One minute you're a baby sleep master. The next you're pulling your hair out over constant sleep difficulties. Welcome to the world of sleep regressions.
If your child's sleep routines are suddenly go out of the window for no apparent reason, you could be dealing with the dreaded sleep regression.
Whether you're a first-time dad or a seasoned veteran, they are never easy. But what is a sleep regression? What causes one? How long do they last? And when do they happen?
We've put together this ultimate guide to bring you everything you need to know about the baby sleep regressions covering
Table Of Contents
What is a sleep regression?
Sleep regressions are a period of time when your baby's sleep patterns change and become disturbed. Your child's sleep will typically become very disturbed, including refusing to take naps, taking a long time to fall asleep, and frequent night waking.
Although it is a normal part of your baby's development, it can be a very distressing and challenging time for parents, especially those whose babies who already have sleep problems.
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The Ultimate Guide to Baby Sleep Regressions
Changes in sleep patterns are a normal part of child development, however sleep regressions happen suddenly, rather than a gradual transition.
What causes sleep regressions in babies?
Sleep regressions occur for a number of different reasons, but the overall factor is a jump in your baby's development. This may be physical development or cognitive.
Let's look at some of the more specific reasons why you baby might experience sleep regression.
Teething and physical discomfort
Physical discomfort caused by teething, ear infections, reflux and more can cause a sleep regression.
Environmental factors and changes
Babies hold a huge amount of comfort from familiarity. Therefore, changes to the environment can impact baby sleep and spark a sleep regression.
The most common factor here is moving from a moses basket to a crib and moving from their parents' room to their own room. However, if you move house or are travelling, this could bring on a sleep regression.
Caregiver
Sleep regressions may also start as a result of a change in caregiver. For example, you work away for long periods. When you return home, you offer to get up and deal with your baby's awake time. Your baby isn't used to you coming to comfort them.
It could even be just one night, too. Let's say you and your partner have a date night and leave your baby with a relative for the night. Not having their usual caregiver could disturb their sleep pattern and cause a sleep regression.
Signs of sleep regression
It can sometimes be difficult to recognise when you child's sleep problems are the result of a sleep regression. Let's look at some of the most common indicators that your little one is going through a sleep regression.
The most obvious sign your child is experiencing a sign regression is a sudden and dramatic change in their sleep cycles and sleep habits. This can include:
Frequent night waking
If your baby's sleep is consistently unsettled, it can be tricky to spot when it's a sleep regression. If you have quite a settled sleeper, it should be fairly easy to recognise a sudden increase in the number of times they wake at night.
Trouble falling asleep at bedtime
Despite your best efforts to keep to your sleep routine, to keep them calm, quiet and comfortable, they're just wide awake when it comes to putting them to bed.
Sudden resistance to naps
Sometimes younger babies start to resist their daytime naps. It could be both the morning and afternoon naps, or just one of them. Either way, it's definitely a sign they're experiencing a sleep regression. Equally, as older toddlers begin dropping to one nap and eventually zero daytime naps, a sleep regression usually follows (or may have already started).
Fussiness or irritability at night
You may find that your child doesn't resist their naps or wake more often during the night. Instead, they may just become more irritable and fussy when they do wake, therefore taking longer to get back to sleep. This could include intense crying, prolonged whining, frequent tossing and turning or thrashing around.
Common sleep regression ages in babies
Infant sleep regressions can happen at any time. However, there are certain periods when most babies tend to experience them, typically coinciding with developmental milestones. It's important to note that while each sleep regression has a rough window, most are named after the most common time at which they happen. Each baby sleep regression has its own challenges and characteristics.
So let's take a look at each one in more detail.
Four month sleep regression
The first infant sleep regression happens when your baby is 3-4 months old and is considered to one of the most challenging. It's also one of the most common.
Baby sleep consultant and founder of The Bedtime Champ, Janine Orford, describes it as "the big one", but also explains why it's not really a regression: "It's a biological development in their sleep patterns. So it's more of a pro-gression than a re-gression."
It's particularly challenging because new parents won't have experienced sleep regressions before and are not totally prepared to deal with it. It's also challenging because after the initial first few weeks, some parents will have found that their baby's sleep has started to settle.
There are a couple of reasons behind the four-month sleep regression...
Teething - Some babies may have started teething already, causing plenty of discomfort
Growth spurts - Growth spurts often result in hunger, causing your baby to wake more often wanting a feed
New skills - Your baby may have learned to roll over by now, but not quite mastered it yet. So they may roll over in bed, but become frustrated when they can't quite get back to position
Environment - It's around this time your baby may have outgrown their moses basket and moved to their crib
Six month sleep regression
The six-month sleep regression can feel soul destroying. Depending on when the first baby sleep regression started and how long it lasted, they may blend into one long sleep regression.
Speaking to DaddiLife for our book You're Going to Be a Dad, Simon, a dad from Stratford-Upon-Avon in the UK, explains the perils of sleep problems at the six month mark:
"There were a couple of moments where the sleep (Goldie waking up every 40 minutes) just wasn't sustainable...Charlene was getting so upset that Goldie was crying, but I knew if we didn't change something we wouldn't be able to go on. The sleep training did help a bit. But then it regressed when she got a cold. The best way we could solve it was for Goldie to sleep in bed with us so everyone could sleep. I think it's really just a case of doing what works for us."
