Sleep Regressions 

Well…Here we are! Your once sweet and calm sleeping baby has started to cry, scream, and refuse sleep. Your adorable little one went from slowly drifting off to sleep to crying and screaming no matter what you do. Maybe those long stretches at night have now turned into a single hour of sleep or less. And the hardest part?… It’s been like this for days, weeks, or even months. I’ve read a lot online where people claim their baby simply grew out of it on their own. But from my personal experience, my son never just “grew out” of his regressions. We always had to intervene in some way. 

What are sleep regressions?

A sleep regression is basically a disruption in your baby’s sleep patterns. This is often combined with refusing sleep, having trouble falling asleep, waking up multiple times in the night, and short naps. Experts say the regressions can last anywhere from days to weeks, but of course us moms know every baby is unique. 

What causes them? 

It might bring you some comfort to know that sleep regressions are a totally normal part of development. These regressions often occur when babies have learned a new skill (rolling, crawling, walking), when they’re brain is developing, when they’re experiencing a growth spurt, or when they’re teething. You might also see sleep regressions relating to separation anxiety as well. (Which often peaks at the 8 and 18 month mark) 

The most common regressions occur at…

• 3 to 4 months – This one is often very difficult – and if your baby is like mine, he started it at 3 months, which is before sleep training is recommended. My son woke up every hour on the hour at night and would only sleep on me. This regression is often a result of your baby learning to roll over, thus waking themselves up. But don’t worry – if you want to sleep train, you can do it at 4 months old. I’d recommend checking in with your pediatrician for this one just to be sure your baby is ready and able to take the sleep training. 
• 6 months – Right now, your baby is going through a growth spurt, maybe they’re even almost crawling. This may be the cause of them waking in the night. If you’ve already done sleep training, it might be time for a refresher – if you haven’t yet, now is a great time to start as they are capable of sleeping through the night. (but don’t stress if your baby isn’t! – that’s normal too) 
• 8 to 10 months – There are lots of different things happening at this stage, maybe your baby is learning to crawl, starting to pull up on things, maybe even the early stages of walking are happening! It’s all so amazing, but these things can cause a regression. In addition to this, separation anxiety hits its peak at around 8 months. 
• 12 months – At this stage, your baby may be walking or learning to walk and this can cause disruptions in their sleep. 
• Toddler sleep regressions can occur at 15 months, 18 months, 2 years, and 3 years – These sleep regressions can have a mix of different things going on. From separation anxiety (which peaks again at 18 months) to nightmares, fear of the dark, or teething. 

Please know that not all babies go through all sleep regressions, but more than likely your baby will go through at least some period of time where their sleep is disrupted.

Signs of a regression

There are many ways to tell if your baby or toddler is going through a regression. They don’t need to be doing all of these things, but most likely a fair amount of these things will show up around the time of a regression. 

• More frequent night wakings
• Trouble falling asleep at bedtime
• Fighting naptime 
• Shorter naps or refusing naps all together 
• Increased fussiness or crankiness throughout the day
• Early wakeups in the morning 

Also note that if these things happen here and there…that’s totally normal! But if multiple of these things are happening for a consistent period of time (ex: every day for a week) then it might be time to consider it a regression. This is also when the timing of the regressions can be helpful to remember as well! Obviously every baby is different, but if your little one is 7 months old and is waking up in the night for a few days and then goes back to their schedule, there was probably something else bothering them. Temporary disruptions in their sleep are likely caused by teething or being a little sick. During that time, it’s best to offer extra snuggles and comfort to help them through it. 

Managing the regression 

Managing during a sleep regression can be very difficult. It’s frustrating and disappointing when your once beautiful sleeper is now waking up multiple times, crying and screaming. Maybe your little one is fighting tooth and nail before naps and bedtime too! You start to analyze everything you did that day…Did we have too much screen time? Did he eat something that made him sick? Is she teething? Is the light coming into his room? Does she need longer wake windows? I know everytime a regression hit it took me a good week or so to realize what it was. I would often start out with thinking it was a temporary thing and that if I offered extra comfort, he would be back to his schedule. But when day after day things got harder, I’d come to terms with the fact that it was a regression and something needed to be done to help him. 

Our solution for Sleep Regressions 

There are many different methods of sleep training, but we found the most success with the Ferber Method. I find it’s a great balance of letting your baby try to self-soothe while also offering comfort via check in’s. Similar methods include the pick up, put down method and the chair method. Honestly whatever method works for you, is the one to go back to! And also remember, if sleep training isn’t for you, then don’t do it! Some families find great success with co-sleeping or room sharing during a regression, but our family found that sleep training was what was best for us. 

That brings us to the solution. What did we do each time our son hit a sleep regression? I like to call it sleep re-training. Much like adults often need a refresher course on things, so does your little one. Something is going on in their mind and body that has caused them to fall out of practice with their good sleeping habits. For our family and our baby, we were ALWAYS able to get back to our regular sleeping routines within about a week of sleep re-training. 

Is there a way to prevent a sleep regression?

Please know that there really isn’t a way to prevent sleep regressions. It’s nothing you’ve done wrong but rather a completely natural process of their development. And of course, as your child’s parent, you know what’s normal and not normal for them. If anything seems off or you’re uncomfortable with anything, talk to your child’s pediatrician.