Sleep regressions

Discovering the Ins and Outs of Baby Sleep Regressions: As a mom, my priority has always been ensuring the best for my babies, including helping them sleep and stay asleep! Parenting taught me that the path of sleep progression isn't always straightforward—it's marked by these common hurdles known as sleep regressions. Whether you spot them right on schedule within age brackets or slightly earlier or later, both scenarios are entirely normal!

4-6 months

4-6 months, this one can be a biggy, if your baby still cat naps at this age, and they have not yet learnt to self soothe a lot of babies at this age begin to wake every 2-4 hours over night. This is due to a change in sleep cycle length and the fact that babies at this age fully wake between sleep cycles. The good news is this reduces your babies risk of dying from SIDS, and if they are waking every 2 hours we can help you to get some more sleep!

Read more about the 4 month sleep regression.

9 months

9 months – this one is usually associated with some separation anxiety and the ability to crawl and roll! Who wants to sleep when there is crawling and rolling to be done! This can send some parents into a spiral of rocking and feeding to sleep just to stop the constant crawling!

9 month sleep regression case study.

12 months

12 months – if you thought separation anxiety was bad at 9 months, at 12 months some babies show real protest at being left alone!

Their cry is louder and more upsetting, and they are determined. They don’t want to stop reading books with you and sleep, or stop playing with their blocks and sleep, play is more fun, and these little people know what they want.

Spend more time on a wind down routine to allow your baby to be calm and content before sleep. Don’t be fooled into dropping naps as a response to this stage, they are learning to walk and run and will be exhausted!

Read more on the 12 month sleep regression.

18 months

18 months – now these babies are becoming toddlers and you have probably made the difficult transition to 1 nap. If you do this too soon how ever it can result in early morning wake ups and nap refusals. We can help you get this balance right.

Your 18 month old has started to enter yet another round of growth and development, and along with separation anxiety and language development, we get disrupted sleep.

Signs of the 18 month sleep regression are frequent night wake ups, or prolonged periods of wakefulness in the night.

Often naps will regress back to 45 minute cat naps, or you might have nap refusal.

Do they ever stop!!!!