4 month sleep regression - tips and advice!

[Oopsididitagainandagain]

Hello everyone.
my little boy is coming up 4 months and the sleep regression has hit us both hard. He’s gone from not waking 9.30-6 and now wakes at 2 and 5.30. Also he’s being a serious nap refuser during the day to the point he’s seriously overtired and screaming his head off at me.

Can anyone give me any advice or tips on how they coped and got through this stage?

 

[Shivers]

Would love to hear some tips too. My little girl never slept well so it’s not been a regression as such.

Shes 7 months now, only naps twice a day for 30 minutes max. She slept for maybe an hour at a time for about two weeks but then that stopped. I’m trying everything to get her to sleep longer for naps because she’s clearly still tired and is grumpy the rest of the day now but not much is working.

She goes to bed about 7pm but still have at least 2 wake ups and then usually up at 6.30ish. I try not to feed her but sometimes it’s the only way to get her back to sleep quickly so that I can at least get a couple of hours. 7 months of broken sleep is really starting to affect me now though!

 

[Hinchhater1442]

I don’t have kids, but on the ‘maybe baby’ podcast there’s an episode with Russell Kane where he talks about/explains how he and his wife sorted their child’s sleep!
I can’t explain it because I don’t have kids so I didn’t really get it but I’ve seen people rave about it

 

[Oopsididitagainandagain]

I don’t have kids, but on the ‘maybe baby’ podcast there’s an episode with Russell Kane where he talks about/explains how he and his wife sorted their child’s sleep!
I can’t explain it because I don’t have kids so I didn’t really get it but I’ve seen people rave about it

Will find it and have a listen - thanks!

 

[Che Guevara]

My kids are older now but I had this when my youngest hit 4 months, slept so well then boom kept waking up throughout the night but I refused to put him bed with me no matter how tired I was (did this with my middle boy, bad mistake lol) and just kept resettling him, it took 2 weeks of this but it worked so all I can recommend is perseverance as it will get better. X

 

[Crouchay93]

My little boy is 4 months this week I feel your pain!!!

 

[Shivers]

Will find it and have a listen - thanks!

I’m listening to him now. I want to punch him. He sounds so incredibly smug. I’ve tried everything he says he did and it. did. not. work.

 

[Twittrerisyouroffice]

This might not be what you want to hear but none of the sleep advice worked for my eldest. I drove myself mad reading the books.... I didn't feel comfortable leaving him to cry when he was tiny so just had him in bed with me and breastfed on demand to get him to sleep. At his worst he woke up every hour and I did go mad. By the time he was about 1, I went away for a weekend and first night he woke once, 2nd night he slept through! After that he slept through and became a toddler who never had a problem at bedtime or settling in his own room etc. My other kids were all much better sleepers thank god. Sarah Ockwell Smith has written some good stuff on baby sleep. It's frustrating because she doesn't give quick fixes, but I think that's cos there usually aren't any unfortunately. The best thing I did was ask for help and made sure I napped in the day. Good luck

 

[CMACJF]

Had to create an account to come on here and comment but I had exactly the same with my baby (she is now 11 months). Up until 4 months her sleep was perfect, then bang, it hit me like a ton of bricks!!! Lasted months too really don’t want to sound like an ad here but I was at my wits end and I ended up finding this lady/page on Instagram - Just Chill Mama. Signed up to one of her courses, and got my baby sleeping through 7 til 7 after 2 nights!!! Couldn’t actually believe it but it definitely worked for me! Lots of other positive feedback too. Had to ditch the dummy and went cold turkey with that and it was dropped in a day and I’ve never looked back. The course did cost £50 but it’s the best £50 I ever spent! Again, not an ad but had to pass on what worked for me xx

 

[Penny for them]

My baby is 4months, she was hourly then 2hourly now 3hourly wake ups,she can at a push go 4, she’s ebf and I think this may affect her sleeping,I’m always happy for the 3hr gaps,I’m definitely feeling it,she’s done up to 6hrs in the past but she was mixed fed then,and prob full up to the brim with formula,but I dunno I fantasise about a full night never had one yet. I’d say what your experiencing is very Normal and sounds like my ‘good’ nights if
I’m honest x

 

[Crouchay93]

My baby is 4months, she was hourly then 2hourly now 3hourly wake ups,she can at a push go 4, she’s ebf and I think this may affect her sleeping,I’m always happy for the 3hr gaps,I’m definitely feeling it,she’s done up to 6hrs in the past but she was mixed fed then,and prob full up to the brim with formula,but I dunno I fantasise about a full night never had one yet. I’d say what your experiencing is very Normal and sounds like my ‘good’ nights if
I’m honest x

