Four month sleep regression

naccor · October 2015

Is anyone's little one experiencing this yet? I think my son is starting but I also just transitioned him from the pnp in our room to his crib in his own room. Usually he goes right down after his night time feedings but last night it took an hour before I could put him in his crib and he stayed asleep. I'm nervous what to expect over the next few weeks!

kendalrw · October 2015

Our LO seems to be going through this as well, he turns 4 months next week. For over a month we would put him to sleep around 730 or 8 and he'd sleep till 530 or 6. Now he's waking up at least once a night. At first it was because he had a poopy diaper, but now he's just waking up to eat. I was kind of bummed when he stopped sleeping through the night, but then I realized that even if he wakes up once there are other moms going through a lot worse and I should be thankful that he's sleeping that much at all.. Plus since going back to work I really do enjoy getting up and spending extra time with him even if we are both half asleep.. Being a mom really taught me to enjoy the little things in life.

btm013 · October 2015

Yessssss!! LO has turned on us haha. He used to put himself to bed and now needs to be rocked to sleep every night. He is still waking up once to eat but he will wake up again to play. We turn on the mobile and thankfully he puts himself back to sleep after about an hour. It's cute bc it seems like he is having the time of his life in the crib!

YouAreMySunshine15 · October 2015

LO has been in her crib the last three nights. She turned 16 weeks Monday. I'm not sure if it's the 4 month sleep regression or the transition, but I AM GOING CRAZY. She won't go down for naps and wakes up every time I put her in the crib. She is no longer sleeping through the night either (which I expected with the transition). She won't fall back asleep on her own. I know you're supposed to put them in drowsy but awake but it's so hard. She wakes up all the way every time. I read in Baby 411 that you're supposed to let them fuss and cry for 10 minutes after you put them in. But I'm not sure if I should because I don't want her to have negative associations with the crib! This is a mess. I want my good sleeper back.

naccor · October 2015

Sjeff0816 said:
LO has been in her crib the last three nights. She turned 16 weeks Monday. I'm not sure if it's the 4 month sleep regression or the transition, but I AM GOING CRAZY. She won't go down for naps and wakes up every time I put her in the crib. She is no longer sleeping through the night either (which I expected with the transition). She won't fall back asleep on her own. I know you're supposed to put them in drowsy but awake but it's so hard. She wakes up all the way every time. I read in Baby 411 that you're supposed to let them fuss and cry for 10 minutes after you put them in. But I'm not sure if I should because I don't want her to have negative associations with the crib! This is a mess. I want my good sleeper back.

naccor · October 2015

Same exact situation

ksimo6 · October 2015

It blows. Up at night like a newborn. Eats like a pig one day... Eats nothing the next. He thinks he's pretty bad ass while sitting in the walker though. It will pass!

virginiaunicorn11 · October 2015

Stupid question of the year: when exactly is the four month sleep regression?

My kid has been waking up several times a night all of month three. He turned four months today, so I'm wondering if we can get any worse (HA! It can always. Get. Worse.), or maybe he started it early, or maybe he will skip it because he never progressed?

virginiaunicorn11 · October 2015

^HA! LO woke every hour or half hour last night, spending 10:30-12:00 awake, half fussing half wanting to party, then again from 3:30-4:30.

So sooo happy to answer my own question.

KaLikeAWind · October 2015

virginiaunicorn11 said:
^HA! LO woke every hour or half hour last night, spending 10:30-12:00 awake, half fussing half wanting to party, then again from 3:30-4:30.

So sooo happy to answer my own question.

Oh, no. X_X

hudson202 · October 2015

Do we know why there is a 4 month sleep regression? Like is something going on physically/developmentally? Or just babies be babies?

delujm0 · October 2015

hudson202 said:

Do we know why there is a 4 month sleep regression? Like is something going on physically/developmentally? Or just babies be babies?

I've read that 4 months is when babies transition from baby-style sleep cycles to adult-style sleep cycles. So prior to that, they're in deeper sleep most of the time, but afterwards they start having similar REM cycles to us (like 2-3 hour cycles where they wake lightly after each one). Because they don't really get that a cycle has ended but it's still nighttime so they should put themselves back to sleep (like adults do), this causes them to think it's suddenly Party Time in the middle of the night. It can also make it difficult to do the "nurse to sleep and then transfer" routine, because it takes longer for them to enter the deep sleep portion of the cycle than it does when they're younger (so you might have to wait until they're out for 30+ minutes before doing this, or hope that putting them down awake but drowsy will lead to them going to sleep on their own).

I don't know how true this is...I think LO's cycles during the day are about 30-40 minutes (which is why her naps are so short), but she does sleep pretty hard at night. However, I have seen her recently (she's 15 weeks) waking several times at night and thrashing around before putting herself back to sleep (if she is actually hungry, she cries, if not, she just sucks her thumb). I am VERY SERIOUSLY hoping that she's just a heavy sleeper like DH is and that her nighttime sleep will continue to be this way, since I know she can and has put herself back to sleep in these waking situations before...but I'm sure this will come to get me eventually. I actually thought it started Monday night because she suddenly woke twice to eat MOTN and was still up early for the day (when she hasn't woken more than once MOTN in over a month, and typically sleeps in later when she does), but she was normal again last night...so I think I was just dealing with a combination of her cold and possibly a growth spurt.

