# Does the 4 month sleep regression un-regress???



## Cartesia (Mar 26, 2008)

I'm glad I read this forum all the time and knew to expect the 4 month sleep regression. So does it go away, or should I just expect that this is the new pattern for a long time??

My LO used to sleep a 5-7 hour chunk and then a few 2-3 hour chunks. I, of course, was totally engorged, dealing with oversupply so didn't want to pump, and had insomnia that whole time. Ugh. Never got to really enjoy it.

He is now 19 weeks old and for the past month he has only slept 1-2 hours at a time. I know this is totally normal. I'm just wondering if the typical pattern includes a return to the way the LO slept BEFORE the regression or if it stays like this and then gets worse at 8 months!


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## calpurnia (Sep 26, 2004)

in my experience, as far as i can remember through the haze, it stayed regressed till 6 months, improved a little around 7 months, & then got worse again around 8 months. now at 10 months we are improving a little again, but still nowhere near the glory days of 6 hours followed by every 4 hours.


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## Anno (Feb 18, 2005)

With my kids, it didn't ever go back to the 6-9 hour stretches before the 4 month regression. My son was notorious for crying every 1-2 hours for a long time. DD might go as long as 3, but not much longer.

I feel like the people who say their kids sleep longer stretches are so lucky!


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## MLA (May 22, 2008)

DS is seven months, and he's still regressed. Not much improvement since four months.


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## sarah1122 (Sep 5, 2008)

DS slept the same as your LO until 4 months...then started to waking every 1-2 hours. That lasted about a month...it was INSANE.

He's six months now and in the last few weeks went back to 3-5 hour stretches...

...and now we've got teeth coming so he's up all the time again. I found it's better to have no expectations of when things might get better (or worse), because just when you think you're going to be getting more sleep it starts all over again!


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## Dahlea (May 15, 2008)

Mine is 6 1/2 months now and sleeps around 7 hrs a night (we cosleep-he wakes up 3-4 times to eat) The 4 month regression sucks, so I really feel your pain (he would sleep a while, and wake up ready to play)


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## rzberrymom (Feb 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *calpurnia* 
in my experience, as far as i can remember through the haze, it stayed regressed till 6 months, improved a little around 7 months, & then got worse again around 8 months. now at 10 months we are improving a little again, but still nowhere near the glory days of 6 hours followed by every 4 hours.

My DD was about the same. It got a little better around 6 or 7 months, then got worse around 8 months, then got better again until she was about 14 months and the molars and canines started coming in--that was the absolute worst of it--they took months to come in and caused her incredible pain. After the teeth were all in, it got SO MUCH better.


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## Cartesia (Mar 26, 2008)

Whoa -

Last few nights have been great - a 5 hour chunk here, a 4 hour chunk there, and even one sixer!!!

So I guess the deal is what PP said - DROP EXPECTATIONS. It could suck, it could get better, and then it could suck again. Over and over, right? Guess I'm a mama now....


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## Harmony08 (Feb 4, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Cartesia* 
Whoa -

Last few nights have been great - a 5 hour chunk here, a 4 hour chunk there, and even one sixer!!!

*So I guess the deal is what PP said - DROP EXPECTATIONS. It could suck, it could get better, and then it could suck again. Over and over, right? Guess I'm a mama now...*.

hahaha yeah. mine got better but never back to the old days. now a tooth. it never ends.


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## MujerMamaMismo (Oct 28, 2005)

nak
I'm interested in hearing more ppls experiences of this. We've gone from several 3-4 hour chunks to 40mins to 1-2 hours in the last few weeks. DS is 18weeks old, teething like crazy, just started rolling a lot and we just moved too so there's a lot going on for the poor kid. I never thought I'd celebrate 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep like I have the past couple of nights.


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## hrsmom (Jul 4, 2008)

Our 4-month sleep regression started at around 3 months, and as far as I can tell, we're still in it at 12 1/2 months







Over the past year, I have had probably ten nights of good sleep, and those are GLORIOUS! I actually feel like doing dishes when I wake up. (Of course there are dishes when I wake up. Too tired to do them, usually.) It usually gets to the point where I can't take it, then I get decent sleep. I've been really really wishing for her to only wake up 3 times in a night. I did the math on that, and that still isn't good sleep, but it beats the heck out of waking up 9 or 10 times a night! Ah, frustration!

It definitely helps to drop all expectations. I'm still sleep-deprived, but my attitude is better now that I no longer expect good sleep. I do catch a nap here and there, which helps, but nap time used to be time when I got stuff done. Oh well.


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## makuahine (Mar 10, 2009)

Ugh. I could have posted this question as well. My now five month old has completely regressed the past three weeks or so. She used to sleep in four hour chunks with an occasional six hour one in there (soooooo nice) but now I'm lucky if I get a two hour stretch. She also does this thing now where she's wide awake at four in the morning and sometimes I can't get her back to sleep. I can tell she's more tired in the day (wanting longer naps, etc), but am at a total loss as to how to get her to sleep better at night (we already co-sleep and nurse on demand). I'm praying







: this is just a "typical" sleep regression, because if she sleeps this badly for the next few years I don't know how I'm going to have the energy to survive, let alone enjoy, her babyhood. Sigh.


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## namistenicole (Jun 14, 2007)

DD started waking in the night for long stretched around 3.5 months and it lasted until about 4 months - maybe 3 weeks? Before this she'd sleep 12 or so hours, waking briefly to nurse in bed with me 3 times. It was a really terrible 3 weeks, with daytime sleep changes too, but then it passed and now she's only waking twice a night to nurse. Which is soooo nice!

I wish I could remember what I did... :yawning: I think I tried to get her back to sleep by rocking as soon as she woke (and wouldn't nurse back to sleep), kept quiet, dark room, all that typical stuff. Basically tried to remind her as much as possible that this was night and time to sleep.

I hope this gives you hope rather than makes you want to punch me in the eye!







Wishing you all great sleep...


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