So, this is not going to address the 4 month sleep “regression”/adjustment/transition, whatever people are calling it. I have deep feelings about this age and this “regression” (you can see where my loyalties lie). It’s another whole blog post. But, for right now, I will say, four months is a great time to get rid of all the things you don’t love about sleep. You’re already going to be dealing with some things, you may as well get something out of it! Four months is typically the recommended starting age for sleep training (I say “typically” because some sweet nuggets can start as early as 3 months, but that is up to the pediatrician and the parent). If you are working on night sleep, you can postpone working on nap sleep until that is under control. But, I don’t mean postpone for months, I mean for a couple of weeks while you work on night sleep. The main thing you need to remember is have a plan and STICK TO THE PLAN. That’s pretty much it. You’re welcome, goodnight. Oh, what is the plan? Oh, right….um, depends. And this, by the way, is the crux of why I do what I am now doing. Because a lot of the time, IT DEPENDS. So, some babies are doing 3 naps a day during this window. And, some need/are transitioning to 2. It depends on your needs. Who is caring for your kiddo during the daytime hours is a huge component to what your baby needs for their schedule. If you are home and have the time/flexibility, then keeping three naps until 9 months is great. But, if you need to move your little nugget forward, then how do you do that? This will not give you all the answers, because that would be a VERY long blog post and I am against that. So, this will be the guidelines and some tips and if this is unsatisfying or you need a different plan, let’s chat because this is not meant to be a fit in or fall down situation. This is parenting, and it is wide open. At 4 months, your baby’s wake window (about how long your baby can tolerate being awake at one time) is 2 hours, it increases by 15 minutes every month until 9 months when it is between 3 & 3.5 hours. Using these wake windows as a guide can be instrumental to getting your baby on a good sleep schedule. It should help you prevent the sweet nugget from being so tired when you’re trying to put him down that he can’t get himself to sleep. And remember, sometimes they start out tolerating the full wake time in the morning, but by evening they have trouble hitting that mark. Maximum daytime sleep during this window starts at 4 hours at 4 months and decreases to 3 hours at 8 and 9 months. The total 24 hour sleep stays constant at 12-15 hours, so seeing a decrease in daytime sleep should mean an increase in nighttime sleep. The REALLY BIG thing to remember as you adjust your baby’s nap schedule is that as you cut down on number of naps and amount of sleep during the day, you NEED TO MOVE BEDTIME EARLIER. This may be just for the transition, a few weeks, but your baby may love this earlier bedtime and you may start seeing later mornings as well. And who doesn’t love more time to drink your coffee (or sleep)?
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June 2020
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