Sleep Regressions – What They Are and How to Deal

by Jennie on August 13, 2010

We all know that baby sleep can be a “hot button issue” for moms. We all have our own opinions on what the best method or way to get your child to sleep. Kim and I both know the importance of baby sleep (we see the difference in our boys when they have had a good sleep!), but we certainly are no experts! We found someone who is an expert on baby sleep and we could not wait to share her with you!  We are so excited to announce today’s guest post! We have a sleep specialist who will be doing a monthly post on Baby Sleep!!! Let’s face it…this is one thing we all need…. SLEEP! The reason we wanted to partner with Kathy is because she feels that getting your baby to sleep is not a one size fits all method! She feels that there are different ways to help your child sleep based on your child! You can find out more on her website, Dreamy Babies! If you are a new mom and aren’t sure where to start, I would recommend reading her  tips for encouraging healthy sleep habits article first! I feel like this article is a good starting point for anyone!


Today Kathy, from Dreamy Babies, will be talking about sleep regression which is something every child goes through. She knows the ins and outs to baby sleep so please send us your questions and we will have her base her posts off what YOU want to hear! Happy Sleep!!!

Before I became a parent, I had never heard of a “sleep regression”.  Actually, I didn’t hear about a lot of things before I became a parent and didn’t know much about (baby) sleep.  To me it was simple:  if you were tired, you slept.  Makes sense, right? We all know that once you have children, things that usually makes sense in the adult world doesn’t quite apply to children.  Your could be one of the lucky ones and have a baby who loves to sleep but dreamy baby or not, at some point, your child will fight sleep; it’s just what they do and really, can you blame them?  There’s a world waiting to be explored and sleep just gets in the way.  When your child doesn’t sleep, neither do you.  You are tired, your child is tired and you’ve tried everything you could do to get him to sleep.  Tweaking his schedule.  Putting him down later.  Putting him down earlier.  Rocking.  Patting.  Shushing.  Lying down beside her.  Nothing seems to be working and your baby is not sleeping, crying, wakeful and taking forever to go to sleep.  Fighting sleep.  Does any of this sound familiar?


Parents are often at a loss when their baby – perfect sleeper or not – suddenly doesn’t.want.to.sleep. At all.  And like I said, when your child isn’t sleeping, no one is.  I will let you in on a little secret:  it’s normal and it’s called Sleep Regression. My daughter, Kayla, is 2 years old and we’ve been through almost all of the typical sleep regressions but have come out victorious at the other end.  As horrible as it feels when you’re in the trenches of a sleep regression, the good news is that it’s normal, it’s temporary and indicates that your child is growing well.


Sleep regressions are phases that many children go through due to physical and/or cognitive developmental milestones; sometimes these milestones occur simultaneously which really does a number on their sleep. These milestones whether that be crawling, standing, walking, cruising or even talking causes sleep disruptions because when a new skill is learned, that’s all their little brains can think about.  What we need to remember is that children learn everything; things that we often take for granted such as tying our shoe laces, stacking blocks, walking, running – these are things that children find fascinating once they learn how to do it which means they have to do them over and over and over again.  It preoccupies every waking second and unfortunately, every second that they should be sleeping.  Sleep regressions seem long and painful because your child turns into a shell of her former self – she will become clingy, whiny, fussy and cry a whole lot.  Sleep a lot less.  Your weapon against sleep regressions other than this article?  Information and preparation for the likelihood that at some point, your child will encounter a sleep regression.  Here’s the low-down of what you can expect.

The 9 month sleep regression
This one is a doozy because I was completely unprepared for what was to follow.  Actually, this takes a lot of parents by surprise because for a lot of parents, their child’s sleep usually stabilizes around 5-6 months.  But 9 months is a very tough age for sleep; your child is likely learning to crawl, sitting well, perhaps even starting to pull himself up and cruise. He is probably teething like crazy as well so combine all of this together and you have one sleepless child.

This sleep regression usually starts around 8.5 months and lasts for about 4-6 weeks.  Yes, you read right – FOUR WEEKS TO SIX WEEKS.  Signs of the regression are characterized by sudden wakefulness, major sleep resistance for naps, bedtime or both.  Early morning wakings and night wakings.  Fits of crying and extra fussiness.  Separation anxiety will peak and your child will cling to you; wailing if you step away from him for a second.  Bedtime will become a battle and your child will most likely fight sleep and cry when being place in his crib or in my case, cry during the entire night routine.  If you’re one of the unlucky parents, your child will exhibit all of these signs for the entire 4 weeks.

