4 month sleep regression - anyone else?

[Ehc1989]

Hi all - my DS is 4 months today & pretty sure he is going through the leap/regression. Last night was the worst waking every 1.5 hours. I only fed him once at 4am as that’s around when he used to have a feed before and don’t want to get into the habit of feeding him back to sleep. He used to sleep 8ish-3/4am then feed and back to sleep till 6-7am. My husband is a pilot and works away and I have a 4 year old so I’m feeling pretty dead right now.
Anyone else going through this regression or can share tips to survive !!

[cinnamonbiscuit]

My second DD is 7 months old and she went through it. She was sleeping 8-6 before it so it was pretty gutting when it started 😅 it's taken a while and we have the odd bad week here and there but she's mostly back to one wake for a feed sometime around 3/4/5 and then back to bed till 7. I would say it was particularly bad for about a month before it started improving.

If you're able to stick to that one feed then fingers crossed he will come out of it quickly! I didn't have this much willpower, my DD hates the dummy and just gets excited if you pick her up and wants to play, so I've relied heavily on giving her small amounts of formula to get her back down.

My husband works nights permanently so I know how you feel, it's a big burden taking on the nights alone. Does your 4 yo sleep ok? My 3 yo has always been a great sleeper otherwise I would quite simply not cope!!

[Ehc1989]

@cinnamonbiscuit thank you for your reply. Yeah really hard when they slept well before, I was more than happy with just the one feed! He can settle himself for naps fine, and the other times in the night he’ll shout/chat himself back to sleep as I try not to intervene. I find with him the more I try help it makes it worse. He had a dummy but about 3 weeks ago he completely refused it and went mental every time I tried so that’s that lol. My daughter sleeps well thankfully!! She had a dummy till 2.5 so feels weird that he doesn’t want one to me but probably a good thing in the future. Currently drinking cup of tea number 1 of the day…. Going to be a long day!

[Reb1986]

Hi OP,

I believe they also go through a growth spurt at this stage. That combined with the fact they can suddenly see and hear so much better, and therefore get distracted during daytime feeding can result in something called “reverse cycling” where they get more of their calories at night. Apparently it does right itself.

Sending you lots of positive thoughts! Keep going!

[Ehc1989]

@Reb1986 thank you for your reply. Yes he is definitely more distracted in the day and wants to see everything his sister is doing!! I noticed yesterday he is cutting his bottom 2 teeth too so we have that into the mix also. Not sure what is causing what atm but he’s not been a happy boy last few days. Let’s hope the teeth come through and this regression ends soon!

[Tommymummyft]

I’m pretty sure we’re going through this too 🥴 mine is 4 months tomorrow but we’ve had a rough week or two so far. Had a similar night to you previously with one feed at 4/5am and trying to stick to that but he’s needing settling with a dummy or hand on him hourly. Im a ftm and been dreading the 4 month regression. Wondering when I’ll ever not feel tired 😅

[Ehc1989]

@Tommymummyft how are you doing? We are not having a fun time of it atm. Little sleep, he is getting his bottom 2 teeth & has his jabs today. Hubby is away so just me dealing with it, god I’m so tired 😪

[Tommymummyft]

@Ehc1989 teeth too! Poor you!
we have jabs next week, it’s not timed well if you ask me 😅
Had a little cry this morning. My partner works long hours so it’s all down to me too night and day and it’s so hard. Lack of sleep really is the hardest thing to deal with especially when it’s so full on during the day too.
I made the mistake of looking at the wonder weeks app and according to that I have another day before i even enter leap 4 so now terrified it’s going to get worse. I know it’s just an app and it doesn’t know my baby but I really wish I hadn’t looked. Hope things get easier for you and jabs went ok

[flowerlover1990]

We're 8 weeks into it and no sign of it yet ending. Our 18 week old sleeps 7-10, I do a dream feed and then he goes back down for another 2 hours, then it's hourly wakes until the morning. I've taken to popping him in our bed around 5am out of pure desperation for some sleep and it works sometimes and gives me a bit of a rest. Partner works long days too so can't help during the night, it's brutal. Baby is generally quite fussy in the day at the moment too, 4 months is tough!