The (Dreaded) Four-Month Sleep Regression
If you’re reading this, your baby is likely going through the four-month sleep regression, or they’re about to and you’re trying to get ahead of it (way to go!). There’s no way to sugar coat this: The regression sucks. It happens to every baby, although not always at four months on the dot, and there isn’t a whole lot parents can do to prevent it or make it go away. But there are definitely things you can do to mitigate it and set yourself up for success. In this blog post I am going to discuss what the four-month sleep regression looks like, why it happens, and what you can do to survive. And you will survive, I promise!
Let’s start with what it looks like. If you’re already in it, no doubt you are very familiar with this. The four-month sleep regression is characterized by short naps and frequent overnight wake ups starting between 3-5 months, which generally lead to increased fussiness. You may notice that your baby is extra irritable during the day, harder to put down for sleep, unable to stay asleep for very long, waking up many times overnight, and waking up earlier in the morning. It’s pretty terrible. But it’s also normal, and here’s why.
The four-month sleep regression is thought to be caused by several things, all taking place at once, which is frustrating because it makes sleep so hard to achieve, but also, Mother Nature is kind of killing several birds with one stone here as opposed to introducing a new disruption every month for the first year of life. Silver linings, right?
One cause of the four-month sleep regression is that your baby is going through a massive growth spurt, physically, but also cognitively and socially. This physical growth spurt may cause them to need to eat more frequently day and night, leading to more wake ups (although not all wake ups overnight are necessarily due to hunger). Socially and cognitively, they are really starting to blossom – engaging with their surroundings more, interacting with others, learning new skills, and realizing that their actions cause reactions. It’s really amazing to watch! But it can also lead to some serious FOMO.
Another cause of the regression is that around this time, babies transition from a two-phase sleep cycle to a five-phase sleep cycle like adults. This can be a challenge for babies because a brief period of arousal takes place between stages four and five of the sleep cycle as we transition from deep sleep to lighter REM sleep. Adults experience this arousal too, we just don’t recollect it come morning because we are proficient at getting ourselves back to sleep quickly. Babies, on the other hand, often do not know how to put themselves back to sleep, particularly if they are used to being assisted to sleep, so this period of arousal usually results in crying and the request for mom and dad to help get them back to sleep.
Lastly, around four months is usually when babies are beginning to roll and therefore ditching the swaddle. The swaddle is an amazing tool – one that replicated the womb-like sensation of being hugged and perhaps more practically, one that curbed the Moro, or startle, reflex. Since it is unsafe to swaddle a baby with their arms down once they are rolling, it is around this time that parents transition to a sleep sack where baby’s arms are out. This, of course, is a safety necessity, but it also results in some sleep disruption because it is new, and because the Moro reflex can remain intact until up to 6 months of age, so babies often still startle awake at this time. Again, waking up isn’t problematic in and of itself, but if a baby does not know how to put themselves back to sleep, you’re likely to hear crying.
Finally, the info you’ve been waiting for – what can you do to mitigate the regression and help get your baby sleeping soundly again? Well, you have a few options. You can take a more passive approach, which will likely see you through the regression but will take more time. Or you can take a more active approach, which will require some specific strategies and action on your part, but will result in quality sleep for you and baby much quicker.
For a more passive approach, I recommend that you:
1. Use white noise. You may already be doing this, in which case, keep it up. But if you’re not, this can be super helpful in soothing babies and helping connect their sleep cycles.
2. Offer full feeds during the day. Some babies are more snackers or grazers, and while that’s technically ok as long as they are gaining weight appropriately (consult your pediatrician if you are unsure about this), from a sleep perspective, it’s helpful to give your baby as many calories during the day as possible. Look at it like this: Babies need the calories they need in a 24-hour period. The more they consume during the day, the less they require at night.
3. Get baby outside during the day! As I mentioned, at four months babies go through a massive cognitive growth spurt, causing them to take in their environment in new ways. Allow them to explore and engage with their environment. Have stimulating wake time with them. This will not only support their growth and development, but will tire them out.
For a more active approach, I highly recommend sleep training. As I discussed, babies and adults wake overnight. That much is normal. But the frequent waking and crying overnight can generally be attributed to not having the skills and tools necessary to put themselves back to sleep independently. The good news is that due to the massive cognitive growth taking place at 4 months, babies actually pick up new habits and routines really quickly! I see it with my clients all the time. My clients who sleep train during the four-month sleep regression consistently see faster results than those who train at other times. There is of course some variation based on what methods my clients choose, but this cannot be overstated: four months is a GREAT time to sleep train.
If you have questions about what sleep training is, visit my blog post on the topic here. If you would like to sleep train your little one but don’t know where to start or feel you could use some coaching through the process, set up a free discovery call with me here. I work with families to provide options for sleep training along with coaching, encouragement, and accountability throughout the process. Let’s get you and your little one the sleep you need.
