Four Month Sleep Regression#
New sleep cycle with 5 different stages
- REM: Dreaming sleep
- Stage 1: very light/drowsy sleep
- Stage 2: Light sleep
- Stage 3/4: Deep restorative sleep
Light sleep almost every hour or two throughout the night. They need to learn how to go back to sleep after the light/wake stage.
The 7-step guide
- Fill the tank
- Check the engine
- Set the cruise control
- Top off the tank
- Hit the brakes
- Plan your rest stops
- Unload the baggage
1. Fill the tank#
Maintaining adequate feedings during the day.
Growth spurts are common, and we need to feed based on hunger cues. If not fed enough during the day, they’ll NEED calories during the night. We need to prevent “reverse cycling”:
Night feedings --> Not eating well during day time --> More feedings needed at night
2. Check the engine#
Examine the nightly routine
Give baby their own space
Create an environment conductive to falling asleep
- Eliminate light
- use sound machine
- keep temperature between 68-78 F
Establish a predictable bedtime routine
Shoot for 7-8pm bedtime
3. Set the cruise control#
Allowing your baby to put herself to sleep
The S.I.T.B.A.C.K. method#
Incrasing level of intervension
- S: Stop… wait watch observe
- I: Increase the sound machine level
- T: Touch the baby’s chest
- B: Binky: offer the pacifier
- A: Add rocking of baby’s body
- C: Cuddle. Pick up the baby and rock gently.
- K: time to feed.
3-4 months strategy#
Baby at this age requires more than SITBACK. We can try to reduce the level of intervension gradually. If baby can’t fall asleep after 10-15 minutes, go back and increase the level of intervension.
| Intervention method descending |
|---|
| Feeding, rocking or bouncing to sleep, then put to crib |
| Feeding to sleep and gently waking him slightly before placing in crib |
| Rocking baby to sleep in arms, then gently waking slightly before placing in crib |
| Rocking baby’s body side-to-side until asleep while he’s in the crib |
| Placking your hand on baby’s chest until asleep while in crib |
| Calming baby with rocking or hand on chest, then removing before baby is asleep |
| Placing baby in bed awake, allow him to fuss for 5 minutes, go in and pick him up until calm, then lay down again. Repeat the cycle. |
| Placing baby in bed awake, and intervening only when baby cries out. |
| Placing baby in bed awake, allowing him to fall asleep independetly w/o intervention |
4. Top off the tank#
Consider a dream feed
Between 9:30pm to 11pm.
5. Hit the brakes#
Planning to stop night wakings
- Give a few minutes allowing the baby to fall abck to sleep
- Use SITBACK
- Avoid “quickfixes” like rocking, feeding, etc.
Try SITBACK at 1 night waking, and use “quickfixes” for the other wakings.
SITBACK for 4 months#
Do not skip steps or rush through them.
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| S: Stop… wait watch observe | 5-8 min |
| I: Increase the sound machine level | 1-2 min |
| T: Touch the baby’s chest | 2 min |
| B: Binky: offer the pacifier | 2 min |
| A: Add rocking of baby’s body, allowing their head bobble gently | 2 min |
| C: Cuddle. Pick up the baby and rock gently. | Until calms, or 2 mins and move to K |
| K: time to feed. |
6. Plan your rest stops#
Handling naps
3.5 - 4.5 hours, no more than 5 hours
- Watching wake windows (90-120 mins)
- Creating the environment: as dark as possible
- Helping the baby to prepare with a routine
- Focusing on the first nap, which is the easist