Please Stop Calling It the 4-Month Sleep Regression

Over the last year, some of my sweet clients and friends have added me to various mom support Facebook groups. You are likely wondering how I didn’t already know about these groups… don’t ask me! It has been very cool to see all these mothers offering advice and support, and encouraging each other to give themselves graces when the inevitable mom guilt sets in. There is one topic, however, that stresses me out, and it keeps popping up over and over – the 4-month sleep regression. A lot of mothers post about their baby’s sleep becoming a complete disaster as their babe approaches 4 months, or shortly thereafter, and then loads of well-meaning mothers comment that they should not worry because it is just the 4-month sleep regression and it will pass. While it is possible that periods of disrupted sleep can “pass,” it is more likely that the baby’s sleep needs have changed and their newly developed circadian rhythm has been disrupted because they are not on a schedule that works for them.

What is really happening around 4 months is sleep maturity. This is good news, which is why I cringe when I see the word “regression.” Around 4 months your baby has developed circadian rhythms and now has natural sleep waves. Your little one is now ready for and needs longer stretches of consolidated sleep, and the timing and consistency of that timing is important. Again, this is good news!

As you likely know, I strongly believe that putting your child on a schedule creates freedom in your life. For the first 4 months, you had to do the very best you could to keep your baby well rested at all hours and without a consistent schedule. It is possible that your baby was having long stretches of sleep during those early months, but now they are not which makes it feel like they are regressing. This typically just means that something needs to be tweaked.

At 4-months, most babies need a schedule that works around their natural sleep waves and if that is not happening, all of their sleep can be thrown off. This is the ideal time to get a schedule in place. Doing that will allow you to teach your baby how to sleep for nice long stretches during the night and take three naps a day. Woohoo! Smile, your baby is maturing, not regressing. Let’s stop calling it the 4-Month Sleep Regression and start calling it the 4-Month Sleep Progression.