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It would seem that in the first three months of the child’s life you have just solved the problems with colic, the baby falls asleep well and quickly, and you have found at least a little free time for yourself.
However, the calm, as we know, comes before the storm, because after just a few weeks the child, for no apparent reason, suddenly stops sleeping at night and constantly demands his mother’s breast and attention. Let's find out what sleep regression at 3-4 months is, and also understand how this phenomenon manifests itself.
What is sleep regression in a child?
Many parents have gone through this disturbing phenomenon - sleep regression in children. Regression means moving backwards. When you have just overcome the first problems with your little man’s tummy, his sleep seemed to have improved and you began to enjoy precious hours of rest day and night, at this stage, out of nowhere, an unpleasant change in your long-awaited peace occurs. By his three-month “anniversary”, the child usually has a sound sleep, and after a few weeks he again begins to wake up frequently, for no apparent reason. He is dry and well-fed, but stubbornly does not want to sleep either during the day or in the morning, and at night he resounds throughout the house with a demand to snuggle up to you and eat.
This phenomenon is called sleep regression, which occurs in infants at 4 months without visible medical or external prerequisites.
The main causes of the disorder
Sleep regression at 4 months (at the age of 14-17 weeks) has its own reasons related to the characteristics of its development, and its own signs that need to be monitored, as they can manifest themselves stronger or weaker. At this age, the baby’s body goes through a critical stage of development physically and neurologically. The baby's sleep pattern changes and becomes cyclical. In this regard, the child becomes similar to adults: he develops slow “deep” sleep and, along with this, he develops partial awakenings between sleep cycles.
A child at 4 months, unlike mom and dad, does not yet have the ability to fall asleep again on his own, without outside help, so when he wakes up at night, he simply cannot fall asleep on his own.
How to Deal with Sleep Regression
It is the calmness of parents that experts call the key to success. After all, kids always feel the mood of mom and dad. So you need to be patient. “Yes, this disrupts sleep for a short time, spoils the baby’s mood and brings some chaos into the life of the family, but at the same time it means that the child grows and develops in accordance with his age - and this is good,” the expert notes.
If a baby fell asleep with minimal support up to 3-4 months, but suddenly began to demand more active help from mom/dad, help, especially when it comes to naps in the afternoon (they are the most difficult for children). But at the same time, try to find a middle ground between “help more than usual” and “do all the work for the baby.”
For example, if you have never rocked to sleep before, and during a period of regression, only this method helps the baby fall asleep, you can involve him in the most difficult bedtimes, but it is important to try to offer the baby other options: put a sleepy but not sleeping baby in the crib, stroke him, support him with your presence, sing a lullaby.
After all, the regression will pass, and the child’s habit of falling asleep in a certain way (only with rocking or only on the chest) may persist, so it is important to help, but do not forget to regularly give the baby space for greater independence.
In addition, it is important to monitor the amount of time you are awake between naps. At 3-4 months it should not exceed 90 minutes. Since the baby sleeps worse and does not get enough sleep, it is important to give him the opportunity to “catch up” during the day by going to bed earlier at night. Pay a little more attention to your baby than usual, and the crisis period will make your family even stronger and your sleep more stable!
How to know if your child is experiencing sleep regression
The following criteria will allow you to distinguish sleep regression in children from a state of crisis or an accidental failure in the child’s routine.
- It has become more difficult to put the child to bed in the evenings: it seems that he is capricious, tries in any way to keep you near him, expresses his protest against the regime in every possible way and ultimately, of course, falls asleep, but much longer than before.
- The very quality of the child’s night sleep deteriorates: he sleeps restlessly, then wakes up, then falls asleep, awakenings are accompanied by crying
It is worth paying attention to this criterion if before this the child behaved differently: he slept peacefully all night and woke up only to eat).
- Daytime sleep is “broken”: if earlier you were used to the fact that your baby would easily fall asleep at the appointed hours during a walk or at home, now he won’t close his eyes.
- When a child is awake, he is easily excitable, everything around him irritates him, his eyes are wet, and he demands that his mother always be with him and entertain him.
- Appetite may change, in both directions. If before the baby just needed to be put to the breast and he fell asleep, now everything is different.
At what age does sleep regression occur?
The first unreasonable sleep disorder most often appears in infants, at the age of 4 months, and the next time - at the age of about 8-10 months - when the little person begins to stand up, sit down on his own, likes to crawl and tries to take his first steps. Next, be prepared for a similar phenomenon when your baby turns one and a half to 2 years old.
Sleep regression in children at any age most often lasts 2 weeks, in rare cases it can last up to a month and a half. After this, the child will begin to sleep peacefully again.
4 months
At the age of 3-4 months, it is important not to overtire or overstimulate the child during waking hours, then the child will sleep peacefully and allow you to get enough sleep.
A baby's sleep regression at 4 months is a sign of a new stage in its development. The child’s physical and mental capabilities increase and, accordingly, the need for rest increases.
The beginning of life for such a tiny person is intense and uneven. With each new stage, a certain crisis is overcome, which also affects the child’s sleep. The reason is that the previous regime no longer meets the needs of a growing organism.
