4 month regression - will DD gradually sleep longer?

[Carta60]

Hello, DD is 15 weeks old. Previously she was sleeping well, waking once or twice if earlier to bed to breastfeed. Since 13.5 weeks she has woken every hour on the dot. Much harder to settle. Not hungry with each wake but does suckle every time as this is the quickest way to settle her back to sleep. Gaining weight well.

I have worked hard this week in following her tired cues for naps in the day. These tend to be in the sling, pram and occasionally I can put her down and she will nap on the sofa or crib. However the naps again seem to be a maximum of an hour:

I am pretty sure we have hit the 4 month sleep regression. In other mums experience do they gradually just begin to sleep a little longer as they get older? Will this happen naturally or should we be doing anything? I don't want to start any sleep training before the recommended 6 months: we have a good bedtime routine...
occasionally if desperate for sleep dh will hold DD from when she falls asleep at bedtime to first feed wake up (could be 3 hours) so she can sleep longer if held.:: and sometimes she may cosleep with me again only
waking every two or so hours. It's when she's alone in her Moses basket she wakes like clockwork.

Any experiences would be great to hear about and how long this phase lasted x Tia x

It will last as long as it takes for you to find a way to help her get to sleep.

During the "fourth trimester" (up to 3 months) sleep is the passive state for baby. As long as all needs are met (primarily hunger and comfort) then baby will sleep.

From 3-4 months old the process of getting to sleep becomes active. You and baby have to actively work at it. Baby will never go back to womb-like passive sleeping. This change is perminant.

How long this phase lasts depends entirely on how quickly you adapt to new settling techniques. Some things babies find naturally soothing so may help:

• Sucking. Breastfeeding to sleep or dummy
• Movement. Rocking, bouncing, pushchair, sling walks
• Secure feeling. Being held. Cosleeping. Sling. Reassuring hands on chest. Patting. Eye contact.

Thank you for this fatedestiny
Once we have developed these techniques then should she gradually sleep a little bit longer? E.g. If we co sleep and that causes her to feel secure etc and have longer sleep sessions is that teaching her at the same time? Thanks x

That's the idea, yes. It's all about finding what works best for your child.

Once you've got a settling method, next thing is to find a way to wean off you providing the comfort and security so that baby can settle to sleep independantly. This is a longer term view though.

Some parenting ethos' don't consider weaning off parental-settling, some parents are happy to be their childs soiree of sleep comfort for as long as it's needed (and it's likely to be a few years). Others develop settling techniques with independant settling in mind, dummy and settling in the cot for example.

My 15 week old is doing exactly the same and it was a big shock to me the other night when she woke every hour. Last night I tried rocking her back which worked a couple of times, it's the early hours we both struggle with

Ds is 5 months and has just (past 2 nights) started waking less and having longer naps in the day

I wouldn't worry about it too much. We co-sleep and I actually think that him suckling all night gives us both a worse sleep as I will drop off then wake up and wake him in doing so. I have recently tried sitting up in bed to feed in the early hours, hoping he will have a big feed and sleep again until a more sociable hour & It does appear to be working .

Thanks penguina did you to anything to help achieve the longer sleeps or just go with it whilst the waking was frequent? Glad you're getting some rest! X

I have done nothing other than drink less coffee...

I think it just comes with time !

Just wondering, is baby warm enough? With temps dropping I popped a cardi on my lg last night and she slept so much better. I think the cold was making her wake