Hi @Ashley –
Thank you for writing to us about your 4 month old! I’m sorry to hear that sleep has gone downhill after you had worked so hard to teach him to sleep on his own!! Yes, this does indeed sound like the 4 month sleep regression, and the tips on this page can really help!
These articles should really help too:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-regression-2/4-month-sleep-regression-checklist/
https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
If things don’t smooth out, and you’d like more help, we’re here!! Please contact us anytime for more info!! And hang in there Ashley!

Hi Kristina,
Thanks for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling so hard with your son’s naps. It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on without knowing more about his schedule and other sleep, but short naps can be a symptom of the 4 month regression, as you mentioned. Sometimes waiting this out can help, as your son learns how to fall back asleep on his own through the regression, but if it’s been ~4 weeks with no luck, I would recommend getting some more help. Our sleep consultants answer questions in the Members Area chat once a week, which might be a good fit for you if sleep is otherwise going well, or of course we offer the consultation packages, too. Please hang in there – the regression can be tough! Good luck 🙂

Hi @Catherine – Thanks for writing to us! Sorry to hear that your baby is going through the 4 month sleep regression right now! We know how tough this can be, and you’re not alone! Sleep training can definitely be confusing too! We’re here to help, and he’s not too young to start working on teaching him to sleep on his own! If you’d like some one on one expert help, you can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase from here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
Thank you again and hang in there Catherine! If you need any assistance at all, please let us know. We’d love to help you get started ASAP!

So confused. Thank you!
Catherine

Hi @Casey –
Thank you for your feedback! I’ve passed this along to Nicole Johnson – our founder and lead sleep consultant – for a content review that we do periodically. We encourage our readers to seek out medical professionals for any scientific questions they may have about their baby’s sleep. We are not medical professionals and focus most on babies’ behavioral sleep problems. Thanks again for taking the time to write to us. : )

Hello,

Thank you for the reply, though–I’m sorry to be frank–it’s not really on the point I was trying to get across.

I’m trying to tell you that your article contains blatantly false or misleading information about newborn sleep. It states:

“[B]abies don’t have distinct sleep stages like we adults do. While we cycle between deep and light sleep, our babies don’t – they sleep deeply pretty much all the time… [Already this sounds very unscientific, lacking precision–“pretty much all the time”? What does even mean? Once in a blue moon they don’t sleep deeply? There is a design to the universe; it’s not run by chance.]

As your baby’s brain matures, around the 4 month mark, her sleeping patterns change – they become more like yours. Now, she is cycling between light and deep sleep – just like you.”

Babies have from birth two sleep phases. Normally, they do not go straight into deep sleep. They go into REM sleep. This is characterized by fluttering eyes, irregular breathing, some movement, and even a couple funny hiccup noises.

Then they go into deep sleep which lasts 20 minutes. An extremely sleep deprived or stressed baby will go straight into deep sleep from exhaustion.

I carried my son for about half of his naps from 7 weeks to 3.5 months old. He was certainly not in a deep sleep all the time. His deep sleep was characterized by regular, quiet breathing, and he made sucking movements every minute or so.

After the “four month sleep regression” babies indeed develop sleep cycles like adults, which have more than two phases. However, as I’ve said, they already had light and deep sleep.

Please correct this information. It is a rather shocking error coming from a baby sleep website. You can read about newborn REM (or active) sleep on tons of websites. People even post YouTube videos of it.

@Cathryn – Thank you for your reply! Many babies hit a pretty major growth spurt around 6 weeks old which (unfortunately) disrupts sleep and leads to more night wakings and feedings to keep up with the growth. This could have been what you’ve seen as we generally don’t see a 4 month regression before 8 weeks of age. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that you don’t hit a major regression in a few weeks but, if you do, we’re here to help! Hang in there, Cathryn!

@Clare – Thank you for reading and for sharing! Babies’ sleep transitions from more of that deep, wonderful pre-4 month old sleep to more of the light/deep sleep cycles we adults are more familiar with. With this transition comes more restless sleep for sure. We have tons of information about what to expect at this age with sleep and hope you find more useful information on our site or with one of our sleep consultants. Please also be sure to use your daughter’s healthcare provider as a resource if ever you’re concerned about anything to do with your daughter’s health. Hang in there, Clare!