The 4 Month Sleep Regression

"Developmental Change"

4 Month Old

Frustrating yes, exhausting yes, bewildering yes...

What is it? What causes it? Why do some babies experience this and others don't?

Believe it or not, the 4 Month Regression is actually a mile stone and developmental change for your baby.

You may have had a baby who was sleeping well with 1 - 3 wakes or no wakes in the night and is now waking every 1-2 hours through the night for no known reason.

Sleep Regression is the time when your baby's sleep patterns shift, they wake up often in the night, and they have a hard time resettling back to sleep. There are also changes in their feeding patterns and all round development of their brain and their world around them.

Babies going through this developmental leap seem more unsettled, hungrier and super needy. It is tiring, but you can rest assure that this is a phase that will pass, but it can take a few weeks.

Regressions can also happen around 6 - 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, and 2 years.

Most parents think the sudden change in their baby's sleep is due to teething or their baby getting sick. These can also be associated with changes in sleep and fussiness, so always make sure your baby is not unwell.

Before 3 - 4 months, most babies sleep almost all day and mostly in deep sleep. Newborn babies (0 - 3 months) sleep differently, can sleep through noise and almost anywhere. Hardly anything can wake them. Babies of this age are recovering from birth and growing. They then begin to sleep less and lighter. As babies come out of the 4th trimester (the first 3 months after birth) they become more aware of their surroundings, their caregivers and adjust to their biological clock of night and day sleep. All children have their own temperament and this can also be a factor in how they respond to sleep and their environment.