Bo asleep in his car seat after going shopping with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa We.itl when we were visiting two weeks ago. Notice he has his arm around Tony. So sweet!
Remember how I said that I had a wonderful sleeper?? Well, I did. And really, I still do. I know it could be MUCH worse. But I miss my good sleeper. I miss the little boy that would go down at 8 and wait until at least 5 (and on good days 7!) before waking up for a feeding! For the last week or two we’ve been up one or two times a night — but last night – with 4 wakings, Bo set a new record.
I’ve used Babywise from the beginning and it has provided the basis for Bo’s routine which overall has worked extremely well. But even the Babywise book mentions the 4 month sleep regression and the 45-minute intruder during naps. We’ve got both going on at our house currently.
Bo hit the 4 month mark yesterday and was awake more last night than he has ever been. (It doesn’t help that I jinxed myself by commenting on another blogger’s site, right before bed no less, that our sleep issues haven’t been horrible.) He was up at 11, 12, 2, and 4:30 last night. Each time he was in a different position in the crib, always on his side, trying to roll from his back to his belly. He really is becoming quite the squirm-bug! I only fed him at 4:30 — for the other wake-ups I just repositioned him and gave him his paci and he went back to sleep.
I thought it could be a growth spurt but honestly, I don’t know how the boy could eat more. He breastfeeds every 3 hours and is having rice cereal after the 5 o’clock feeding and then taking 9-10 oz. of breastmilk from a bottle at his bedtime feeding at 8.
So it seems to me that it must be the 4 month sleep regression. Apparently, all of these new milestones that he is hitting such as rolling over from tummy to back, taking all of his naps in the crib, eating his first rice cereal, trying to roll from back to tummy, etc. are being worked through at night. I guess this really shouldn’t surprise me as my brain tends to use sleep to work through various issues as well.
My mantra is “it’s only a phase.” How many times will I say that over the course of his lifetime?
I guess at least Bo is right on target and chose to celebrate his 4 month birthday with a little extra Mommy time in the middle of the night. I love spending time with him, but I’d much rather do it by the light of day…
*** You can read about 4 month sleep regression here. There are a ton of other sites that I have found that discuss it but I’ll let you Google it for yourself. 
LG’s been waking up earlier for the past week, he used to sleep until 7 or 8. In the past week he has also woken up in the middle of the night 4 or 5 days. He sleeps on his stomach and scoots into the corner then wakes up. I never heard about the 4 month regression, I was blaming it on his cold and the scooting. Hopefully it won’t last long!
I wish I had been smart like you and used one of the methods. My 21 month old wakes at night and I end up sleeping in his room. And my 9 month old wakes up at night and sleeps in our bed. I totally wrecked my kids. I just needed the rest and figured sleep at all costs. Now, I’m paying for it. Sounds like you are in really good shape, sleep-wise, even with the 4 month regression. You rock, sista!
BTW, thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing a bit about your blog history. Very interesting to know I’m not alone. I’ll be back!
Both of my kids nursed at least every two hrs around the clock, regardless of what solid food they ate. DD#1 would work through every single developmental stage at night. I remember being on vacation with her when she was learning to crawl. She would be awake at 4AM rocking back and forth practicing. DD#2 is 4mths old and definitely sleeping like garbage, but also learning to roll etc. He could be having a growth spurt, but I’m sure you’ll see more of this as he learns new things. Good luck, hope you can catch a nap!
I always found that their sleep was inturupted when learned to do new physical things. For example when they learned to roll over they would do it in their sleep then wake up and cry. then when they learned to stand up if they woke up they would immediately stand up and cry. They both did those things at separate times so we went through the inturuption 4 different times.
Now all of a sudden at 12 months they are boycotting bedtime. UGH!
If you don’t mind, what does babywise say about the 45 minute intruder. He’s alive and well in our house and I know they’re not ready to wake up after 45 mintues but I have no idea what to do about it? Do I just leave them there to cry and fall back asleep?
If your little guy previously was a better sleeper, that’s a good sign that he should return to that routine within a few days of whatever is going on with him now. There’s really not a lot you can do at this age, sorry hon! I have sympathy, all my 3 were the same. You just have to pace yourself and make sure YOU get enough rest at other times of the night (day). I also think loading up an iPod with some interesting/relaxing/fun stuff for middle-of-the-night feedings is a great option for you at this stage!
And thanks for checking me out on BabyShrink.com!
KERRY LYNN:
Mind if I jump in on your question? 2 of my 3 did the “one hour intruder”. There is a shift in brain waves that occurs at about the 45 minute to one hour point after falling asleep, and it often can semi-awaken the baby. All we can do is briefly (and quietly) ressure them that we’re there, they’re ok, and that it’s time to go back nite-nite. I’m not a huge fan of “cry it out” with babies, since part of what they could be experiencing (after about 6-8 months or so) is separation anxiety. Most toddlers can handle more fussing to get back to sleep, but experiment and see what works best for your little one!
OH WOW thank you for this post! My little girl is 4 1/2 months and has been a great sleeper until about 2 weeks ago! I had been blaming it on RSV, she was coughing so much during the night I thought that had to be the reason she was so restless, but now she is feeling much better and is still restless starting at about 4am. She will raise her legs in the air and just KICK and slam them down in her crib….what is that about? I still swaddle, and thought maybe she was starting to grow out of it…but now I don’t think that’s the reason. Thanks again! I guess we’ll just have to hope she settles down soon
UGH. I am in the middle of the same problem. Graham has never slept through the night (he's 18 weeks) and the circles under my eyes are getting darker and heavier. He gets up at least twice a night and a terrible night is 4 times. Unlike your sweet baby he will NOT take a pacifier and only wants to nurse to calm himself back to sleep. The regression part comes in here: he USED to be a great napper. He'd take a 2 hr nap in the morning and a 3 hr nap in the afternoon. All the sudden, after his 16 week check up when I told the dr. he was a great napper, he now exclusively does the 45 minute intruder. I think I'm going to pull my hair out soon if I don't get some sleep. Glad to hear it's not just me.