4 month sleep regression?

[AquaVitae89]

Oh wise ones, please can I have you advice!

my baby is (I think) in a sleep regression. He’s teething as well so difficult to tell. He’s gone from sleeping through 11pm-5/6am to waking up 5-7 times a night. It is exhausting, but he seems to be hungry at each waking which makes me think it’s more growth spurt/regression than teething.

how long did your little one’s regression last? Any tips on helping him through it? I don’t want to create a habit of him expecting a feed when he wakes in the night, but equally he seems hungry so I’m going with it for now but should I be doing something different? Thanks in advance!

For us all the regressions just blended into each other 🫠 he’s 8 months old and I’m slowly seeing some improvements! But it’s been wake ups every 2-2.5 hours since he was 3.5 months until a couple weeks ago when the longest stretches became more like 3-4 hours and then this week seeing some 6 hour sleeps too!

A little known statistic is that baby sleep tends to be the best it’s going to get at 3 months old, and the worst at 7-10 months, then there’s consistent improvement by about 11 months. But consistently sleeping through does not often happen until 2 years.

@GinnyBee I've seen you on other threads and I think we have the same baby 🙃

Mine has had a very similar pattern. Best sleep at around 3mo, sleep regression hit at 4mo, worst sleep was probably around 6/7mo and started to see improvements at 8mo. He's 10mo now and has stayed pretty static, except for a bit of a blip over Christmas that I think we're only just over.

It really varies by baby. Of my mum friends, I have probably had it the worst, but then I have friends who thought they'd escaped the regression thing (no issues at 4mo) only to find that their baby's sleep went to shit at 8mo. My baby is currently sleeping better than theirs.

I worried so much about 'bad habits' in the early days but I basically fed to sleep for every wake - it's how everyone got the most sleep. I tried rocking but it was stressful and meant less sleep for everyone, and controlled crying just isn't for me. He will allow DP to rock him back to sleep at the start of the night now, but anything post midnight is a feed (thankfully it's just 1 or 2 these days).

As they get older you'll find that daytime sleep does have an impact on how well they sleep at night - you don't want too much, or not enough, but every baby has unique needs so you'll need to figure out what yours are (take the guidebooks with a huge pinch of salt). But it's really, really normal for babies to wake up frequently at night and whilst it's tough, it will get better ❤️

@Calphurnia88 yes I recognise your username too! Another low sleep needs bub?

Also very similar approach! We’ve just done whatever needs to be done to get some sleep. Never even considered sleep training, I don’t believe in it and would rather respond every time he needs me. I’ve yet to meet a teenager that never learned independent sleep 😅

He is nursed to sleep, I started cosleeping when the 4 month regression never ended, then when he started rolling and crawling I converted to a floor bed for safety reasons. It was meant to be temporary but 5 months later we still sleep there! I have his cot, which I took the legs off, sidecarred to our spare mattress on the floor, but have now realised this isn’t as temporary as I thought so I’ve bought a queen size floor bed which should be delivered next week.

When you’re in the deep end it seems never ending but it really isn’t! Every baby will eventually sleep! Just find ways to cope and soon it will be over 🙂

@GinnyBee sounds very similar to us!

We started cosleeping around 4mo - which was defintely not in the plan - and would probably have switched to floor bed by now if we were able to do so safely. Instead DS does his pre-feed stretches in the cot and then comes in with me after that, as we've managed to fashion barriers to prevent him falling. I actually quite enjoy the cuddles and he gets back to sleep really quickly these days.

In the depths of it I couldn't see light at the end of the tunnel, but it is so much better now. I know it might get bad again, and we still have random bad nights, but I know it can and does get better.

@AquaVitae89 to offer some practical advice. Cosleeping and side-lying feeding got me through the worst periods. Look up how to do it safely (Lullaby Trust is my go to).

I know you'll read stories on here about how a friend of a friend's cousin coslept and now their 7yo won't sleep in their own bed, or how feeding to sleep causes babies to wake more often, but a lot of it is either anecdotal or just plain misinformed. I have friends whose babies feed to sleep and sleep through. I have friends who sleep trained their babies, but at 3yo they'll only sleep in their parent's bed. These are anecdotes, they're all different, and correlation does not always equal causation.

You will be tired. It's tough. Get as much help as you can. DP does daddy day care on weekend mornings so I can lie in. When family visit I make the most of the break. Fresh air every morning helps a lot.

Follow Lyndsey Hookway on Instagram. Unfollow anyone who makes you feel shit, or question your instincts.

Great recommendation re Lyndsey Hookway thank u for that!!

Hi just wondering how you are getting on now? I’m in similar boat in that my son who is 4 and a half months is waking 5-6 times a night. I agree, exhausting! Before that we was waking maybe 3 times a night which I coped with ok. I’m bfeeding and I’m giving baby the boob every times he wakes, most of the time he is probably hungry but other times I’m sure he just wanting it for comfort. Hope u r getting on ok. I’m bit worried about how long it will last but trying to be positive and accept this is how is it!

It is*

I know I should be grateful for the 8 hours 11 but just wanted to say I share your pain with the multiple night wakings! We're at 4.5 months now, also beginning teething and hoping it gets better again, as I do worry about our son getting enough restful sleep. We've been feeding to sleep and although I hear you should help them to learn to self-settle at some point (I think later on?) we're just going with what we can atm to get through the nights as smoothly as possible. I dream of the days of 3 hours sleep in a row again 😅.