4 Month Sleep Regression

For some parents, the toughest time in their baby's sleep journey is when their little one hits the four month sleep regression. It's often even referred to as the dreaded four month sleep regression. If this is where you are or you're concerned about this today, I want to help ease your mind, so let's dive in and talk about it. For those who are struggling with the four month sleep regression, what you'll typically see is more night wakings, difficulty falling asleep independently, maybe they need a little bit more hands on help, or maybe naps really begin to fall apart. Or sleep was never really an issue up to this point and suddenly it's feeling hard. If you're experiencing that, you're probably in the four month sleep regression. The four month sleep regression is caused because big developmental changes are happening your baby's brain. So what are those changes? Your little one is transitioning from newborn sleep stages into more adult like sleep cycles. So just like you and I transition between sleep cycles all night long, your little one is beginning to do the same. You and I wake up briefly in the middle of the night at the top of each sleep cycle. Now we are so good at putting ourselves back to sleep, we go right back to sleep. But at this age, your little one is also becoming very aware of the world around them. So they're waking in the night and they're aware of the world around them. If they don't know how to fall asleep independently, they're going to struggle to fall back to sleep in the night. And that's why you see those night wakings or those short naps. All babies develop at their own pace and their own rate. So you may have a little one where you're starting to see this as early as 13 to 15 weeks old, and you may not see it until your little one's closer to five months. Anywhere between three and five months of age is pretty normal for that four month sleep regression. The sleep cycle changes that we see that happen during the four month sleep regression, they're permanent. So this is a permanent change in your baby's brain. But often when I hear parents say, Kara, how long is this going to last? What they're asking is how long is sleep going to be disrupted? Typically if you have a strong sleep foundation, it's a week or two. But depending on the habits that you start adding in during this time, it can be a lot longer. It really is dependent upon what you're doing and during this time. So if you need help with what do I do to help me through the four month sleep regression. If you're in my blog, keep reading. I'm going to give you tips to help. If you found this video elsewhere, check out the link in the description. I'll take you to my four month sleep regression blog and give you tips to help.