The six-month regression typically happens because:
Growth spurts - There's another growth spurt around this time prompted by the introduction of solid foods
Sleep patterns - Your baby may now be capable of sleeping through the night which, ironically, can cause a sleep regression
Environment - Most babies are moved to their own room around six months old, which can cause separation anxiety
Nine month sleep regression
The nine-month sleep regression usually covers a sleep regression in babies aged 8-10 months.
This one can be particularly painful because you may have even had a few weeks of your baby staying asleep through the night* or even all night long. Sleep training may be going really well and you might well be high-fiving your partner after a full night sleep, thinking you've mastered your baby's sleep.
And then another sleep regression comes along and spoils the party!
For Mark, dad to five-year old Kaylee, separation anxiety was a huge factor at this time. He says: “My wife returned to work and Kaylee just wasn’t interested in me whatsoever, so it’s not like I could handle some of the night wakes because she just wanted her mum.
"Obviously I then felt guilty because I didn’t feel like I could help."
*Sleeping through the night for a baby typically means sleeping for 6-9 hours without waking, rather than sleeping from the moment you put them to bed until the time you wake up in the morning.
Commons reasons for the nine-month sleep regression:
Physical development - Most babies begin to crawl around 8-9 months old, and start standing on their own two feet at around 9-10 months old
Separation anxiety - Separation anxiety is particularly common around 9 months old, especially as their mother's start returning to work after maternity leave
12 month sleep regression
The 12 month sleep regression is very similar to the previous one because it is generally driven by such big milestones in physical development.
It usually starts between 9 and 12 months, depending on when the previous sleep regression took place. Like the first two, it can feel like these two blend into one big, horrible sleep regression, making it particularly challenging for parents.
By now, your baby's sleep habits should typically be much better, giving you more deep sleep day-to-day. If this is the case, many babies may be able to stay asleep throughout most of this sleep regression, only needing some brief comfort or reassurance when they do wake.
Stephanie Jeret, MS, CCC-SLP, speech and language therapist and founder of Speak With Stephanie, says "your baby's ability to interact, play, and understand language will continue to develop rapidly" at this stage, which can trigger a regression.
Commons reasons for the 12-month sleep regression:
Physical development - Crawling, standing and walking may have all started in this window. This physical development is usually the primary reason for the 12 month sleep regression
Language and communication - Many babies start to talk around now, and see a big leap in their ability to understand and use language
How to survive sleep regressions
Whether you're reading up on you're facing your first sleep regression or reading up on your fifth, sleep regressions are hard. You may not be able to make them easy, but there are certainly steps you can take to make them less stressful to cope with, for you, your partner and your child.
Maintain healthy sleep habits
A child's sleep is definitely helped when they have a consistent bedtime routine in place, and it certainly helps to make the sleep regressions easier.
Maintaining good bedtime habits can remind your baby that it's time to fall asleep, helping to overcome those regressions where they refuse sleep.
Here are some tips to help you maintain healthy sleep habits:
- Keep a consistent bedtime routine and sleep schedule - a good example might be bath time, get ready for bed, final feed, story, baby fall asleep
- Make sure their sleeping environment is calm and comforting
- Avoid overstimulation such as play time or TV
Manage pain and discomfort
As we've learned, teething and other physical discomfort can contribute to sleep regressions, so it's important that we try to manage it.
- Use teething toys to help soothe pain and discomfort caused by teething
- Use pain relief medication to help when needed
Coping with separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is a common contributor across several sleep regression ages. Tackling separation anxiety head on can not only help to make a sleep regression easier, but perhaps even prevent one altogether.
How to tackle separation anxiety:
- Maintain the bedtime routine to emphasise that it's time for sleep
- Give them a comforting object, like a teddy or soft toy
- Work on gradual separation at other times in the day
- Sleep train your baby
Sleep train your baby
Proactively sleep training your baby may also help to reduce the length or severity of a sleep regression. Equally, it's something you can also revisit later down the line when you're going through a toddler sleep regression.
There are a number of different sleep training methods, so be sure to check out our sleep training guide for more information.
Look after yourself
The importance of self-care cannot be understated when trying to deal with your child's sleep regressions. They can be an extremely challenging and stressful time, so it's vital that you look after yourself to reduce tiredness and stress.
Six ways to look after yourself during a regression:
- Prioritise your own sleep
- Ask for help if you feel yourself getting frustrated
- Take breaks
- Ask for support from close family and friends
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet (it's easy to reach for junk food when you're tired, but try to resist!)
- Exercise is equally as important, helping to give you more energy and reduce stress
When to seek professional help
It's important to recognise that, while they're incredibly challenging, sleep regressions are a normal part of a child's development.
However, if you ever become concerned about your child's welfare, do not hesitate to contact your doctor or healthcare provider.
FAQs
How long do sleep regressions last?
Most sleep regressions last a few weeks; anything between two and six weeks. Of course, it varies from child to child and can depend on which factors are causing the regression.
Do good sleep habits stop sleep regressions?
Healthy sleeping habits may not stop a sleep regression from happening, but they can definitely help to minimise the severity and length of it.
What impact do sleep cycles have on sleep regressions?
Sleep cycles are often one of the biggest contributors to sleep regressions. They typically occur at the same time as a major developmental milestone, whether physically, mentally or emotionally. And these periods often coincide with a change in your baby's sleep patterns.
Whether your baby is sleeping longer at night or dropping a nap, your little one's sleep definitely has an impact on sleep regressions.