So how do you deal? After researching and educating myself on the different ages (and signs) of sleep regressions, I discovered that sleep disturbances are only temporary so I just followed our daily schedule/ routine and put Kayla down for naps and bedtime at her regular times.
What I recommend is to follow your schedule and daily routine.  Keep in mind that your child is going through a lot both mentally and physically so she may be experiencing some feelings of anxiety and insecurity.  The predictability of your daily routine and schedule will bring your child a sense of security so stick to your schedule.  If she is especially clingy, fussy or whiny, give her some extra cuddles and kisses. It is also likely that she’s teething so the fussiness may be attributed to that; if this is the case, you can administer some homeopathic remedies for mild discomfort or some acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain.

Dealing with sleep resistance can be tough; especially if your child cries before going into his crib.  Calm him down, pat his back and when he’s calm, put him back down.  Your child is tired from all the activity so he needs sleep more than ever.  You may have to sit with your child for a little while until he falls asleep or you can leave him for a few minutes on his own to see if he settles and goes to sleep.  You know your child best so do what you’re comfortable with to calm him down.  With Kayla, I spent lots of time with her; played peek-a-boo games to reinforce object permanence, gave her extra cuddles and if she needed to be held or stuck to me, then I carried her around as much as she liked.  We followed our normal sleep routines and she went into her crib at her regular nap and bedtimes.  She didn’t go down without a fight though; that was the hardest part for me.  As soon as I turned off the light, she would start crying – something she hadn’t done since she was about 3.5 months old – so it was almost like she was a newborn all over again! I soothed her as much as I could and when she was calm, I would put her back in the crib.  What I didn’t want to do was keep her awake any longer than I had to because although she was fighting sleep, I could tell that she was tired. She would cry on and off for a few minutes and then thankfully, she would go to sleep.

Nights were pretty much the same and after a few minutes of calming and shushing, she would go to sleep.  We were lucky in that she didn’t have any night wakings or wake up early for the day.  If your child wakes up at night, go to her, make sure that she’s ok and calm her down.  If her teeth are bothering her, give her some homeopathic remedies to ease the discomfort or medication if she’s in pain.  Hold her for a few minutes and then let her go back to sleep.  Whether you wish to bring her back to your bed so that everyone can get some sleep is up to you; however I have found that most kids will fuss for a little while in their crib and then go back to sleep.

Just remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel!  Your child WILL return to normal as will her sleep patterns.  After 4 weeks, Kayla’s sleep regression mysteriously disappeared and she was back to her normal self.

The 12/13 month sleep regression
While this regression doesn’t usually involve a lot of crying, it does involve a lot of sleep resistance, especially for naps.  Every parent who has contacted me when their child turns one always asks: “what is going on with my baby’s sleep? She is not napping anymore!”.  I have found that naps are most affected when your child turns 1 year old.  You will find that she is just not that tired before first or second nap (or both!) and she will take a very long time to fall asleep.  Some children skip naps altogether or take short naps. This regression lasts anywhere from 4-6 weeks and your frustration will be at an all-time high as your child – while obviously tired – will suddenly perk up during nap routine and rather than fall asleep within his normal 3-5 minutes, it will take him around 20-30 minutes, sometimes longer.  Because of this nap resistance, many parents are led to believe that their child is moving to one nap but do not fall for it!  At 1 year old, your child is not ready for 1 nap and in doing so, he will become severely overtired which will only lead to a whole new set of sleep issues aside from the regression.

What you can do is tweak your child’s sleep schedule to allow for more wake time between naps.  If you find that your child is resisting his afternoon nap; delay that nap by 15-30 minutes but continue to put your child down for both naps as he will be tired.  If he is not crying but just playing around in his crib, leave him; remember that while he may not be sleeping, crib time is still considered “rest”.  Since your child will likely be up longer during the day, stick to his regular bedtime.  I found that although Kayla fought sleep tooth and nail during the day, she was pretty good with bedtime and went to sleep rather quickly; no doubt because she was up for longer stretches between naps.
Just like the 9 month regression, the 12/13month regression will disappear and your child will return to normal sleeping patterns.

