If you rode out the 4 month regression...

[MabelFox]

How long did it last? My DS is 4 months and we've been in this now since he turned 3 months. He started waking every 2 hours, to every hour, now it can be every 45 minutes or less. He's harder to put down, waking very quickly. Naps in the day can be shorter too, with him waking in the middle of them and needing resettling. Which can take a long time. 😢 Myself and dh are exhausted. And I'm worried my poor baby isn't getting the rest he needs. 😢

We don't want to sleep train if we can avoid it. We have a bedtime routine that we try to do as much as possible. Bath, into sleep sack, book, breastfeed. He then needs bouncing to sleep as can't fall asleep on his own. Then into his crib next to me, white noise on.

Please tell me there's a light at the end of this endless seeming tunnel. The sleep deprivation is messing with my mental health and patience. I want to be the best mum I can be for him. Please tell me your experiences. 🙏🏼

My DS is 6 months. Rather than one regression, he has had multiple short ones since he was 4 months. Some have been REALLY challenging, so I really feel for you. They’ve tended to come about whenever he’s making a big developmental leap. So he’d “regress” (really terrible word for what this is IMO) and then emerge out of it making syllable sounds, or manipulating objects in new ways or rolling or pushing up with his arms, etc. Basically, far from regressing, when his brain goes into hyperdrive on a skill, he naturally just doesn’t sleep as well. Perhaps your DS is the same.

if you’re BFing, I find letting my DS fall asleep on the breast really helpful during these stages when linking sleep cycles goes out the window and my DS would otherwise wake after 30mins (waking from naps too soon obviously creates a snowball effect, making it harder to get out of the regression.) As I understand it, the calming hormones it releases promote a smoother sleep onset and help to keep them asleep during transition between cycles. If the idea he might develop a dependency on the breast for sleep is an issue for you, just ensure you’re mix in other sleep cues alongside it like motion, shushing, singing, tapping, etc.

Similarly, if you’re always using motion to put him to sleep, there’s the chance he’s struggling to link his sleep cycles because when he tries to transition, he needs to be in motion to do it successfully. Not necessarily the case but possible if he’s waking every 30-40mins. If it is, just as per above… try and give him a variety of sleep cues so he can learn he doesn’t need one single thing to fall asleep… and then the thing I personally find hardest but is necessary… don’t always rush in. If he’s not eyes open crying but just moaning and tossing about, let him try to put himself back to sleep. If after 5 minutes or so he really can’t or if it escalates to wakeful crying, then use a cue to try and help him 🙏🏻

Very best of luck to you! This is so hard 🩷

@Lalu9025 That's interesting, my little boy has been changing a lot recently. Rolling over, changes to his babbling sounds, holding his head up better. I dont doubt this is all playing a part. I've been breastfeeding him through the night just to hopefully get more sleep like you say, for him and us.

Thank you for your advice. I'm very intimidated by all the information on sleep cycles and how to break habits. I had no idea about any of this before having a baby! If we stop bouncing him, I really dont think he'll be able to sleep. He fights and fights it. We're still in the same room, so waiting to settle is next to impossible because he looks right at us and cries. We bounce him and when we put him down, he tends to gently rouse, turns onto his side and we rub his back for a bit. This usually helps him sleep quite quickly. Unless he's just woken from sleep, then we need to bounce him and do it all again. Which can take a long time and many attempts. 😔

How is your little boy's sleep now?
Thank you so much for your message. 💕

Bumping for more experiences 🙏🏼