It is necessary to distinguish age-related sleep regressions, which are not indicators of illness, from those periods when the child does not sleep peacefully because he is teething, colic in the stomach, or because he has recently been vaccinated and the body is trying to adapt. There are also temporary situations associated with sudden changes in the situation: trips, moving. Sometimes severe fright can trigger sleep disturbances
At 4 months, sleep deterioration is usually most difficult to resolve. But this first regression, as well as subsequent ones, is associated with the emergence of new opportunities and skills in the child.
8-12 months
Sleep regression on the threshold of the first anniversary is due to the fact that the child is actively mastering motor skills, trying to pronounce his first words - all this makes the brain work more intensely, and the fragile child’s psyche is faced with a huge flow of information. The child gets tired faster, and this leads to problems falling asleep.
1.5-2 years
At the age of 1.5 years, the baby already begins to feel like a separate person and explores the boundaries of independent existence. In particular, this may be expressed in his resistance to rules, including sleep patterns. Even at this age, the child develops his first serious fears that can wake him up in the middle of the night.
At the age of 2, some children are already sent to kindergarten, where teachers begin to work with them and where they begin to communicate with peers. This serves as both an impetus for the child’s development and a source of stress, which invariably affects the child’s sleep.
Whether this sleep disturbance at two years of age will be the last or will happen at a later age, for other reasons, depends on the parents.
Sleep in children of the first year of life (2 months-12 months)
What can parents expect?
Normally, infants sleep at night from 9 to 12 hours a day and during the day - from 2 to 5 hours. By 2 months, babies sleep 2 to 4 times during the day and by 12 months - 1 or 2 times. Factors such as illness or a sudden change in your daily routine and bedtime can lead to sleep disturbances. Major developmental events such as crawling and standing in the crib may temporarily lead to shallow sleep and frequent awakenings during sleep.
By 6 months, most babies are able to sleep through the night without interruptions for night feedings. However, 20-50% of all children continue to awaken in their sleep. When this happens at night, it is very important to understand that short awakenings that do not affect the quality of sleep occur with a frequency of 4 to 6 times per night. Children are able to “soothe themselves” and after a short time fall asleep on their own without the help of their parents (“self-soothing” children). In contrast, excitable children (“signalers”) are children who wake their parents at night and need reassurance. Most of these children go on to have various problems related to sleep and these children can be difficult to calm down. This often happens to those parents who have accustomed their child to motion sickness and to sleep in the parent’s bed. On the other hand, children may become accustomed to parental assistance when falling asleep and demand the presence of parents when waking up with an insistent cry. Despite the absence of problems associated with sleep, such children can create difficulties for parents when trying to sleep.
Practical recommendations for organizing sleep in children of the first year of life
- Place your baby on his or her back during nighttime and nap times.
- Place your baby on a firm mattress with a well-protected support structure and no more than 5 cm of slats between them.
- Make sure your baby's face is not covered by a blanket or diaper and remains uncovered while sleeping. If a blanket is used, make sure it covers the baby's legs and is no higher than chest level. The blanket should be tucked under the mattress.
- Try to protect your child from tobacco smoke.
- Avoid overheating your baby at night and keep your baby's room at a temperature that is comfortable for adults.
- Remove all toys from the baby's crib, especially around 5 months when baby begins to reach for toys.
How to help your baby sleep well
- Learn to recognize the signs your baby gives when he's sleepy. Some tired babies become restless or cry, others rub their eyes, stare at their mother's face, and roll their eyes. Your child will fall asleep much faster and easier the moment you feel that he is tired.
- Determine where your child will sleep. Try to decide on this issue at least by 3 months of age, since the child’s reaction to changes in environmental conditions will be the more difficult, the older he is at which the change of place will take place. For example, if your baby is used to falling asleep in a stroller, move him to a crib by 3 months. If your baby continues to sleep in bed with you, decide whether to continue.
- Stick to a strict daily schedule. The child sleeps better if the time of falling asleep and waking up is strictly observed. Please note that reducing daytime sleep or interrupting it for various reasons leads to overwork and poor night sleep.
- Use simple toys when playing with your child for the child’s safety. Make sure that soft toys of small sizes, T-shirts and shirts that are not tied in a knot at the neck, loose and light blankets can provide complete safety for the child.
- Stick to a nightly schedule. Set a solid daily routine and stick to it consistently. The regimen should include calm and pleasant games, as well as bathing procedures and telling stories before bed, which you can start reading in the 2nd year. The mode also includes turning off the lights before going to bed. It is recommended to reduce and even avoid night feedings for children after 6 months of age.
- Set a regular sleep routine. Make sure that the conditions for falling asleep and maintaining sleep are always the same for the child (for example, turning on and off the lights in the child's room). A child sleeps best in a cool, dark room, in a calm environment.
- Put your child to bed sleepy, but not awake. This will help your child get used to soothing himself and, when waking up spontaneously, will learn to quickly fall asleep without assistance.
- Try to sleep when your baby sleeps. Parents also need sleep. Try to take a nap when your baby sleeps. In an ideal situation, rely on someone around you to watch your baby while you sleep. It is especially important for nursing mothers to get enough sleep.
- Contact your doctor if you are unable to formulate a daily routine for your child. Children who are especially agitated and restless may have diseases such as colic, gastric reflux (return of stomach contents into the esophagus), rickets or iron deficiency anemia. Skin diseases accompanied by itching always disrupt sleep in newborns. Problems associated with breathing disorders (features of the anatomical structure of the upper respiratory tract with a decrease in air flow during sleep) require polysomnographic examination and treatment by specialists.