My 4 month son is EBF aswel, and I swear the milk does not fill him up, I tried formula the other week for 4 nights before bed it did give him a Couple extra hours at night, however, th constipation and smelly farts/poops was not worth it

 

[Penny for them]

My 4 month son is EBF aswel, and I swear the milk does not fill him up, I tried formula the other week for 4 nights before bed it did give him a Couple extra hours at night, however, th constipation and smelly farts/poops was not worth it

I’m reluctant to switch for this very reason x the benefits out way the full night sleep (something i never thought I’d say believe me) not making the bottle saves the tears in the night so the wakes are quickly tended to plus no bottles to plan etc etc-but back to the sleep thing,my 1st daughter was formula and still woke through the night too,Every baby is so different - advice for one won’t be the same for another-I’m still working on naps -I try doing the same things each day before sleep,so baby knows whats
Coming,she still only does short naps,I remember my 1st only proper napping after 6months in a routine like after
Lunch,and there is a theory that you can link the short naps together if you can intervene before the 1st wake up buy rocking or inserting a dummy before they stir,but its a minefield,naps are a work in progress for sure and very hard to master x but what I try to remember this time around-as my 5year old sleeps like a teenager they sleep when they are ready,the growth spurts and little brains need food and comfort at prime times (like the leaps I’m going with this 4month thing as a regression ) and they are just not mature enough to sleep all night-sending sanity and energy to all sleep deprived mums x

 

[Bec3007]

Honestly the only thing I done was keep to our routine throughout all sleep regressions and never gave into him. By that I mean I wouldn’t leave him to cry but I also wouldn’t take him out his cot and make a big fuss either. For naps I really paid attention to his sleep cues and acted on them immediately. It didn’t always work but we got there in the end.

It feels like forever when you’re going through it but they don’t last too long.

 

[SoreenDoreen]

The Beyond Sleep Training Project on Facebook is an amazing group! Sarah Ockwell Smith also fantastic and explains what the hell is going on with all the regressions. My youngest is going through the 8-10 month one now and it’s brutal. We cosleep and breastfeed and it eventually ends - maximising everyone’s sleep is the key, along with good support and sharing the load wherever possible. Keep going

 

[Victaloria]

We used the Sensational Baby Sleep Plan by Alison Scott. Not sure why it worked but it did - worth a look at! We also looked at the Baby Sleep Chill that was mentioned above to help
With naps and that really helped too.

 

[Petulant_vlogger]

My baby is 8 months and used to sleep 9pm to 9am every night from 3months -6months. He had a sleep regression and we overhauled everything. We now co sleep and he wakes up so happy in the morning. Now wakes a little earlier. We allow him to sleep whenever he is tired during the day and he goes down for the night whenever he is ready. I think it's all about listening to their cues and allowing them to dictate the routine (controversial, I know) Best of luck to you x

 

[Oopsididitagainandagain]

thank you all for your replies!! I thought I’d give you all an update.

So, after 6 nights, we are through the other side and sleeping better than ever.

I let him work things out, fed him when he woke and let him dictate how it played out for those 6 nights. I was tired as heck and I’m glad it’s out of the way and fingers crossed we sleep well until the next regression stage (except we still have teething to come so I’m not fully hopeful!)
He now settles himself to sleep in his bed, and sleeps for 9-10 hours in a go. He’s always needed rocking to sleep so I was shocked the first night Id put him down whilst I ran downstairs and returned to find him fast asleep.
I genuinely don’t know what’s happened but I’m glad he’s figured it out on his own and we’re back to sleeping lots!

 

[Tree_]

My daughter slept through from 5 weeks 10 to 12 hours. 6 months came bam! She wakes every 2 hours and some nights I see every hour. So exhausting. My son never slept well as a baby so I was used to it but she lulled me into a false sense of security lol

 

[Tattlingpineapple]

Hello everyone.
my little boy is coming up 4 months and the sleep regression has hit us both hard. He’s gone from not waking 9.30-6 and now wakes at 2 and 5.30. Also he’s being a serious nap refuser during the day to the point he’s seriously overtired and screaming his head off at me.

Can anyone give me any advice or tips on how they coped and got through this stage?

I look after a baby the same age atm and during the day it only falls asleep in the pram on the balcony but then sleeps for around 2 hours... If you don't have a balcony maybe put the pram in front of the open window... I've already tried this at night and it definitely slept better / longer. Just make sure it's not too warm/cold. I put too much clothes on and it was actually sweating.