The 3- to 4-month sleep regression confounds and frustrates so many parents. But with these preventative tips, you don’t have to be one of them!
What is the 3- to 4-month sleep regression?
There’s a point in every parent’s journey when your little baby starts to sleep better…and you’re so relieved and so happy. But then…a bump in the road! Seemingly overnight your 3- or 4-month-old baby’s sleep patterns change for the worse. Why? When babies reach between 3 and 4 months old, their sleep cycles shift and their development is simply blooming, which can temporarily hinder sleep.
Signs Your Baby Is Going Through the 3- to 4-month Sleep Regression:
If your little one used to be a stellar sleeper and now—suddenly—they are not, sleep regression might be to blame. Sleep regression signs include:
- Worsening sleep
- Multiple night wakings
- Less napping
- More fussiness
- Appetite changes
Why do babies experience the 3- to 4-month sleep regression?
What’s changed? Your little blob of a newborn is now a 3- or 4-month-old social butterfly. They fall into a light sleep and wake up…bored! It’s too quiet and too still for your sweet pea. Your company-loving 4-month-old will wake up and think, “Hey you! Come back! I want to play!” But your baby’s new-found social tendencies aren’t the only thing contributing to the 3- to 4-month sleep regression. Your baby may also be…
- Learning to roll over. When that happens, you have to stop swaddling, which may mean your baby cries and wakes more often. (Of note: If your baby is sleeping in SNOO, they can remain safely swaddled until they graduate to the crib.)
- Experiencing a growth spurt. And man, will they be hungry!
- Teething or dealing with a cold. These types of mild discomforts can easily disrupt a baby’s sleep.
- More sensitive to temperature or light. As babies become more aware of the big world around them, new sensitivities can arise.
How to Handle the 3- to 4-Month Sleep Regression:
Most parents are blindsided by the 3- to 4-month sleep regression and don’t know what to do. But if you learn to establish healthy sleep habits, you may be able to steer clear of most, if not all, of it. Here are more time-tested strategies for helping to avoid—and cope with—the 3- to 4-month sleep regression:
- Continue to swaddle if you can. Swaddling babies safely helps bring on the ZZZs. Being swaddled is a similar experience to being carried in a sling, cuddled skin to skin, and being in the womb. The soft, snug caress of a swaddle can soothe babies for hours! (If your baby is rolling, swaddling needs to stop unless your baby is sleeping in SNOO. In that case, they can remain safely swaddled up to 6 months while in the bassinet.)
- Tune into Baby’s wake windows. Having a sense of how long your baby can (and should) be comfortably awake between sleeps is key to having a well-rested and happy baby. Learn how to recognize your baby’s sleepytime cues and how to pinpoint their wake windows with our wake windows guide.
- Turn on white noise. Although your baby’s natural calming reflex begins to fade around 3 to 4 months old, white noise continues to help with sleep. While white noise used to flip on baby’s inborn “on switch” for sleep, now the sleepy reaction comes from habit. Once you start using white noise in the background of baby’s bedtime routine, they’ll start to expect it and make the connection that white noise means sleepytime is here.
- Try using sound with rocking. Using the right types of motion and sound can help your baby gently slide into the light sleep part of their sleep cycle without being easily roused. Since baby’s should never sleep in a baby swing, the only safe alternative is rocking your baby all night long in your arms (not feasible!) or using SNOO. SNOO ensures babies can rock all night while securing them on their backs. (Learn all about how rocking bassinets help babies sleep.)
- Encourage more daytime eating. You can start to anticipate (and decrease) nighttime hunger by encouraging your baby to eat a little more during daytime feeds. It also may be smart to introduce a dream feed between 10pm and midnight. (This is when you rouse your baby without fully waking them to feed one more time before you go to bed. Sneaking in an extra feed has been shown to reduce night wakings.)
- Get outside. Fit in plenty of outdoor time, complete with fresh air and (safe!) sunlight exposure will help your little one recognize the difference between day and night. Morning light especially helps your baby’s brain release melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness, at the right time for night-night.
- Keep Baby’s room dark. A dark room does a great job at encouraging sleep. Plus, if your baby wakes too soon, the darkness works to help you baby fall back asleep.
- Help your baby self-soothe. If you haven’t already, I suggest introducing your baby to my wake-and-sleep trick. Every bedtime, swaddle your baby, turn on the white noise, feed and burp them, and if your baby falls asleep in your arms before you lay them down in their bassinet, gently rouse them with a light tickle on their feet until they barely wake. After a few seconds, they’ll close their eyes and slide back to sleep. (If your baby fusses, pick them up for a feed or a cuddle, then repeat the tickle-to-wake routine.) Those few seconds of drowsy wake-time are the first steps to helping your baby learn how to self-soothe and sleep longer.
