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Sleep regression - What is it and how to survive it?

Sleep regression is a period of time when your baby is suddenly waking up in the middle of the night without any reason. The baby appears to be wide awake and is fighting to fall asleep. Sleep regression can occur at any age, but most commonly, it appears at around 4 months, 8 months and 18 months.

Sleep regression usually occurs when the baby is reaching an important developmental milestone. At around 4 months of age, the newborn stage ends. Baby is becoming more curious and interested in the outside world. It may even start rolling over from her back onto her tummy and vice versa. My baby started experiencing sleep regression just before turning 4 months. Just about the same time when she started rolling over to her tummy and back. The sleep regression lasted for about a month and a half. She was waking up every night around 2 am and would be up until 4 am. This was the toughest period we've had since she was born. I have to say it is exhausting, but it passes. It always does. Just be patient and stick to the routine. I read so much about sleep regression and try to follow all the "rules", but nothing worked until one day she just slept through the night again. From day 1, my baby had a great schedule (sleeping and feeding). She would go to bed around 8 pm and sleep until 4 am, then she would eat and sleep until 8 am. So we were getting a good bit of sleep from the start. When sleep regression started, it was a shock. The baby that always slept like an angel was suddenly never sleeping. Sleep regression also affected her naps during the day. During this phase of sleep regression, she would nap for max. 30 min, considering that is would take me 30+ min to put her to sleep.



Tips - How to deal with the sleep regression?

1. Stick to the routine- Babies love and need the routine. From day one I was so strict on the routine and I'm so happy about that. Now when the baby is a bit older, I can see that she knows when is bedtime, bath time, food time, etc. Bathing your baby is a nice way to start a nighttime routine. The bath will make your baby relaxed and sleepy. Then make the room dark, by dimming the light.

2. Noise machine - white noise sometimes worked like a charm for us. Once she was asleep, I would like the white noise on to mask the other noises from the outside. During the sleep regression, it was so easy to wake her up. It felt like she was never in the deep sleep phase, REM phase.

3. Adjust the sleeping time - it might be a good idea to try and put your baby to sleep a bit earlier than usual. When the baby is already tired (fewer naps), it becomes more irritable making it even harder to put her to sleep.

4. Feed, feed and feed! - Commonly, babies want to feed/nurse more often during this phase. Feed them as often, as possible. While going through the sleep regression, my baby was feeding more often during the night.

5. Ask for help! - sleep regression is an extremely difficult phase and it is exhausting. Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Take "shifts" with your partner during the night. Also, sleep whenever the baby sleeps. Try to get as much sleep, as possible. Eat well and drink plenty of water.


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