The 18 month sleep regression
After everything that you go through during the first 14 months, the sleep Gods will grant you mercy and you little one will likely fall into a great, predictable sleep pattern that works for everyone from 14 months onwards…. that is until your child reaches 18 months.

I was fully prepared for this regression, having been through and survived all of our other sleep challenges and regressions so when the day came that Kayla suddenly started crying going down for sleep, it didn’t really phase me.  I was prepared for the crying, fussiness, sleep resistance and tantrums; what I wasn’t prepared for was the extremely short naps and when I say short naps, I mean she would fall asleep after some crying and then wake up crying 15 or 20 minutes later!  I tried without success to get her to go back to sleep but she was all wound up and ready to go, so for the next month and a half, she was going to bed about 1 hour earlier because she was taking such terrible naps.

I found the 18 month regression to be the toughest, mainly because she was only sleeping once per day.  By the time children turn 18 months, many are already on one nap and parents are often fretful when their child refuses to sleep, skips their nap or sleeps for such short a time to even be considered a nap. Your child will exhibit the same signs as the 9 month regression except there will be major nap resistance to a point where your child won’t even sleep and night wakings will occur because your child will likely be overtired.

Usually bedtime battles aren’t frequent as they are so tired from being up so long during the day however, just be sure to put your child down to bed at least 45 minutes to 1 hour earlier for the night if naps have been short or non-existent.  Stick to your regular schedule.  Reduce stimulation if your child has not napped or had a short nap so that he doesn’t over-exert himself.  The most important thing is to try and avoid the overtired state by putting your child down early for the night.  At the time of her 18 month regression, Kayla was going to bed promptly at 615pm instead of her regular 715pm bedtime and she would literally take 2-5 minutes to fall asleep because she was so tired.  We had some night wakings which I tended to her to make sure everything was ok but these wakings didn’t happen too often.

As with all other sleep regressions, you just have to wait this one out.  I was at a point where I considered myself a ‘veteran’ since Kayla has always thrown me in for a loop when it came to her sleep.  I simply followed the schedule, kept in mind that it was just a phase and will pass and after 4 weeks, she stopped all the bedtime drama and went back to her normal sleeping patterns.  Actually, right after her regression ended, we had about 3 months of beautiful sleep – 11-11.5 hours of night sleep and wonderful 1-75.2 hours of day sleep.

The 24 month sleep regression
So you would think that after 18 months of unpredictable sleep, I wouldn’t be phased by the next big regression that I was preparing for:  the 24 month regression.  I had heard many stories about this regression – that baby learns to climb out of his crib which introduces a whole new set of problems:  transitioning to the toddler bed for safety reasons on top of dealing with this regression.  Fortunately for us, we never encountered that problem however, Kayla did go through this regression and while I was fully prepared to deal with another round of sleep resistance and drama, what I wasn’t prepared for was the length at which Kayla was resisting to go to sleep; as in taking up to 2 hours of fussing and whining in the middle of the night before going back to sleep.  I was also taken aback by the fact that instead of just crying before sleep, she would cry for me, as in “MOMMY!!  MOMMEEEE!!! DON’T LEAVE!!”.  Oh, that was so heart-breaking.

At 24 months, this regression is very similar to previous ones however at this age, children will go to great lengths to resist sleep.  Stall tactics begin (more water, need to go to potty etc) so be prepared to adjust your sleep routines to incorporate these stall tactics so that your child can’t ask for one more drink of water or trip to the potty before she goes into her bed.  Some forewarning also helps; I have found that telling Kayla we only have a few pages left of our book before it’s time to go to sleep helps to avoid or at least reduce resistance.

So what did I do? While I followed the schedule and daily routine as I always did during these phases, the only thing I did different was that at night, I resorted to lying down beside Kayla’s crib until she fell asleep.  While I knew that the regression was temporary, the way she cried was so different from the other times – other than crying for me – but it was as if she didn’t like being alone in her room.  My gut was also telling me that something was different this time around and I couldn’t put my finger on it but I couldn’t just leave her crying in her crib; that just didn’t sit right with me.  So lying down with eliminated the tears but it also seemed to bring her comfort.  She would fall asleep faster with me in the room after which I would leave so in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t seem so bad and it worked for us.  I also extended our sleep routine and included more reading this helped her relax and unwind before bed so our night routine changed from about 15 minutes of reading in her room to about 30 minutes.  When Kayla is about 2.5 years old, I plan to use a reward system/positive reinforcement to begin removing myself from her room (not lying down beside her crib) but for now, she’s getting the rest she needs and everyone is happy.


