It’s bound to happen. Many parents, especially first time parents struggle with sleep regressions in their newborns. It may not happen to every child at the same time, but there are clear patterns of sleep cycling and regression that emerge as the child ages into toddlerhood. The verdict for the child is simple, they are inconvenienced by a new sleep pattern and figure it out eventually. The verdict for the parents is typically much harsher and involves even less sleep, more difficulty figuring out an ideal daily schedule and an overall sense of frustration as your child’s sleep patterns appear to have just gone haywire out of nowhere. Fear not! We have some tips and strategies that you can deploy today in this week’s article. Read on for more info and don’t forget to sound off in the comments with your own experiences and tips for other families struggling with this.
What Exactly Happens During A Regression?
At this age, the child’s brain is still developing and they are still actually learning how to sleep. Additionally, their brain is teaching itself how to get the most out of sleep, when it does come. Instead of two distinct phases of sleep as a newborn, REM and non-REM, babies around the four month mark begin to have additional phases in their cycles. These include light sleep and deep sleep. The changes in the brain’s wiring typically cause them to wake up between these new cycles due to the disruption in the original cycle. Enter, the dreaded four month regression.
The Fundamentals Of Sleep Skills Help Lessen The Impact
Sometimes the best cure is prevention. If you experience a hard “regression” at the four month mark, then the sleep fundamentals may need a little tune up. If you’ve had the fundamentals in place prior, then any regression, especially the four month one will be more of a road bump than a fallen log on the highway. If your child has been equipped with solid fundamentals and sleep skills then the full awakening at this time can be turned into a simple partial awakening (much better!). All sleep cycles are still between 40 and 50 minutes in length.
The baby may start to wake between the cycles because they have not learned independent sleep skills and the partial awakening can turn into a full awakening for this reason. The cycles themselves are still 40-50 minutes in length generally.
Tips For Guiding Your Baby Through This (And Other) Regressions
- Establish a rigid night time routine and stick to it! It can include in the order that suits you best:
- Final feeding of formula or breastmilk
- Night time washing or gentle bath and cleanup
- Getting into comfy pajamas and a night time style diaper
- Preparing their sleeping environment to be dark, warm, and quiet
- Spending a few minutes reading a bedtime story or book
- Make sure they go down in the same spot they will spend the night in. Don’t transition them from one place to another during the night.
- If your baby stirs, allow them to soothe themselves with a gentle hand on their back or tummy instead of immediately picking them up to soothe.
- Keep the room as dark as possible all night.
- Pay attention to their needs. Sometimes they are fussy or wake up because they have a dirty diaper or gas and not because they are having a regression issue. Make sure their basic needs are met and they will sleep much better!
Before You Go
We hope you enjoyed learning about tips for dealing with sleep regressions. If you would like to know more about this, our sleep programs or any of our excellent newborn care services, we are happy to help. Just contact us and we can go over your options and help you find the best path for your little one. We hope these tips have helped you along your journey. If you have any questions about helping your baby to sleep better, or about your baby in general, please reach out to us HERE. We are experts in all things baby and sleep and would love to help!
If you have questions about your child, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to help. Please reach out to us here! We always look forward to hearing from you.
