Baby Sleep Regressions: What They Are, When They Occur, and How to Survive Them
Be honest with me. Did you even know what a sleep regression was before you had your baby? PROBABLY NOT. I personally knew of the concept because I learned about it during my mid 20’s in a Maternal and Child Epidemiology class in graduate school.
However, I did not understand the true meaning of the term until I became a parent in my early 30’s. I had no idea what a regression was and how impactful it would be on my mental and physical health. It not only took over our nights but it also caused problems during the daytime naps that I had worked so hard to regulate. All of the hard work I did for 3-4 months went straight out the window.
What is a Sleep Regression?
“A period of time during which a baby stops sleeping as well as previously, typically one that appears to occur at a particular stage in the baby’s development.”
Is it a Regression or a Progression?
Sleep regressions are when your baby or toddler begins to go backward with their sleeping/napping schedule suddenly after having great long naps during the day and sleeping long stretches at nighttime. While this “regression” may be seen as your baby not sleeping as much, or napping shorter, it may also be that he/she is growing through a developmental leap or progression. We may be confusing these changes in sleep patterns as them regressing rather than moving forward and reaching their milestones.
These progressions and the biggest sleep changes are seen usually around 4, 6, 8, 11/12, 18, and 24 months. The first one is usually the most difficult one because it catches parents off guard, especially if they do not know to expect these sleep changes. This sleep regression is actually your 4-month-old transitioning out of his/her newborn sleep cycle and into a more adult-like sleep cycle. Around this age, your baby is becoming more alert and aware of their surrounding environments and moving away from the sleepy newborn stage.
Signs of a Progression:
Sleep patterns are changing and becoming irregular
Increased fussiness
Multiple night wakings
Not napping as often or not following age-appropriate awake windows
Appetite is changing
One thing to keep in mind is that every baby is different. Not all babies will experience these regressions exactly at let’s say 4 months or 8 months. Some may show signs of the 4-month progression around 3.5 months and that is OKAY. There are some instances where parents do not even notice the sleep changes when their baby is going through these developmental leaps and that is OKAY as well. Just because your baby did not wake you up during their 12-month progression does not mean that they did not experience their 12-month leap. All babies are different when it comes to the timing of these leaps, whether or not their sleep patterns will change, and how long it takes to improve the changes in their sleep patterns.
Tips to Help Get You Through the Sleep Changes:
Focus on daytime nutrition: Don’t skip meals and be sure that you are giving your baby plenty of feedings during the day. This will ensure that your baby is not going to sleep hungry and won’t wake up for feedings throughout the night.
Follow age-appropriate awake windows: Keep a consistent sleep/nap schedule for your baby and stick to it. Be sure that you are sticking to their age-appropriate awake windows. If naps are short then you can practice crib hour or provide contact napping to prevent overtiredness.
Ensure sleep environment is conducive to sleep: Make sure the space in which your baby is sleeping is dark, and there are no stimulating objects around them, and there is a white noise machine loud enough to block out any extra noise.
Put baby down awake: Putting your baby down for sleep when they are still awake will allow them to self-soothe and become more comfortable with falling back asleep on their own when they wake up from their short naps and/or in the middle of the night.
Don’t soothe immediately when your baby wakes up: This one may be difficult for most parents, but if your baby wakes up during the night or from a short nap try not to immediately soothe him/her. Allow them to cry for a little bit, assess the cry, and determine if you intervening is truly helping them or causing an issue. Sometimes, the more parents interfere while your baby is trying to self-soothe the harder it is for them to fall back asleep. This is especially true for sensitive sleepers.
Stay consistent: Stay consistent with what you were doing before the sleep changes began. It will take about 2-3 weeks for normalcy to return but if you introduce new habits or associations then those may take even longer to break causing additional sleep-deprived days and nights. This is not the time to introduce any new habits or tools. STAY CONSISTENT.
Is your little one going through a regression or a progression? Comment below how their sleep patterns are changing and how it is impacting you. Need and want additional support? Schedule a FREE DISCOVERY CALL NOW.
NIGHT NIGHT,
Unnati
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