But what do YOU do? For one, always follow your schedule.  At 24 months, children are extremely active and while they will do whatever they can to resist sleep, keep in mind that they need to sleep otherwise you’ll end up with an overtired child and in toddlers, overtiredness manifests in frequent tantrums and meltdowns.  You should also think about your comfort level and your tolerance for tears (and words) during sleep resistance. Some parents will complete the routine and put their child to bed; crying or not. Some parents would rather find another solution to reduce the tears. For me, I was ok with some crying but I was powerless when Kayla was crying for me.  My lying down was our solution to eliminate tears and she was getting the rest she needed however, this may not work with other families who have multiple children to tend to.  Your best bet at this age is to figure out what works for you whether that be co-sleeping for a while or implementing some creative solutions.
Just remember that all sleep disturbances are temporary and can be changed with some good planning, consistency and patience.  It’s also good to keep in mind that while your child may not be sleeping now or may need you to sleep beside her it’s not forever – it’s not like she’ll be 14 and needing you to help her fall asleep or lie down beside her as she drifts off.  Savour these moments because we all know that our children grow up so fast!”

For more information about sleep or sleep solutions, please visit me at www.dreamybabies.ca or contact me via email kathy@dreamybabies.ca

{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }

Emily July 6, 2011 at 2:55 pm

I am just trying to find more information about 9 month sleep regressions that are not typical. We go in before we go to bed to double check on her and she's awake. Just sitting there. She doesn't cry or want out or food or anything, she's just awake. Seems so odd. I know she's a little different in that she desires some alone time – always has (well, not in the first 6 weeks, but that's normal) – but still seems odd that she just wakes up and doesn't even start chatting. We don't even realize she's awake until we stop by on our way to bed and she's looking at you when you walk into the door.

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jennieandkim July 7, 2011 at 12:50 pm

This from our sleep specialist:

i wouldn't consider that a typical 9mos regression sign; in fact i know many children – kayla as well – who would wake up and not make a peep. some kids just like lying there and are fine waiting for parents to come and get them. kayla did this from when she was about 3mos till over a year. then when she got her voice she started saying "I'M AWAKE!!" haha.

i never thought anything was wrong with it nor did anything appear to be wrong either; some kids are just comfortable being in bed, relaxing; similar to how adults wake up and lounge around in bed some kids are like that too.

please let emily know that she shouldn't worry. common among 9mos regressions are extreme wakefulness; most kids cry, scream and resist going to bed but from what she describes in her comment, it appears her child isn't going through a regression. because of this huge cognitive growth spurt, their minds are constantly racing so wakefulness is a result but after it passes (4-6wks arrgh!) her child's sleep pattern will return to normal.

i don't believe that emily has any reason to worry about her child waking up and not saying anything. she should continue putting her child down for sleep at her scheduled times in order to ensure that her child is getting enough sleep. if she happens to have a bad nap or skips a nap, an earlier bedtime is a must.

please let emily know that she can email me directly at this address lifeinprogress@ymail.com.

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Emily July 7, 2011 at 1:27 pm

thank you – that's very helpful!

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Lisa October 27, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Hi there

I just found this post and seem to be going through something very similar with my 13 month. She was doing 2 short naps and we probably should've begun to transition her to 1 nap but then all of a sudden *boom* crying for each nap. 1st nap took 45 mins to settle when the DAY before it was 5 mins. 2nd nap never happened. Now I'm going on 4 days of her only napping for 30 mins a day! I think she's also cutting 2 molars to I'm not sure if it's just that or what! This morning was an early morning and we were previously already putting her to bed early to compensate for the short naps, but at least there was 2! I'm having a hard time finding any other information out there about nap regressions. Can you point me to any other resources on this particular subject?

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Surviving Motherhood October 28, 2011 at 1:04 pm

I LOVE the sleep info on http://www.sleepsense.net/. I have used that for both my boys, along with the daytime routine from Baby Wise.

You can also email our sleep specialist at lifeinprogress@ymail.com for other questions.

