4 month sleep regression & regrets

knottiea969b67d65f949d7

Hear me out… I love my son with all my heart, but he’s almost 4 months old and going through such a major sleep regression that at times I wish we didn’t have a baby. I need some real tips and help.

We’ve been trying to keep a consistent schedule at bedtime (bath, pjs, book, and bottle) but he’ll only sleep for 7-8 hours a night because he’s up and down. His bed time isn’t the time I would like it to be because we’re having to do longer naps in the day to make up for his lack of sleep at night. He’s up every 2-3 hours and has only ever slept thru the night once. He’s BF except for 1 4 oz bottle of formula before bed. I don’t know what to do because he wakes up and wants to feed every time he wakes up and I’m mentally and physically exhausted. I hate being mad about waking up, and I hate sitting here crying every night wishing I didn’t have to go through this. Please help!!

turtletaylor0522

You could try taking a sleep class like from Taking Cara Babies. I haven’t taken those classes yet but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the classes and plan to take the sleep training classes at about 6 months. I know she has content for the first 4-5 months that addressed sleep regression. You can look her up on Pinterest or Instagram, too. She has a lot of free content in addition to her paid classes. 

peanutcashew21

Just saw this. Your month is probably about done, but maybe this will help someone else starting the sleep regression. The sleep regression is rough. Do you have help? We ended up hiring a doula to help with the overnights so I could get some sleep. Can you have relatives or friends help if cost prevents hiring someone? They can sleep feed the baby a bottle in the overnight, or stay up and care for the baby if baby refuses to sleep. I don't think sleep training works during the regression, no matter what others say. You just have to wait the month out. Don't stress about it. Just expect it and do what you can to minimize your pain. Sleep when baby let's you sleep. Pump or use formula and let someone else take a couple feeding shifts. Best advice I can give is... Don't try to do it alone! Don't expect baby to conform to your schedule during this time. Baby's going through some stuff of their own. They can't help it. They've never done this either. If you can't get help during the overnight, get help anytime you can so you can sleep a longer block of time. Then, the overnights won't be so bad because at least you've had some sleep. Good luck. Parenting is not easy. Get help when you can, not just with the sleep regression. Takes a village!!

katie1sttimemama

Just came here to say I'm going through the exact same thing right now. Baby turned 4 months Jan 2nd, but this has been going on since last month. Every 2-3 hours. I also wake up every 4 hrs to pump. I have a husband but he works full-time and sleeps through the night, sleeps through any baby screams. I came to visit my parents but my mom has dementia, baby won't let my grandma near him, and my dad helps when he can. I always wonder if I'll ever sleep again. Makes the days so much harder! 😫 I hope it gets better for you!

annypl

> @katie1sttimemama said:
> Just came here to say I'm going through the exact same thing right now. Baby turned 4 months Jan 2nd, but this has been going on since last month. Every 2-3 hours. I also wake up every 4 hrs to pump. I have a husband but he works full-time and sleeps through the night, sleeps through any baby screams. I came to visit my parents but my mom has dementia, baby won't let my grandma near him, and my dad helps when he can. I always wonder if I'll ever sleep again. Makes the days so much harder! 😫 I hope it gets better for you!

Think about what is temporary. The first year of life is always hard. I also experienced the first year hard. Try to find the reason why the child wakes up so often, maybe he does not eat up, or colic,? -8 hours is not enough for a 4-month-old baby to sleep.