Naps: Naps on the go or baby-wearing naps become much less effective and less restorative at this point. You might have had a great napper who would sleep in the living room with everything going on around them or nap easily in the car seat as you ran in and out of places doing errands. Not anymore!

Your little one is just too awake and alert now and they become too distracted to nap well on the go. This is also the age that motion naps (like baby-wearing, car naps, and swings) start to become more of a hindrance than a help. 

Room sharing: Currently, the AAP recommends room sharing for the first 6 to 12 months of life. Since your baby is more aware and alert, room sharing may make it hard for them to sleep. Mom just smells too good when they have these more frequent wakings overnight. And of course your baby would prefer some cuddles and attention from their best friend if they know you are right there!

It's also a lot harder for parents to give their baby time to fall back asleep if they are right there and know a quick nursing will do the trick instead.

Rolling: Rolling can start occurring during this time too! Once your baby starts rolling, they can sleep on their tummies. You should still place your baby on their back to sleep. But if they roll to their tummy, you don’t have to flip them over and over.

This can be a hard one for parents because we have had back sleeping so drilled into our heads that it becomes hard to flip that mindset once your baby can roll. This can be a really anxious time as you watch your baby sleeping flat on their stomach, but take heart that if they can roll there themselves, this is considered safe.

Swaddle Transition: Hand in hand with rolling comes the need to unswaddle. Once your baby starts to roll, you need to stop swaddling. This can be a rough transition but it needs to happen. As your baby starts to wiggle around more, they will find their ideal sleeping position.

How do we prepare for the 4 month sleep regression?

Ok great, so now I know all of the awful changes headed my way but HOW do I prepare for them? Don't worry, I’ll tell you!

Changing Sleep Patterns: Knowledge is power. If you know your newborn is about to have their sleep habits change, you can be ready to respond accordingly. Do what you can to prepare by setting healthy sleep habits from the start. Does your newborn get any practice falling asleep without help?

If they do, this will give you and them confidence in this skill before the 4 month regression even hits. And you will both be able to lean on that skill as their night wakings become more and more frequent overnight. Eventually, they will settle back into their routine of sleeping for longer stretches but not if they are now reliant on a feeding or a rocking to fall back asleep. 

Want to set the foundation of healthy sleep for your newborn but don't know how? I just happen to have the perfect solution for you! My Newborn Sleep Course is online, self-paced, and only $39. Find more information here so you can spend more time enjoying the newborn stage!

Reverse Cycling: Try not to rush into each new waking by offering a feeding. Make sure you’re doing everything possible to help them eat well during the day. If they are becoming distracted eating during the day, you may need to start feeding them in a quiet, dim room to help them focus.

If you're not quite ready for formal sleep coaching, then see if you can help them resettle with something less intrusive. A hand on the chest, replace the pacifier, waiting 5 minutes before intervening, a brief pick up to calm, etc. 

Naps: You'll need to start making naps a higher priority for your baby. These naps should take place a majority of the time in their pitch dark sleep environment with white noise. Not out in the living room or on the go.

At 4 months, your baby’s wake windows are right about 2 hours so you need to make sure that they are having the chance to sleep every 2 hours during the day.

On the same thread, a lot of babies are ready to drop from 4 naps a day down to 3 naps a day at this age. This means bedtime will shift earlier but this is a good thing and will protect them from over-tiredness.

Room Sharing: If you have cleared it with your pediatrician, you can move your baby to their own room. If not, try to provide some separation: move them further from your bed, put up a screen, use a master closet or a SlumberPod (10% off with ALLTHESLEEPS). Each of these steps will provide more separation and help them fall back asleep more easily if they have frequent night wakings.

Rolling: Try not to over help with this one. If your baby is rolling onto their tummy for sleep time and they are content to stay that way, leave them be! If they are accidentally rolling onto their tummy and then getting angry, don’t swoop in to save them right away. Give them some space to either try to roll back, become more comfortable on their tummy, or, if those both fail, to act as a deterrent for them.

If you rush in to flip them over each time they roll to their tummy, you will cause this stage to last A LOT longer than necessary. Have a clear plan for how you will respond if your baby rolls over and gets mad about it.

Swaddle Transition: Like I mentioned above, by this age, the swaddle has to go. I’ve got a great blog I wrote about tips for Transitioning Out Of The Swaddle. Bottom line, make a plan. I’ve got a couple great products that I recommend for easing this transition like the Merlin Sleep Suit and the Zipadee Zip.