GUEST ARTICLE: Is it a Sleep Regression? Sleep disturbances during your baby’s first year
We are excited to have Susan Frazier, certified Sleep Sense Consultant and owner of Dream Again Sleep Coaching, share her wisdom about sleep regressions: what they are, when to know your baby is in one, what is happening in your baby’s little brain, and how to survive them. Susan is a wealth of knowledge about one of the most important aspects of a healthy and happy home: sleep!
You can find all of her resources here.
Imagine this scenario: It’s 8:00 pm and you’ve just put your baby down to sleep for the night. After a long day of mommy-ing, you are ready for some time to recharge and enjoy some time for yourself. You settle in with a favorite book (or get ready to binge-watch a favorite TV series) and are enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening.
Then suddenly at 9:30 pm, right before you are thinking about getting ready for bed yourself, the baby monitor comes to life. Your sweet baby, who has previously been sleeping soundly through the night, is awake and upset. Concerned, you go in and offer a quick feed, and off to sleep she goes. You finish getting ready for bed and settle in for a good night’s sleep, thinking that waking up was just a fluke.
Your baby, however, has other plans.
She awakens you 3 more times throughout the night before you finally call it and just consider it morning.
Where in the world did that night come from?!
Is she sick? Growing? Teething? Or is it a sleep regression!?
The first year of life is filled with tremendous change for your baby. All that change (both physical and developmental) can really wreak havoc on your baby’s sleep.
What is a sleep regression?
A sleep regression refers to a time when your previously ‘good’ (whatever that means to you) sleeper suddenly stops sleeping as well. This may include:
Taking longer to fall asleep at night
Increased night wakings
Earlier mornings
Nap trouble
When is it common to see sleep regressions in the first year?
If you ask the internet, literally every month in the first year could have a sleep regression. It’s easy to blame any sleep difficulty or disturbance on a regression, but in reality, a true sleep regression is just one small reason your baby can be struggling with sleep.
There is only one regression that for sure happens to every baby at roughly the same time… and that is the 4-month sleep regression.
Side note: I dislike that it’s called a regression as it’s actually a permanent progression. Your baby’s brain is maturing and growing how it sleeps!
The 4-Month Sleep Regression
Newborn babies (0-3 months) only have 2 stages of sleep; stage 3 and stage 4, and they spend about half their sleep in each stage. But at around the third or fourth month, there is a reorganization of sleep and they go from having 2 stages of sleep to experiencing 4 stages of sleep. For the first time ever, your baby will experience stage 1 and stage 2 of sleep, which is very light sleep. Since your baby is not used to the feeling of light sleep, there is more of a chance that they will wake up during these 2 stages of sleep (one reason for the increased wakings during this time).
Once this change into 4 sleep cycles has occurred (at around 4 months), it is completely expected for anyone and everyone (including you and me!) to wake 4-6 times per night as they transition from one sleep cycle into another. Many people will just turn over and drift back to sleep quickly (and not even remember waking in the first place), but if your baby or toddler relies on help to fall asleep, they will need that help to fall back asleep several times throughout the night as the wakings occur.
If your baby is not in the 4-month range, there are several questions to ask yourself to help figure out if your baby’s wakings are related to a sleep regression or not.
Questions to ask yourself when your baby wakes more frequently
Is your baby sick? A fever, congestion, an ear infection, etc. can all cause increased wakings.
Is a tooth about to erupt through the gum? This one is tricky as teething pain tends to be used as an explanation for poor sleep for weeks or months. However, studies have shown that teething pain is the most severe just 2-3 days before a tooth actually erupts. If you can see that tooth ready to pop through at any moment, it probably is the cause! However, if the tooth isn’t right under the surface, your baby’s wakings are probably not teething related
Is your baby’s schedule right for their age? Babies grow A LOT within the first year and sleep/nap needs can change rapidly. Maybe it’s time for a nap transition, or maybe it’s time for longer wake times. While it’s true that sleep begets sleep to a certain degree, it’s also true that too much daytime sleep will actually take away from nighttime sleep.
How long has this been going on? Babies are not robots, so an occasional extra wake or restless night can happen!
So when do actual sleep regressions occur?
Outside of the predictable 4-month sleep regression, when your baby experiences an actual sleep regression very much depends on the growth/development of your individual baby! The most common cause of an actual regression is the learning of a new skill.
When your baby is learning new physical skills, sleep regressions are extremely common. These new skills include:
Rolling
Sitting
Crawling
Standing
Walking
It’s not just what your baby is learning to do physically that can cause a regresssion, it’s also what’s going on inside that can cause a regression. Is your baby learning object permanence and experiencing some separation anxiety? Is your baby’s vocabulary expanding? Those are also times when a regression occurs.
How long does a sleep regression last?
This is KEY! A sleep regression should only last around 2-3 weeks maximum…about the time it takes to fully learn and get comfortable with their new skill. Just a reminder about the 4-month ‘regression’...this one never actually goes away as your little one’s brain has permanently changed how it sleeps.
If your baby has been in a regression for several weeks to months, that’s no longer a regression. Your baby has likely learned a new habit.
How to get through a sleep regression?
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Since sleep regressions are generally all caused by the development of a new skill, the faster the skill is mastered, the faster the regression will be over. This means you need to practice, practice, practice as much as you can during the day!
Increase tummy time to help your baby master rolling. Practice standing/getting down. Practice cruising. Play lots of peek-a-boo when learning object permanence. An empty crib in a quiet room is a GREAT time to practice those new skills…instead of sleeping. The more you practice during wake times, the less need your baby will have to practice in their cribs.
Keep sleep expectations the same
A sleep regression isn’t the time to start rocking your baby to sleep, adding in feeds, taking drives in the car, etc. Yes, you may need to go in and help your baby roll back over or get down from standing but try to get your bedtime routine and expectations the same. It’s very easy for new habits to form as a result of a sleep regression. If you do need to add a bit more support during a regression, be sure to go back to your old ways as soon as the new skill is mastered.
Teach independent sleep
A baby or toddler (not a newborn!) who has independent sleep skills will more readily be able to cruise through a sleep regression. Remember, sleep regressions cause additional wakings. If your kiddo relies on you to fall asleep (like by feeding, rocking, keeping that pacifier in, etc), they will need you to help them fall back asleep each time they wake. During a sleep regression, they will need you a whole lot more. If your baby has independent sleep skills, your baby will still wake up more or will stay up longer practicing that skill, but will be able to fall back sleep on their own when ready.
Need help teaching your kiddo independent sleep skills? There is help for that :)
The Moral of the Story
Your baby is not a robot. There will be off days. There will be times when sleep is better than others and when there are true sleep regressions. However, these regressions should not dominate your baby’s first year of sleep. It is possible to be a well-rested parent and have a child who generally sleeps well, even in the first year!
MEET SUSAN
Hey there! I’m Susan Frazier, certified Sleep Sense Consultant and owner of Dream Again Sleep Coaching. I am a Wisconsin girl (GO PACKERS!) and a lover of all things sleep, DIY, and summer.
In my pre-kid years, I was a Spanish teacher and School Counselor, but my most cherished calling has been being a wife and stay-at-home momma to my 3 kiddos ages 10, 8, and 6.
It was during these early years with young kids so close together that I learned firsthand how detrimental sleep deprivation can be to the whole family.
It is my JOY, HONOR, and PRIVILEGE to work with you and your child during this incredibly vulnerable season of life. I promise to walk with you every step of the way as you give your baby (no matter how old) the most treasured gift of all: sleep.