20 Tips to Handle the Frustrating (and Exhausting) 4 Month Sleep Regression

The exhausting 4 month sleep regression is when your baby wakes very frequently at night and/or takes short naps. Regressions at other ages, including 8 months, 11 months, 18 months, and 2 years old, are temporary. The 4-month sleep regression is a permanent change to how your baby sleeps.

Learn more about this exhausting time period and how to manage it with this guide. If after you read this you need individual help, please consider contacting a baby sleep consultant.

The 4 Month Sleep Regression

You probably just Googled 4 month sleep regression as thousands of people do each month. Working with parents every day, we know that many parents begin to have sleep problems when their baby is between 3 months and 5 months old. And, those sleep problems can last days, weeks, even months and years!

Why do our 4 month old babies sleep worse than ever before and why doesn’t it improve?

This guide will help you by explaining what the 4 month sleep regression is, why your baby’s sleep patterns changed, and tips to survive the 4 month sleep regression.

When does the 4-month sleep regression start?

The 4-month sleep regression can start any time after 8 weeks old, though some babies don’t sleep well from birth. This regression can also start as late as 5 months. The most common age is 3 1/2 to 4 months old.

When does the 4-month sleep regression end?

The 4-month sleep regression doesn’t ever “end” in the strictest sense of the word. It is a permanent change to your baby’s sleep patterns. Some babies will begin (or go back) to sleeping well in 2-3 weeks while others have sleep habits that need to be actively changed in order to help them sleep well.

4 Month Sleep Regression: Baby Sleep Patterns Change Permanently

The 4 month sleep regression marks a permanent change in your baby’s sleeping habits. Before your baby hit the 4 month mark, your baby’s sleeping patterns were very…well…babyish. What do I mean by that? Simply this – babies sleep deeply much of the time. (This explains why newborns and very young infants tend to sleep anywhere, through anything!)

After 4 months, though, all bets are off! 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 more often – just like you.

When you look at it this way, it’s clear that the 4 month sleep regression is a very normal, very healthy developmental milestone, just like learning to walk and talk. So if your baby is currently going through the 4 month sleep regression, congratulations – her growth and development are right on track! 🙂

But also, if your baby is currently going through the 4 month sleep regression – you have my deepest sympathies ;). That’s because (as many of you well know) your baby’s new ‘grown-up’ sleep patterns produce WAY more night waking and short naps. Every time your baby cycles out of deep sleep and into light sleep, there’s a good chance she will wake up – and once she’s up, she will more than likely need your help to fall back to sleep.

4 Month Sleep Regression: How To Manage It Right Now

Here’s the thing to remember about the 4 month sleep regression: it doesn’t go away. It’s different in that sense than the other sleep regressions that happen at 8, 9, or 10 months, and the toddler sleep regressions that happen at 18 months and 2 years old. Those sleep regressions ultimately pass in a few weeks, and your little one’s sleep returns to normal. Not so with this one. The changes that happen with the 4 month sleep regression are permanent.

But don’t let that thoroughly depress you! There are ways you can move past the 4 month sleep regression, and teach your baby a new way to sleep. We’ll get to those in a moment.

In the beginning, though, here’s our advice: cope as best you can. If you are in the early days of the regression, you are no doubt exhausted beyond all measure and feeling utterly frustrated. This is normal. Spend the next few days/weeks coping, while you formulate your sleep training plan.

10 Tips to Survive The 4 Month Sleep Regression

How can you cope? Here are a few strategies you can use to encourage your baby to sleep more during the 4 month sleep regression until you’re ready to actively work on helping them move past it for good (see below for 10 more tips):

