4 month sleep regression! :/

[Selina13]

Hi ladies,

My baby boy is 19 weeks and for past week or so he has started waking up 2-3 times in the night chatting, blowing raspberries, whining and fussing but not needing anything (wind, milk, nappy or too hot/cold), these wakings have lasted for an hour a time and he just struggled to go back to sleep. I wondered if this was the sleep regression everyone talks about as he has slept through from around 2 months- I know I'm very lucky!

The past 2 nights I have swaddled him in desperation and it's worked, he has slept through again but has been up much earlier than usual, that I can cope with!

My post is a suggestion to other mums going through it but also a question about how others coped with this developmental milestone!?

I haven't swaddled before now so it might be a novelty and will wear off quickly so need some kind of back up plan!!

I'm also using a rain sounds app!
X

 

[kumber]

We just rode it out, it is so exhausting but I got to the point where I was going to bed with him so I could get through the resr of the day. He has always struggled with and fought sleep, so sleep regression phases are my absolute worst nightmare Just had to grit my teeth and bare them, constantly reminding myseof they won't last forever. It worked for us but might not work for everyone else. Ohh, singing to him helped too.

 

[Rose83]

My little girl started this at about 5 months - the blowing raspberries and chatting etc. we had already been swaddling her since about 3 and half months when she started to wake herself up rubbing her face. She is stil swaddled and doesn't sleep unless she is. She is now 6 months and some nights she wakes up blowing raspberries etc and some nights she doesn't, all we've really done is ride it out too. For two months I was just taking her in to bed with me as soon as she seemed to not want to go back to sleep but my OH was terrified I was going to roll on to her so he made me stop. So we are two weeks into training her to fall back asleep in her cot without snuggling me and she is doing well - only had to get up twice last night to try to settle her x

 

[TTT]

My lo has gone through this and it does sound like the fourth leap. I have co slept from about 11 weeks and we used a swaddle up until he grew out of it recently. The swaddle up doesn't restrict their legs which can cause hip dysplasia after a month of age.

I don't entertain him in the night just leave him with his comforter or ted until he's ready for a cuddle or feed. Sometimes were up for half an hour sometimes two hours but I get to lay next to him and rest so we just ride these phases out.

 

[Goat]

We rode it out too but for us it lasted for 2 long months as swaddling unfortunately didnt seem to work on mine, white noise did though and has been an absolute god send as was co-sleeping. At 6 months she was a little better in that she could go up to 3 hours without a feed but we were still co-sleeping. However 2 weeks ago (7 months) she started waking every hour and as she doesn't take a bottle I was becoming very ratty and exhausted and it wasn't fair on my toddler as she had to deal with a nutcase mum the next day who was jittery from caffeine! So I started some sleep training - patting her bum instead of feeding her as I knew she wasn't hungry and just couldn't self settle. I would initially leave her and see if she would just whinge then after 2 mins Id go in and tap her and sing a song, then I would leave her a little more and do the same. She cried a little but nothing terrible, after 3 days she started sleeping through and now goes 7-7 in her cot.... until the next regression/leap or whatever else comes our way! It also helped our naps as she now has 2x 1.5hr naps a day, one at 9 and at 12.30 then an hour nap at 4. Im trying to get her to have a later but longer afternoon nap so she has 2 good length naps a day.

 

[Sprout]

It's just something you have to go with unfortunately! Babies aren't supposed to be "good" sleepers and anything you try to do to force better sleep tends to be detrimental to them. My lg was like yours - slept 8ish hours from 5 weeks to 15...then started waking more and more each night. At 6.5 months she started sleeping more - usually waking a couple of times before I come to bed then sleeping through from 11ish til 7ish (we cosleep)

You get used to it is about the only positive thing I can say I'm afraid!