The exhausting 4-month sleep regression is when your baby wakes very frequently at night and/or takes short naps. Although there are temporary regressions at other ages, including 8 months, 11 months, 18 months, and 2 years old, 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. If, after you read this, you need individual help, please consider contacting a baby sleep consultant.
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.
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.
The 4 Month Sleep Regression at-a-glance:
- A permanent change in how a baby sleeps.
- Starts as early as 8 weeks and as late as 5 months.
- Your baby now cycles in and out of sleep cycles, light and deep sleep, something he or she didn’t do as a newborn.
- Your baby now wakes every 45 minutes to 2 hours.
- Things never go back to what they once were.
- While some babies will learn to sleep well after this change, many need your help learning how to sleep through the night or take longer naps.
4 Month Sleep Regression: Baby Sleep Patterns Change Permanently
If you are reading this page, you have likely 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 the solution to the 4 month sleep regression.
The 4 month sleep regression marks a permanent change in your baby’s sleeping habits. See, 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 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. (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 – 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 is 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 slight sleep, theres 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 seep 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.
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:
- Continue helping your baby fall asleep in the way he has been falling asleep up until now. If you’ve been nursing to sleep, keep doing it. Same with rocking 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.
- 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 promote sleep.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ask for help! This is the time to lean hard on friends and family members. Let other people hang out with the baby while you take a nap.
“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
“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.”Remember, these should all be viewed as short-term solutions. None of these will solve your 4 month old baby’s sleep problems; what they will do is help you rest up in preparation for starting to work on teaching your 4 month old baby a new way to sleep.
4 Month Sleep Regression: How To Move Past It 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.
How does this work? Well, for starters, you look at how your baby falls asleep – those are your baby’s sleep associations. Many babies depend on mom or dad to feed, or rock, or hold them to sleep, for example. Once you’ve identified your baby’s sleep associations, you begin to slowly wean your baby away from them, in an effort to help your baby learn to fall asleep alone. 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.
Once you have begun weaning your baby away from her sleep associations, you will also want to work on teaching your baby to fall asleep alone. Typically, parents start working on this by putting their babies to bed drowsy but awake. Once your baby can fall sleep alone, without help from you, she will be able to put herself back to sleep at night when she wakes, and to eventually (when she is ready and is done with night feedings) sleep through the night.
Continued 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 how they helped Abigail learn to sleep longer stretches at night and take better naps – and how they helped to change those sleep associations that were keeping her awake! Just join our Members Area, and access the case study instantly. And that’s not all – our 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! Nicole created The Baby Sleep Site® in 2008 with the goal of offering personalized, individualized sleep help to exhausted families, and she’s 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!
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 Help Desk. 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!
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!
Is it normal for my 16 week old baby to have very light restless sleep throughout the night? Previously very peaceful deep sleep. She is now tired during the day and sleeping restlessly more than previously. She is also twitching and startles very easily.
@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!
My daughter is 4 months and 2 weeks old. When she was little little she slept SO good for a few weeks. Now I can get my daughter to go to down for bed while nursing, bedtime starting at 7:30, in her crib by 8:30-9pm but then she wakes up an hour (sometimes but rarely 2 hours) later. I try nursing her back to sleep every time she wakes up but she just will not stay down. After that she wakes up every 10 minutes for the rest of the night unless I put her in bed with me and hubby and my boobs constantly in her mouth. My body HURTS from being stuck in one position all night and I haven’t slept in weeks. I’m at a loss here i dont know what to do anymore. I don’t want her sleeping in bed with us because it scares the heck out of me but if i don’t she just will not stay asleep in her crib. Please help me I’m literally starting to go insane and I love my baby very very very much but I feel terrible because I start resenting her at night and I loathe when bed times approaching. I also can’t nap when she naps because she only naps 3-4 times a day for 10-20 minutes at a time (not enough fine for me to actually fall asleep, takes me a while when I try)
Hi @Cassidy – Thank you for writing to us and for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep! I’m sorry to hear that sleep has SO been rough for your daughter lately. You’re not alone! We understand how tough this is!
This age can be a difficult one for many babies, since their sleep is permanently changing from a “newborn’s” sleep, and this often leads to more frequent wake ups at night and disrupted naps.
Since you’re feeling SO overwhelmed please consider one of our Personalized Sleep Consultation packages so that you can start getting some help and get on track right away! If you choose to purchase a consultation package, one of our trained expert sleep consultants will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan for you and your daughter, based on both your unique family history and on our own 10+ years of experience working with tens of thousands of parents from around the world. Then, your consultant will help you implement the plan via phone and/or email, and will answer any follow-up questions you may have. The consultant will also make changes to the plan as necessary. You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here:
https://babysleepsite.com/services
Hang in there Cassidy, and please let us know if we can be of any further support at any time!
Hello,
I don’t understand your claim that newborns/babies up until this point don’t have different sleep cycles and that they only have deep sleep. My baby is almost 3 months and we’ve observed for many, many weeks two different types of sleep. I have a book in French by two doctors who describe in detail these which they call “sommeil agité” (agited sleep) and “sommeil calm” (calm sleep). My baby has definitely not only had deep sleep–he has always had a phase that involved movement, noises, facial expressions, etc. contrary to his calm sleep. Also, I have the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and he clearly discusses the importance of REM sleep in the newborn. So it’s not all deep sleep. I have read that their cycles indeed change to imitate ours, however.
I meant to say sleep phases, not cycles.
