How 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. 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.
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!
Hello, will babies who early sleep train regress also? We are a schedule house. Meals at 7am, 12pm, 6pm. Bedtime is 745pm and we wake him at 645am for breakfast. Hes 4mos now and this has been our schedule since 8 weeks. He goes in crib awake and falls right to sleep. But many are saying “watch out for regression…” Eek! If they already sleep 11 hours at night and take 2 scheduled naps a day (9-10 // 1-3) do they still regress? Thanks!
Hi @Annie, thanks for writing! All children’s sleep patterns go through at change around the 4 month mark where their sleep cycles change and become more like ours. The regression is simply that the baby does not know how to transition between the shorter sleep cycles so they often start waking you up every 2 hours or so and need your help to go back to sleep every.single.time. So all babies do go through that. It is however different how every child will respond. Even great sleepers will suddenly go from sleeping through the night since 10 weeks to waking up every two hours, while others transition smoothly and you don’t even know they went through a change. I had one of each. It’s important to be aware but it sounds like you’ve done a lot of research and have the tools ready in case your baby does react to the regression, you’ll know how to stay consistent and help him through. Hopefully he transitions smoothly though and you won’t have to change anything. 🙂 Good luck! If you think about it, let us know how it turns out!
We are definitely squarely in the 4MSR. Our son was sleeping great and now he hits all the symptoms – awake every couple of hours in the night, feeding a lot more, missing naps.
He’s been going to sleep without any sleep associations and by himself while awake up until now.
When he wakes in the night he is just all fuss and cry. He won’t put himself back to sleep the way he puts himself to sleep for a nap or at the start of the night.
Any advice given that the main points here are weaning from associations and putting them down awake, which we’ve got covered?
@Michael – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. The 4 Month Sleep Regression is definitely a real doozy – we commend you for hanging in there! If your little guy didn’t have any of those associations before it hit, hang in there and ride it out – we rarely want to create a long-term habit to deal with a short-term problem. Good luck!
Hello my daughter is 18 weeks old. She has been a great sleeper. Bed time at 830/9pm and awake around 530am. Sleeping 9-10hrs a night straight. The last few days she has been waking every 2 hours after her first wake she never really gets back in to a deep sleep. I miss my good sleeper. Please help us get back to 9-10hrs a night.
Hang in there @Jessica! The 4 month sleep regression is definitely a rough one, and it will just take time and effort to teach her how to self soothe and fall back asleep on her own. Here is a link to download a free guide which will give tips on where to start: http://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
Please note that at this age 1-3 feedings at night are still normal so if she doesn’t go back to her super long stretches, but has stopped with the every 2 hour thing, that may be what she needs right now since there’s lots of growth spurts happening! If you need more help, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We have a ton of other resources for you if you need!
How do you recommend teaching her how to self sooth herself back to sleep? Is crying it out something I should allow her to do? She is 4 months. She can put herself to sleep for nap time but at night is the problem. I keep finding my self picking her back up and not even two minutes of hold her and she is out.
Hi @Jessica, thanks for getting back to me. There are lots of different techniques to teach her to fall back asleep on her own (crying it out would be one of the options, but even within that there are tons of variations of what you can do) and many people begin this process between 4-6 months. Here is a link to an article on our site that goes over a few different sleep training techniques: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/5-sleep-training-methods-explained/
Within this article there are lots of other links to give you more information on a specific technique. The important thing with sleep training is to definitely have a plan of action, and to give it some time for at least a week or so before changing the routine. Using the tips from the free guide I linked previously as well (establishing a bedtime routine, making sure the schedule is right, etc.) will all be keys in success.
If you need more help, please let us know! We have a ton of other resources (you will see as you begin to click around), many are free, and we also have more in-depth information in our Members Area that you can read more about here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/diy/ and we have personalized consulting as well.
Hopefully since your daughter was sleeping well for you before she will catch on quick and you’re able to get things on track very soon. Let us know how everything turns out or if you have any more questions!
My son is about to turn 5 months and we have been struggling with sleep training for the past few weeks. We never really slept during the day in the early months but always slept amazing at night..
Currently he needs to rocked or patted to drowsy then in the crib and then patted till asleep.. occasionlly he will roll onto his tummy then wakes up.. this morning he was wide awake at 3am..
the last two nights he’s suffered from congestion and prefers to be upright.. could this be hindering the training process? How long do we persist with the current method of training?
My wife has Post Partem Depression and is not copying with the exhaustion.. she’s weeping and is struggling to deal with the lack of progress even though I feel there is some..
Hi @Richard – Thank you for writing to us, and I am sorry that you are working hard but still struggling with sleep! Yes, certainly feeling ill/congested can be a hindrance to the sleep training process. Hang in there, and please support your spouse and help her do the same! It is great that you have noticed progress. That is a good thing! We recommend sticking with your “plan” for at least one to two weeks, before adjusting things. I am not sure how long it has been for you, or how consistent you have been able to be.
One of our expert sleep consultants would love to take an in depth look at his sleep history and details about his day and night sleep and would be happy to help support you and your family through this!
If you find that you would like more help, you can read about all of our sleep consultation packages here: http://babysleepsite.com/services/
Hang in there Richard, and if your wife has not already sought help for her PPD, please check out this site with her: http://www.postpartum.net/ or call this number for support: 1-800-944-4773
How am I coping? With coffee – I really just want to stab my eyes out I’m that tired. This is my second baby and I thought I would have it sussed being my second but nope – what worked for one definitely doesn’t work for the other. Ah well thank goodness for family and friends and awesome sites like this.
