4-month regression - how do you deal with it?

[SouthernComforter]

DS2 is a few days off four months. He was quite a solid sleeper, usually waking once a night for a short feed. He's now waking 2+ times, is more difficult to settle and is awake for the day between 630 and 7am. So my question is what do you do? At the moment I feed him because he's in the bed with me and that's the quickest way to get him to sleep again. But are you meant to settle without feeding, to encourage them to sleep in longer chunks? The worst thing about it is my toddler, who has also started getting up in the night! Yawn...

Hi southern, me again! We still have the same here and DS is 5 months now! I am shamelessly place marking....sorry I can't be more help! I am a walking zombie today...

Hi Poppy :-) I haven't even left the house today - I'm doing washing in my trackie bottoms while my parents take toddler to the park... hopefully someone will give us some words of wisdom xx

6.30/7am is not early for a baby to wake, its pretty normal.

Ride it out is my advice 😄

Yeah I agree I think 6.30-7 is pretty normal (and not bad going, my toddler has been through phases of getting up way before that! ) but I feel you on the 2+ wakings, it's exhausting especially if they don't go back to sleep after a feed...

Hello! DD is 2 weeks off 5 months.
She is now in the habit of getting up and staying awake for up to 2 hours chatting/blowing raspberries/whinging and thrashing around her cot.
It is absolute hell!

The only way we are riding it out is to split the nights. I do 5 nights while DH at work and then he takes over on the weekend so I can sleep. We have a 4 yr old too.

She also doesn't seem to go more than 2 or 3 hours between wake ups even if it's just for a dummy. Not sure when the magical 5 hours is goi f to happen

Southern and crystal - are you feeding on each wake up?

I think 6-7 is normal time for a baby to wake up. It's lighter in the mornings now so you could try a black out blind? My dd didn't have sleep regression, is it a scientifically proven thing or do you think he might have a cold or be teething? I would feed back to sleep, it might also be time to put him in his own room? I know the guideline is 6 months but mine slept through in her own room from 3 months! I think we wake them up accidentally as they sleep in cycles and some of it is light sleep.
As long as he can move his head from side to side and his cot has a safe mattress and no duvet or pillow I would put him to bed there. Just a tip though don't flame me!

I don't mind the 630 wake up, I was just comparing it to before when he was waking about 8. My toddler has been up with a 5 on the clock for much of his life so 630 feels quite civilised. Really I was questioning whether you feed through the regression (as I do) or whether you're 'meant' to try to get them back off to sleep without it, to encourage them to sleep for longer periods. I used to dream feed but now he's waking every few hours anyway there doesn't seem much point.

As I said, I wouldn't be particularly bothered except toddler has taken to getting up in the night too. Husband and I are currently in separate rooms so we each deal with one and we're not both up umpteen times but sound carries.

Yes, JW, I think he's beginning to teethe and it's probably also time to think about moving him into his own room.

Poppy - yes, feeding on each wake up. Crystal - he used to regularly do 7 hours (although I wouldn't be in bed all of that time ). That's why it's so frustrating he's dropped to 3...

Same here southern - want to know if feed through it or should be trying to settle them without a feed...worried about creating a habit and then DS waking umpteen times a night demanding a feed forever more... Trouble is it's the easiest way for him to go back to sleep, and therefore me to go back to bed, settling him without it will take a lot longer and may not even work and may end up feeding him anyway! Same for you? Our toddler is also waking up for various reasons, nicely slotting in between baby waking, it's so tiring isn't it? Some days I don't know how I am going to function. Sorry to hijack your thread! Back to lurking now...

I always fed back to sleep as I assumed he was hungry as he gulped it down. Plus they're still very little to go all night without some milk. Do whatever feels right for you.

I try to replace dummy as option 1. If he attacks my hand I feed him. I am generally feeding 2/3 times per night too.

Baby is 4mo

Every feed I vaguely wonder if I'm doing it right then I tell myself hr is really little and continue dozing.

They are really little. It is just a pita

They are v little and have little tummies that need feeding. They're growing so much and going 8 hours is too long for most 4 mo olds. Just go with your instincts and don't worry what you think you 'should' be doing. Do what works for you and your baby.

DD is formula fed and not a very hungry baby. She only manages 3 or 4 Oz at a time.
Usually I do dummy if its been less than 3 hours. So if she had a feed at 11 I try to go until at least 2-2.30
Before a feed. Even then she will only have 3/4 oz.
But put problem is the Wake time after the feed where there really is no solution!

We fed through it. At 5.5 months I think we're now back to 1 feed (don't want to jinx by being more certain than "think"!) plus she's started going to bed at 7, so DH and I have our evenings back. It seemed to get better once she worked out how to roll over, as if she was spending her nights thinking about it.

Ha, Millions, he rolled for the first time yesterday... they must get so excited about it. Anyway I fed at 11pm and 3am last night and he grumbled at 5 but was stroked back to sleep and went until 7. A good night - phew!