Hi @Casey – Thanks for writing and for sharing your resources with us! The “Why We Sleep” book is on my “read this” list, but I haven’t gotten there quite yet! Sleep changes a lot in these first few months of life, which is what we’re talking about in this article. We’ve gained a lot of the “on the job” experience in working with tens of thousands of families that struggle with the same sleep patterns/regressions, additionally the information in this article is from Dr. Richard Ferber. I;m happy to share a bit here. On pages 15-16 in “Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems” by Dr. Ferber, he writes… “After the first few months of life, non-REM sleep divides further into four distinct stages.” In addition, on page 22, he goes on to say “During the first month of life, the non-REM brain waves become continuous and startles disappear. By the time a baby is a month old, sleep spindles begin to appear and over the next month or two we can begin to separate non-REM sleep into lighter and deeper stages. K-complex waves, characteristic of mature non-REM sleep, do not appear until a baby is about six months old, although precursors appear earlier.” This development of sleep over the newborn to 6-month period is when we start to see impacts of the “4-month-sleep regression” which usually starts anywhere from 3 to 5 months old. There is lots more info in the book if you’re interested. It can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/2PMSsQx
I hope that this helps, and thanks again for writing and sharing!!
Thank you for the helpful article! My 11 week old started sleeping poorly around 7 weeks – catnapping (20-40 mins) and sometimes waking up 3 times per night instead of 1-2. He is finally SLOWLY adapting and napping for longer stretches, Hooray! I’m a bit confused though about whether this was an early 4 month sleep regression as you mentioned it can start as early as 8 weeks, or if this is something else and I still have the 4 month regression to look forward to. I have noticed some sources say there is a 6 week regression that can last 2-6 weeks but the info available is all a bit inconsistent. I am very hopeful my husband and I will get a long break of good sleep after this, rather than only about a month or less before the 4 month regression starts! What is likely to be the case?
@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!
My daughter is 4 months and 1 week old, and up until a few days ago, when she started showing sleepy cues (for naps and bedtime) she would fall asleep easily. Now when she shows cues she refuses to sleep. We have a routine that we do before naps and bedtime and nothing is making her drowsy or sleepy. I took your regression quiz and it seems like this is what she’s going through, but I’m not sure what to do if she won’t sleep at all. She won’t even get sleepy during nursing! Will this pass? Should I let her skip her naps? I’m worried it will affect her nighttime sleep.
@Sara – thank you for writing to us. I’m so sorry to hear that your daughter is fighting you so hard through this 4 month sleep regression. Hang in there, and hopefully things will pass soon. I would strongly recommend to do your best (you don’t have the ultimate control of course) to not let her sleep naps. This would result in her getting over tired and then fighting you even more. Here is a link to a free guide with tips to help you with naps (I found when my boys hit this age they suddenly got really distracted and I had to change a few things in their room and routine to make it more suitable to sleep): http://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
Hopefully she will begin to self settle again and things will get back to normal. If she was falling asleep independently before, you may just have a couple rough weeks before she catches on to all the changes that she’s going through. If you need more help, let us know and hang in there!
Hi, my babys is almost 4 months now and she was a great sleeper. I trained her without crying. But then because od regresion she couldnt go to sleep easly. At first ? stayed with her and kind a help her with closing her eyes but then she wanted to sleep while breat feeding. I never let her fully sleep while feeding but now she is crying screaming day and night to sleep while feeding. I start training again but its really hard cause ? dont want her to cry. What should ? do? Should ? help her or push her? And how will ? know regresion is ending?
Thank u,
Didem
@Didem – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. This regression can be so hard, we know. You’re not alone during this confusing time – we’re right there with you! Balancing giving your baby what she needs during this regression along with not developing any long-term “bad” habits is definitely more of an art than a science – there’s no exact right or wrong answer. We strongly encourage that you do what you can to give your little girl the comfort she needs while working to keep her sleep healthy and whole – as close to how she used to fall asleep as possible. This particular regression doesn’t “end” so much as you move past it and teach your little girl a new way to sleep going forward. Please consider one of our sleep consultants if you find you’d like more support during this time. You can read more about our lovely ladies here: http://www.babysleepsite.com/about Hang in there, Didem!
Hello.
I have a baby who is almost 4 months, I’m not sure if he’s already been through a sleep regression but his pattern has changed over the last few weeks. He is also quite a big baby – 17 pounds, 98 percentile length and 75 weight. I’m not sure if this is relevant? He used to be fed to sleep (around 7-8 of formula) at 6pm then wake around midnight, 3 and 7am. We struggle to keep him up past 6pm and recently it’s been tricky keeping him awake at 530 – as a result he has become more distressed at bedtime and is still awake for 20 mins or so crying after his feed. He does then go down and we dream feed him around 10:30 but he then wakes around 2:30-3am and I feed him 4 ounces of his first morning 8 ounce feed. He then wakes at 5am but won’t settle but isn’t hungry, comes in with me until around 6am when I feed him his second 4 ounce bottle then goes to sleep for an hour or so. Is there anything we can do to stop his 5am and even 3am feed – he sometimes takes the 3am but often doesn’t take it all.
Thanks, Isobel.
Hi @Isobel – Thank you for writing to us. I am sorry to hear that your little one’s slep has regressed/changed, but you are not alone! We’d love to help!! For info regarding night feeds, This is a great article on our blog, along with a helpful video:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-night-feedings-when-necessary/
He may need some more help with learning how to fall to sleep on his own and back to sleep too! If you would like additional assistance with this, I do believe you will benefit from one of our Sleep Consultation packages, where we will work with you on a detailed plan you can commit to and feel good about.
You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here: http://babysleepsite.com/services
I hope that things smooth out soon Isobel! Please feel free to contact us if you need more help!