@Yunene, hang in there! It is crazy how different babies can be! I’m glad you’re finding the site helpful and that you have support around you. If you need anything, let us know, but for now, go enjoy a cup of coffee!
Good Morning,
My baby boy is 17 weeks today and up until a week and a half ago he was sleeping through the night. Now the sleep regression has hit hard. I bath him at 7 and he has a massage and gets dressed for bed and has his bottle around 7:45 and he’s notmally asleep by 8:30 the latest, I put him in his cot when he’s awake but drowsy and he goes off on his own with no fuss. He sleeps solidly until 12:30 every night and that’s when it starts, at least once an hour he’s awake, I’ve tried giving him a bottle and he’s not hungry so I resorted back to just giving his dummy and he does drift back off but then an hour later he’s awake again!
Any advice I would be hugely grateful!
Hannah x
@Hannah, thanks for writing to us. I am sorry you’re struggling with your son’s sleep! It sounds like he may be experiencing the 4 month regression so he’ll need to learn how to settle himself to sleep during those wake ups. Here is a link to a free guide with tips to help him sleep through the night: http://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
Hopefully he gets back on track soon! Be sure to click the links in the guide that will take you to more resources and let us know if you need any more help.
My son is 3 months and is sleeping 7 hour stretches at night. I am terrified once the 4 month regression happens he will become a bad sleeper (my oldest child was a terrible sleeper).
We rock him and cuddle before he goes to sleep and he always cries for awhile and then eventually goes to sleep – sometimes in our arms, sometimes I put him down when he is very close to drifting off and then sssssh him to sleep. Would this be considered a wind down session or a sleep association?
Any specific advice about things we should be doing in the lead up to the regression to help or prevent it becoming terrible?
Hi @Lauren, thanks for writing to us! I am sorry your first child was a terrible sleeper and that you are now worried about your second. It sounds like you are doing all you know to do to establish good sleep habits from the beginning so hopefully things will continue! It truly depends on the child. I had one child that never showed signs of any sleep regression, while my other gave me trouble for far longer. Here is a link to free guide that you can keep as a reference if you do begin to experience trouble as the next month approaches: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
Hopefully you won’t need it! 😉 If you need any more help, please let us know, we are here!
My son is almost 4.5 months. He has always gone to sleep 15 to 20mins after putting him down and sometimes lesser than that.
Now the issue is, for the last 3 days or so, for his morning nap he has been playing and not going to sleep, he keeps practising his rolling technique and then eventually sleep. For his afternoon nap, he however won’t go to.sleep straight away, he will keep talking and cooing to himself, rolling and eventually crying, which I then go to him and carry him and gently but firmly tell him it’s his naptime and then leave the room. He cries for a minute or so and then he sleeps. (Or so) but then he wakes up after about 40minutes later he whines, but I don’t go to him, so I allow him fall back asleep again until it’s his wake up time. I have a toddler that I have to look after as well. How do I handle this phase, should I continue with what I am doing or allow him stay awake more, and then put him back to sleep
He wakes up 6/6:30 am
First nap: 8:/15 or 8: 20 am to wake up 10 am
Second nap 11:20 am to wake up 1: 30 pm
Third nap 3: 15 pm to wake up 4:15 pm.
The reason for this nap gap is because he starts getting a little cranky at that time, so I close the curtain and he still cries a bit, but then i calm him and then he gors quiet. However, he still wont go to sleep until alomost 45 minutes later. He wont cry straight away, he will keep cooing and turning or even laughing, until it’s about 40 minutes and then he starts crying. Before I go him to reassure him and then he sleeps.
Is this the real regression or it’s just him wanting more play time?
@Lola – Thank you for writing to us. I am sorry you’ve been struggling the past few days with your son’s naps. It sounds like he has an amazing routine that you are sticking to, so if it’s a regression or him just testing out his new skill of rolling (that can often mess with sleep too) hopefully he’ll be back on track soon with the help of your consistency. 🙂 If you need any nap tips in addition to what you are already doing, be sure to download our free guide for naps here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
Hope this helps!
I really appreciate this site and all the information. My baby is 4.5 months, and she’s definitely going through the sleep regression, but she already knows how to fall asleep on her own. When it’s naptime or bedtime I just go through the wind down routine and put her in bed, and she sometimes cries a bit but often falls asleep with no crying. However, she won’t sleep longer than 30-45 minutes during the day unless she’s in her swing, and she wakes up usually three times at night when she had previously been sleeping 6-9 hours in a stretch. Is this something we just have to wait out, or something we will need to work on?
Again, so grateful for your input!
Hi @Chelsea,
Thank you for writing to us! it sounds like you have been working hard to get your little one sleeping well! it is great that she can already fall asleep on her own! Those short naps are common, but feel free to try and encourage her to fall back to sleep if she can/will. That may take a little more time, so hang in there! Regarding her night wakings, I cannot say if she will outgrow that on your own, or if she will need help. Every baby is different, and some will drop those night wakings/feeds (if she is feeding at those times) on their own, and many will not. If you do find that you need to work on those night wakings or those short naps, we would love to help! Just contact us at any time if things do not smooth out! Good luck Chelsea, and thanks for reading!