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^^^^ draft just info – LB
The dreaded Four Month Sleep Regression. Striking fear in parents of newborns everywhere. One moment their newborn is two hour naps and waking only once or twice to eat…it’s almost a dream. When BAM! at the end of the third month it becomes increasingly harder to settle your little angel and they also begin to wake more frequently at night and take short naps. What gives?
What if I told you that the four-month sleep regression isn’t a regression at all. How about that?
It’s true! From age 3 to 4 months, babies transition from newborn sleep cycles to infant sleep cycles. So it’s not really a sleep regression…it’s a PROGRESSION of sleep.
Sleep stages
To better understand what is going on with your 4-month old, it helps to have an understanding of sleep, in general. Sleep is comprised of four stages which, when combined, make up the human sleep cycle and is repeated throughout our slumber.
Stage 1
This is the stage when you’re just drifting off, maybe you’re losing your place in your book or your eyes are closing to the sound of the television — stage one is a snoozing stage (not to be confused with the amazing Snooze Shade….see what I did there? Anyhoo).
Stage 2
This is the stage that is considered entering into an actual sleep state. If you wake from this second stage, you definitely realize that you’d been sleeping just moments before.
Stage 3
If sleep was a competitive sport, stage three would be just beneath the level of greatness — you want to reach this place, it’s great for your body, but you still have more work to do.
Stage 4
Nirvana. In stage four of the sleep cycle, you hit REM sleep and your brain begins to recoup from the day — this is the state of dreams.
Newborn sleep stages
Your newborn only cycles through two sleep stages for the first few months of their life — stage three and stage four or REM sleep, the two deepest cycles. New parents should take in this time as it’s when their baby will be sleeping the soundest with no outside help.
What happens around month 4
Around month three or four — as your baby is developing — your baby begins to expand their sleep cycles into the four stages. When this happens, your baby transitions from spending half of their sleep time in REM to only a quarter. And with more time spent in lighter sleep stages, there’s more opportunity for your baby to wake.
Where problems arise is when parents see this as a regression in sleep — the reality is that this is the time that your baby is developing and learning how to transition throughout the stages of sleep they’ll be cycling for the remainder of their lives and it’s a big change! There will be a disruption of sorts in the sleep cycle as your baby learns how to smoothly transition between sleep stages. As adults, we typically slide through the sleep stages effortlessly, without even remembering waking between — your baby hasn’t developed that skill yet, which is why they’re waking more at this time.
Okay…Now what?
As your baby is navigating the transition from newborn sleep to infant sleep (4 stage sleeping) this is a great time to transition away from the swaddle and think more about helping your baby learn independent sleep. There is no one great tip or trick I can give you to navigate the new unpredictable sleeping patterns of your baby other than look to distance your use and reliance on sleep props (feeding to sleep, rocking etc). Some babies can adapt quickly and without much struggle while others find it most challenging. This is where enlisting the help of a sleep professional such as myself (I’m always ready to help) or one of many baby sleep books can be helpful.
But in the meantime, keep track of your awake windows (how long baby has been awake since their last nap) and try to minimize overtiredness. At 4-months, a baby is usually able to stay awake approximately 1.5 to. 2 hours before needing to sleep again. So be sure to keep an eye on the clock and be moving toward sleep prior to hitting the max awake time. And overnight, the next time your little one wakes, try not jumping immediately with every sound they make. Give them a few minutes to see if they can resettle themselves before needing to intervene. Start small with waiting 3 – 5 minutes. Remember…baby steps.
You’ve Got This!
A little bit about me…
Hey there! I’m Jennifer Schindele, a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and the founder of Gift of Sleep Consulting.
My mission is to help parents give the gift of sleep to both their children and in turn, themselves. I do this by personalizing a step-by-step method to gently help teach the child to independently fall asleep, and stay asleep, the whole night through.
I’m based in Philadelphia, but I work with clients all over the globe. When I’m not working with clients, you can find me researching sleep, working out, drinking Chai, or hanging out with my two amazing daughters.
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