Sleep regression is when your little one starts messing up their sleep schedules. And for no clear reasons they start skipping naps on various occasions. Parents somehow plan to avoid the disturbances in the sleep timeline of their kids.
Although they think they’ve been successful throughout the process. But this is the time when it all backfires and brings them back to where they started in the first place. This includes not sleeping for consecutive 2-3 days and non-existent naps.
Ages When They Happen
The first thing you need to understand is that every baby is different from one another baby. What seems to suit your friend’s baby might not even be satisfactory for your own.
You can not depend on how other parents overcome such problems to be the solution for your baby as well. This is because some of the toddlers show the true signs of regression at these stages and some don’t.
Moreover, there are some particular ages when babies go through sleep regressions.
4 Month Sleep Regression
This one is most likely the one with permanent effects. I mean the changes that happen with 4-month sleep regression are the ones that stay.
After 4 months, they decide to ditch the proper baby-sleep schedules and adopt the adult sleep. And with this disturbing pattern comes the drawbacks. These drawbacks include waking up at nights and irregular nap patterns.
8 Month Sleep Regression
This one is most likely to take place along the 8 months, 9 months, or 10 months’ developments.
This is the stage when your baby is learning to grow by indulging in activities like crawling. A lot of brain development is also taking place side by side at this stage. Your little one is trying to be a fast learner by mimicking every word you say.
At this stage, they are most likely to be welcoming a tooth or two. This explains the night waking and non-existent naps along with a cranky behavior 24/7.
11 Month Sleep Regression
This is the less common to occur. This is most likely the stage when your little one tries to get away with one nap. Toddlers at this point refuse for a second nap at all.
Most parents seem to be fine with this situation because they think their baby is now old enough to have one nap a day.
Although we encourage parents to take this as a sign of sleep regression. This is because babies are not supposed to limit their naps up to one time a day in the first 15 months.
2 Year Sleep Regression
There are so many reasons for it to occur. First of all, your 2-year-old is staying up more, but this change can disturb sleep.
They are going through some big life transitions. This can lead to very tiresome sleep regression.
Steps to Help You Cope
Here are a few tips to help you WITHOUT undoing the progress you’ve made up to this point:
- Offer comfort but avoid developing bad habits
You have to show affection on various occasions, these include kisses and cuddles. You have to avoid sleep association such as rocking them to sleep or any other method. Don’t try to make them go to sleep with the help, let them do the trick.
But if you have used help for making them sleep in earlier days then don’t refrain from it immediately. But also don’t create a new bad habit.
- Ask for help from your partner
Sleep regressions keep going for a short time (4 months and a half, at times!) And on the off chance that you are doing your job, and attempting to adapt. While not making new sleep associations, you will get worn out.
This is an ideal opportunity to request help from any individual who will offer it! Have companions or relatives help you as well.
- Earlier bedtime if possible
Sleep regressions lead to missed sleep on various occasions. This causes over-tiredness and more sleep loss. So to avoid restlessness, introduce early bedtime to help cope with the process.
- Be patient
In the event that you hear some clamor from your infant, don’t surge over them. Infants make many sounds and clamors while sleeping. I
t tends to be one of those and in the event that you hurry to pick them it, they may actually wake up.
They will doze back in the event that you give them time. Yet, on the off chance that they continue moving or begin crying, at that point you can quiet them.
Aside from that, you should keep the lights dim and ensure the surroundings are calm enough.
At exactly that point the infant will build up a feeling that it’s an ideal sleep environment. Even when you change them at night, try as much as possible to be quiet.
- Feed properly
Children love to glance around at things and colors. Their little minds think that it’s engaging to see various examples and shades. Here and there they will in general attempt and get up to hold the stuff around them.
This redirection prompts them from being eager. Indeed, even while the moms feed them, their ability to focus continues evolving.
Thus, they are not encouraged and wake up during the night. So make a point to attempt to bolster them at day time and put them to lay down with a full belly.
Still, if they figure out to wake during the night, limit from feeding them as it will end up being a propensity. At that point, they will end awakening in the night.
Conclusion
Sleep regression won’t last forever. You can do a lot to help, but it won’t make your toddler stay asleep from sundown to sunset. Try to get as much rest as possible during this time and be as reliable as conceivable with your child.
It’ll all be a success at last. For obvious reasons, look for guidance from a specialist on the off chance that you have any worries.
