4 Month Sleep Regression: You Are Not Alone
Has your cute little bundle of joy who used to sleep like a hibernating bear started refusing to stay asleep and turned into a cranky mess of a baby? Well, don’t worry, you are not alone! Almost every parent knows about the dreaded 4 month sleep regression and ones who did not soon learn. Some might think their child is sick or teething but more often than not it is the 4 month sleep regression.
Happy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By this time you are wondering what exactly is the four months sleep regression. Well, it is the changing action of your baby’s sleep going from a normal pattern of sleeping well into a baby that fights sleeps and starts to wake up frequently during the night. It is a permanent change in your baby’s sleep patterns. The baby’s brain has matured and its sleep patterns are starting to resemble an adult’s patterns. Your baby has started to have sleep cycles, active sleep and deep sleep. When your baby cycles through these sleep cycles there is a good chance that they will wake up.
So what can you do to help with four months sleep regression ? Continue to help your baby get back to sleep whichever way he/she is used to. Remember that your child will come accustomed to being put to sleep a certain way and some babies might even fight being put to sleep any other way so it is best to get your baby used to falling a sleep in a way that is both comfortable and convenient for you and your baby. You may need to read your baby’s cues at this time and just go with the flow. Some babies might want to be rocked to sleep and others might want to be put down in the crib and left alone to fall asleep. Which ever it is you will be doing it at all times of the night so be prepared. Pacifiers, swaddling, a bedtime routine and early bedtime are all useful common things to try. Make sure that you yourself are getting as much sleep as possible even though it might seem hard and like you will sleep through the whole night again. Just remember this too shall pass and to ask for help if you are feeling overwhelmed. Your health physically and mentally are both important to up keep during this stressful time and remember that many parents have and are dealing with the same frustrations as you.
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