I think there's also a lot of cognitive growth at this time...there's a long "leap" for those of you who use the Wonder Weeks thing. But I don't know exactly what they're learning during that leap.

cheriep3 · October 2015

Yes, yes, yes! LO has been a great sleeper since 7 weeks then we hit 3 months and it's awful. Thankfully, I realized he's just starving. I'm not sure if it's a growth spurt or he's just ready for food but I started rice cereal with him and it has made the world of difference. I've also let him whine a little longer before I grab him and that has seemed to help.

ksimo6 · October 2015

Check out wonder weeks... They are shifting sleep cycles and making a huge developmental shift at about 19 weeks. Aka the perfect storm of baby shit show. And then, they get to have shots!!! Hooray.

YouAreMySunshine15 · October 2015

I've been feeling miserable and lost, with no clue how to help LO sleep or nap. I've broken down in tears three times. This gave me hope.

https://www.mannlymama.com/2012/12/wonder-week-19-aka-4-month-sleep-regression/

hb4 · October 2015

@Sjeff0816 thank you so much for this you have given me hope. Have been suffering for over a month now so the end must be near!

YouAreMySunshine15 · October 2015

@hb4 we're only about 2 weeks in. Every day feels worse than the last. We just have to keep reminding ourselves it will pass. ~X(

henrytviii · October 2015

I laughed when I read the first posts about babies now waking up once at night. We had a good rhythm with nursing every 3-4 hours at night and then every 2 hours in the early am. So 3-4 night nursings. Now its every hour to 1.5 hours. We've been in this for 10 days, starting just past 4 months but LO does everything a few weeks later than what most of you describe here in J15. I knew this was coming and yet somehow I thought maybe we'd just sail right through it. I was feeling really good even with the 3-4 wakeups at night, now I am a mess. I can't write a post here without typos, I switch words when I speak. I am exhausted from lugging my 20lb bowling ball around all day, and I am SO hungry!! Whew, but he's so cute. I love that part. We had a grew Sunday together, he feel asleep forward facing in the Beco at one point. This too shall pass. In the meantime mama needs some coffee and take-out.

henrytviii · October 2015

And I got him down to sleep at a record early time of 7:10 and DH just came in and poked at him and woke him up. I nursed him 3 times to sleep and help him for 30 minutes. Now we start again. Guess I should have been guarding the crib, not bumping.

virginiaunicorn11 · October 2015

@henrytviii I could have written this! Word for word. Amen, Sister! Cheers, let's clink coffee cups (how unfair that we only "are supposed" to have two cups/day?! I could use 4-6 personally...)

henrytviii · October 2015

Oh shit really?? I drank a pot today + an ice coffee out. I do brew it 1/2 caf so I can drink twice as much. I don't drink I everyday, sometimes I can't find time to brew it, sometimes I only get a sip before I get distracted or have to leave for work. I don't notice a difference in LO based on my consumption.

klkonwi · October 2015

^^^^ kellymom.com has great info on how much caffeine gets into your milk and basically says it's rare for a baby to be actually affected by the caffeine. (Effected or affected..... ? It's almost 2 am so I don't care.....

klkonwi · October 2015

They literally have each Starbucks beverage and the amt excreted into your milk after how many hours........ Genious!

jessieR358 · October 2015

klkonwi said:
^^^^ kellymom.com has great info on how much caffeine gets into your milk and basically says it's rare for a baby to be actually affected by the caffeine. (Effected or affected..... ? It's almost 2 am so I don't care.....

I had caffeinated tea at dinner one night and he was a wild man all night (this is when he was sleeping). Maybe it was a coincidence but I only drink decaf now. I'm too scared to try it again.

virginiaunicorn11 · October 2015

HOORAY!! Bring on all the coffee!!

I must have been thinking of pregnancy. Thanks so much, @klkonwi !!!

alissastanzeweaver · October 2015

I feel you sister! Glad I'm not alone.. It feels like we're taking a huge step backwards !! But after doing lots of research and asking other moms, I realize that it will get better and go back to "normal" . I have lost it a few times .. Sleep deprivation is bad news! I have had to get the rock n play sleeper back out of the closet be that is basically the only thing that keeps her asleep (besides me holding her)
Wonder Weeks is what they call them.. Nobody warns you about them.. But they happen for the first couple years!!
The good news is that our babies are growing and developing new skills .. It just takes a few weeks to adjust

lovethatcolosun · October 2015

Sjeff0816 said:
I've been feeling miserable and lost, with no clue how to help LO sleep or nap. I've broken down in tears three times. This gave me hope.

https://www.mannlymama.com/2012/12/wonder-week-19-aka-4-month-sleep-regression/

@devyns2nd here's the blog post I was talking about.

henrytviii · October 2015

I finally read that blog post. It did help. I know this is just a phase and we will come out the other side but right now it seems dark. I am working long hours. I have work to do at night. I have two kids to take care of and I'm only sleeping 4-6 hours a night, broken in 30 minute segments and all of it with a baby in my arms. I'm on my own at night and its not working. I realized though its not forever, its likely not even 2 months. Tonight I had two ciders, and that was a good short term solution. Next week I am going to take a sick day from school to sleep and grade papers, and I'm going to find a friend or sitter that can cover 8-10pm for me once or twice a week so I can prep and grade. I didn't want to do that because I want the time with LO but I am holding him literally all night, so I just need to do it. And I need to take a break now and then or I'm not going to make it.

lovethatcolosun · October 2015

@henrytviii I think that sounds like a great plan mama. You need to take care of yourself too so you have enough energy left to care for LO. It's the whole oxygen mask metaphor.

henrytviii · October 2015

I feel like its my own fault for getting in this mess. Who starts a new 2nd job with a 2 month old and a 3 year old?? I have to keep reminding myself I am laying a foundation so I can support my boys and have a job that has the same schedule as theirs. Laying our foundation, not digging our grave. I hope we all get back on track quickly. 6 month olds are the best!

caitlincunn · October 2015

Are you having issues with just bedtime? Or naps too?

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