she settled penguin! Maybe the formula was too heavy on her stomach.

Dm just messaged, her dh just got ds to sleep with no dummy or anything that's NEVER happened before!

Wow that's great Zombie! Can he please come round and teach DD to settle without the dummy too?

Night here on paper looks pretty rubbish with 5 wakes and DD apparently up for the day at 5.40am (have left her in her cot to see if she will settle as she is happy at this point but think I will end up trying to feed to sleep) It certainly was in no way a restful night but there were some positives. Feedings were brief, all under 5 mins except for the planned one at 1.40 which was still shorter than usual, and she settled quickly when put down. ONE settle in cot without feeding using key words, stroking and music. Sort of feels like we might possibly be inching towards progress. Maybe.

How were your nights?

Grrrrrrrr. DD wouldn't go back to sleep so took her up around 6.15 to see her Dad who grumpily informed me that I woke him up. Excuse me for waking you up after your 8 blinking hours of precious sleep. Not happy!!

Penguin , I did the exact thing yesterday with my dd. Took her to see daddy at 630am ( not even that early ) and I had the same response !
Sounds like you all are making lots of progress , which is great .

The last two nights have been pretty awful , it's just getting worse . I fed her to sleep and co slept with her on my arm from 4am as I was just so tired .
Hoping it will get better soon.
How was everyone else's night ?

Sycamore I'm sorry you're having such a frustrating time. Things will improve eventually but it is so disheartening when it seems they are going backwards.

Remind me how old is your DD? Are you sleep training?

Sounds like you have had some crap nights.

I woke up at 5am and was wide awake don't think my body needs sleep any more

Seems like that is a standard dad response tbh, I got that one last weekend!

For a moment I forgot your mum had your DS Zombie and was wondering why you seemed annoyed at one 5 am wake!

Thanks penguin , dd is 19 weeks today . Going to try sleep training when she is six months .
Zombie - I can't sleep when I get the opportunity either . It's so frustrating .
How has everyone's days been ? I am not looking forward to tonight x

Ha penguin if ds was here I'd be so happy with that!

Tonight isn't looking good. He hardly napped again as usual today. He went to sleep fairly easy but it was at 6.30 as he was so tired. He's woke up 4 times so far. He didn't take long
To settle but I just don't think he's getting the sleep he needs

Hi ladies. Didn't check in yesterday night as I had an extremely rare evening out So Daddy was in charge of bedtime. Was lovely to have a break.

Only 4 wakes last night (since when did 4 wakes become something to celebrate ) and although I fed at all but one, the feeds average around 3 mins now so I am hopefully nearing the phase of being able to cut some out as I know DD isn't really hungry. I know that step will be the hardest though!

How were your nights ladies?

Ha penguin 4 is great how did dh do at settling her?

Ds woke loads before I went to bed, after I went to bed he woke 3 times and once for a feed . So all in all 4 wake ups here too. Which is good considering what he has been like!

I also managed to get him to have a short nap this morning too.... With no screaming! He hasn't done that in months! I think it's cus I got it at the very right time.

Oh my god. I was trying to sort the hob this morning as it has been playing up, as I typed that post I smelt something and my bloody dressing gown was on fire

Oh no! Are you ok Zombie? Hope no one was injured!

Well done for hitting the sweet spot nap wise this morning - makes things SO much easier when you do although it would be helpful if the DC stopped moving the timings around so often!!

DH settled her well - he is normally quite good and puts her down for naps at the weekend when he us around so she is used to him thankfully. He still put the light on at first wake to give her calpol though! I have given up explaining that one. A tiny part of me is relieved that she didn't sleep through after DH put her down as I would never have heard the end of it

Sycamore was last night any better for you? Hope you got some rear.

OMG worst auto - correct fail! That was meant to say rest!

Oh no zombie , are you ok? That's the sort of thing that would happen to me .
Penguin . 4 wake ups is good .
Well last night was horrendous ! Lost count of how many wake ups and I was def up every half an hour at one point. It's really getting me down , I feel absolutely shattered . Really hope it's the teeth as I can't take much more

Oh Sycamore I really feel for you. We had a couple of nights like that right at the beginning of the regression and it is SO exhausting and demoralising.

You have probably tried everything but just in case it helps, one teething tip I hadn't read before was to try elevating the head of the cot as it can help relieve the additional pressure from lying down which causes teething pain to be worse at night. Really hope you get some respite soon. Sending and depending on your preference!