1. Continue helping your baby fall asleep in the way he has been falling asleep up until now. – If you’ve been nursing or rocking your baby o sleep, keep doing it, for now. Same with co-sleeping or holding to sleep. Yes, these are sleep associations that will ultimately hinder your baby’s sleep, and that you’ll need to wean away from later. But don’t worry about that right now – for now, do what you need to do to help your baby fall asleep.
2. Swaddle and/or offer a pacifier – If you’ve been doing this (and it’s been working), keep it up. If you haven’t, try these as techniques to help soothe your fussy baby, and to temporarily promote more sleep until you begin to work on moving past this for good (see below). If your baby is breaking out of the swaddle and that’s why they are waking up at night, start using a sleep sack or a product like the Zipadee-Zip. While sleepwear may not be a cure-all, it could improve sleep enough to allow you time to get a plan together as to how to move forward.
3. Offer a dream feed – This isn’t a fool-proof strategy, but it works well for some babies. Offer a dream feed and ‘top-off’ right before you go to bed, and it may help your baby sleep a bit longer at night.
4. Use the swing, if you have one – The swing can be a great way to soothe your fussy baby and to help induce a nap that wouldn’t otherwise happen ;). Just be sure to supervise your baby while he’s sleeping in the swing – you don’t want to let him sleep there for long periods of time.
5. Darken the Bedroom – If your baby is having trouble napping, consider darkening the room to encourage longer naps.
6. Set your baby up for success – If you’re putting your baby down at the “wrong” times for sleep, this can have disastrous results. Be sure to follow
   an appropriate 4 month old schedule.
7. Check your baby’s development – Before you consider moving forward to permanently change your baby’s sleep habits, you may want to double check their development is on track, you are feeding them the “right” amount, and they are growing well. Use our Ultimate Guide to Your 4 Month Old Baby to do a quick check.
8. Use white noise – If you aren’t already using white noise, definitely consider adding that to the bedroom. Learn how and why to use white noise here.
9. Start researching – Now is the time to do more reading and research about baby sleep if you haven’t already. Learning more about the 4-month sleep regression is a good first step, but learning more about your baby’s sleep needs is crucial to being successful with moving past the sleep regression for good. Downloading our e-Book, 5 Ways to Help Your Child Sleep Through the Night is a great next step. We break down 5 simple no-cry ways to help your baby sleep better.
10. Ask for help! – This is the time to lean on friends and family members. Let other people hang out with the baby while you take a nap.

These 10 tips should all be viewed as short-term solutions to help you rest up in preparation for starting to work on teaching your 4 month old baby a new way to sleep. Read below for 10 tips on how to move past the 4 month sleep regression for good.

Parent Story from Maggie Bales

“I am so happy with my experience with The Baby Sleep Site. My sleep consultant was phenomenal. I contacted the site after my little guy went through the 4 month sleep regression. He started to only sleep in 20 minute increments, so I resorted to co-sleeping out of necessity. They were able to help me to adjust his eating schedule and napping schedule, while educating me on the process along the way. She was always quick to respond to my emails, which were often several times a day – including weekends. While my son is not quite sleeping through the night yet, I am happy to say that he is in his own room and in his own bed! His sleep stretches are growing. He is also napping in his own bed now, which has freed up my day considerably! I couldn’t be happier with my experience with The Baby Sleep Site and will recommend your services to friends and family. I hope that I don’t need any more sleep help, but if I do, I am confident that The Baby Sleep Site will be able to guide me on the right path.”
-Maggie Bales, MI

10 Tips to Move Past the 4 Month Sleep Regression For Good

Once you understand the what and why behind the 4 month sleep regression, and once you’ve taken steps to cope and stay rested in the short-term, it’s time to start teaching your baby a new way to sleep. This process is called sleep training, or sleep coaching. But, contrary to what many believe, sleep coaching is about more than simply whether to let your baby cry or not. We approach baby sleep from a holistic standpoint and believe that sleep training without looking at “everything” is a bit like trying to get healthy by only looking at diet but without looking at exercise, sleep, water intake, limiting tobacco and alcohol, etc. It is the combination of several things that makes us successful at meeting and exceeding sleep goals. Here are 10 tips to move past the 4 month sleep regression for good:

1. Learn how much sleep your baby needs – Not knowing how much sleep your baby needs can set you on the wrong path right from the start. Not all babies sleep 12 hours at night and 4 hours during the day at this age and, similarly, if your baby is only sleeping 10 hours at night and 2 hours during the day, he isn’t getting enough. Set realistic expectations upfront.
2. Figure out how many naps – Should you offer 2 naps, 3 naps, or 4 naps at this age? Check the baby nap chart to see if you’re offering enough sleep periods each day.
3. Don’t keep baby awake too long – Over-tiredness is one of the main reasons babies take short naps or wake up a lot at night. Having the right schedule is very important to success in sleep!
4. Avoid napping mistakes – The better a baby naps during the day, often the better they sleep at night. Be sure to avoid these 7 common napping mistakes.
5. Feed your baby more during the day – As babies get older and more active, they increase how much they need to eat during the day. And, the more they eat during the day, the less they need at night! Check this baby feeding chart to make sure you’re feeding your baby enough during the day.
6. Be cautious about solids – Some parents think starting solids might help their 4 month old sleep better. But, will starting solids really help sleep? Not always. Learn when to start solids and consider waiting a bit longer.
7. Don’t get up too early – Did you know that light stimulating our eyes is what signals our brains to wake or sleep? Be sure not to start the day too early even if your baby is waking up too early.
8. Put your baby down awake – Putting your baby down awake allows your baby to learn the skill of going to sleep with the idea that he or she will learn to go back to sleep. This means your baby can learn how to sleep through the night and take long naps. But, does your baby need to be drowsy? Learn what drowsy, but awake means and how hard you should work on it.
9. Change your baby’s sleep associations – If you downloaded our e-Book, 5 Ways to Help Your Child Sleep Through The Night, you have now learned what a “sleep association” is. Once you are ready and feel your baby is ready, you will want to start gradually changing these sleep associations so your baby can sleep more independently. This is where more traditional sleep training comes in. There are many techniques and methods to do this – the one that you choose will depend on your family’s unique circumstances, on your baby’s temperament, and on your own unique parenting philosophy. Read more about baby sleep training methods here and signs your baby is ready for night-weaning here.
10. Re-evaluate periodically – Babies grow and change very quickly the first few years. Every so often, and especially if sleep begins to get worse again, you may need to re-evaluate your baby’s sleep. Do they need a new schedule? Are they developing new sleep habits that aren’t working? Are they going through another sleep regression? Be prepared for your baby to change and continue to keep learning about your baby’s sleep needs, so you’ll know what to do.

Following these tips for your 4 month old should help you get back on track with sleep in no time! If you need more help, we have a multitude of resources at your fingertips below.

4 Month Sleep Regression Case Study

Want more information about how to help your 4 month old sleep well? Check out our detailed case study about Nadia, Brad, and their 4 month old, Abigail.

Read the specific steps we took to help Abigail learn to sleep in longer stretches at night and to take better naps – and how we helped to change those sleep associations that were keeping her awake! Just join our VIP Members Area, and access the detailed case study instantly. And that’s not all – our VIP Members Area is packed with additional premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, more case studies, live chat with a sleep consultant, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! And best of all, members receive 20% of all consultation services – that savings alone can actually pay for the cost of the membership!

Help For The 4 Month Sleep Regression

Now, trust me when I say that this process is much easier said than done! Actually teaching your baby a new way to sleep involves lots of work for many families, and can take weeks to accomplish. Some families can do this on their own, with the help of books and other resources. If you feel ready to tackle your baby’s sleep challenges on your own, but want to read up on sleep training first, you might consider taking a look at our e-Book, The 3-Step System To Help Your Baby Sleep.

But while some families can go it alone, other families find themselves needing additional help. That’s precisely why we are here – to offer that additional help! I created The Baby Sleep Site^® in 2008 with the goal of offering personalized, individualized sleep help to exhausted families, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

So, how does this system of individualized help work? It’s simple – you purchase a consultation package and connect one-on-one with a trained sleep consultant. After learning more about your family’s unique situation and sleep struggles, your consultant creates a Personalized Sleep Plan^® just for you, and then provides additional help and support along the way, as you implement the plan at home. Simple, and effective!

Ready for help?

If you are ready to move past the 4 month sleep regression, and you feel ready to teach your baby a new way to sleep, take the first step today! Browse our list of consultation packages, and choose one that looks best for your family.

Click here to view our consultation packages.

Once you purchase, you will receive an e-mail with instructions about how to log in to our Helpdesk. Once logged in, you can create your account, fill out your family’s sleep history, connect with a sleep consultant, and get started! Then, in a matter of weeks, you will be able to add your name to our long list of well-rested parents :).

How are you coping with the 4 month sleep regression? Any tips for struggling, exhausted parents? Add your voice to the conversation!

Struggling with your baby’s sleep? We can help. Since 2008, we have helped thousands of families around the world with their babies' sleep problems, and we can help you, too! Tap into 10+ years of experience and take a look at our consultation packages to see which one looks like a good fit for you.

Click here to see all our personalized consultation packages.

Once you purchase, you will immediately receive access to the Helpdesk, and you can set up your account, fill out your family's sleep history survey, submit it to a sleep consultant, and get started on the journey to better sleep!

Want to read about other family's experiences? Read parent stories and reviews here.

Need Baby and Toddler Sleep Help? We Have the Resources You Need!

For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.

Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part – members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services!