Hope this helps and good luck! I know how hard kids sleep can be!! -Jen

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@emilyrhasheart November 12, 2011 at 6:21 am

My daughter is 18 months now. I am 99% sure we are going through the 18 month sleep regression, except it's not how she described it. How she's acting is what is described in the 24 month regression. She is screaming for 1+ hours in the middle of the night when she wakes up, she wants to play at 2am. Last night it was 2am-3:30am and then she slept soundly until 8am. Tonight she woke up at 4am and I broke down and got her at 6am. I am at my wits end already. She will not take naps, and has been refusing to for over a month now. I am a full time student in two different schools. I do not have the time or patience for all this. I need my sleep.

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Pete December 30, 2011 at 10:42 am

My daughter is just shy of 3 months old and from everything I’ve read on various websites she seems to be going through a sleep regression. She was a great sleeper up until the last few days, sleeping in 5-6 hour stretches at night. The last week however it seems as if she won’t go down for mor than an hour or two. My wife and I will cuddle her back to sleep and when she is dead asleep we slip her back into her bassinet only for her to instantly stir and eventually begin to cry. What can we do to help the situation? Is this even a regression? Thanks for your help!

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sam January 7, 2012 at 5:59 am

Here's my concern – can someone tell me roughly how many hours of sleep an 18 month baby should have? Our little one used to get 14 hours sleep, but now she seems to be down to 10 hours / night – and last night and today, she's slept less than 7 hours. Very very concerned about the long term impact of so little sleep. Any advice or information appreciated!

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Jennie January 15, 2012 at 9:10 am

Please email our sleep specialist and she can answer you directly! lifeinprogress@ymail.com Let us know if you need anything else!

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Emily April 9, 2012 at 9:43 pm

I tried all of the above without reading the article, and nothing works for our child. She has never been a good sleeper, so when we get to the sleep regression stage, it takes about 1-4 hours to put her to bed, and she sleeps about a half hour- 1 hour for the whole day. She won't sit still and constantly over exerts herself. She refuses to sit still generally. The only time she ever sits still is fi we're in the car or she's asleep. Any other time, we have to hold her down. We've just accepted the fact that my husbands horrible genes of sleepless days and nights for months and years at a time are permanent.

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KM March 7, 2016 at 4:15 am

This sounds like my daughter down to a tee!!!! Is your LO a better sleeper now? If so, how long did it take?

My daughter is bf to sleep for both naps and bedtime but she starts daycare next week and I’m concerned they won’t be able to get her to sleep without the pram.

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Motherhood Support March 7, 2016 at 9:38 am

Each of my kids were different. My first son, 3 months, my second son, 6 months, and my third son, 9 months. They all nursed for a year so I think that plays a larger part in how well they wean and when they are able to sleep through the night! Good Luck!Motherhood Support <a href="http://www.motherhoodsupport.comwww.motherhoodsupport.com<br />FacebookTwitter You TubeInstagramPinterest 

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@LuvsDogs74 April 25, 2012 at 5:30 pm

I have a thirteen month old who used to sleep from 8pm till midnight before waking and crying. Now he sleeps less than an hour. On a "good night" he'll sleep 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours.

He falls asleep with me holding him in the glider while drinking some milk around 8pm. I then put him in the crib, then he wakes anywhere from 9-10pm.

I usually put him back in the crib a few more times, then around 2am I'm so danged tired I just carry him off to bed with me.

I HATE the cry it out method, I'm very against it, but sometimes I think about doing it even though its against every fiber of my being.

HELP!

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Vikki January 22, 2013 at 12:09 pm

I am so relieved to hear there is something such as ‘sleep regression’!

My daughter is 14months old, she has always slept well. At 8 weeks she slept from midnight until 06.00am, and it just got better. By 8 months she was going down at 7pm and sleeping through until 6am, then by 10months 6.30pm until-7.30am….all up until recently. She has always had two naps too. To be honest, I have thought I am well and truly overdue some sleep deprivation! Also, another thing to note is she has NEVER been a ‘mummy’s girl’, she loves socialising and is very happy to go to new faces as well as explore ‘on her own’.

Now, at 14months she clings to me constantly. She throws tantrums if I do not carry her everywhere, she holds her feet up in the air when I go to put her down, she cries if I show her Dad any affection…..she is generally whining on/off all day. To give her some credit, she did just have her vaccines, but this did actually start 2-3 weeks before and has just been made worse. She throws tantrums when being put down for naps, she wakes at midnight, 4am for milk and then 6am which is then time for her to be up. I have just started managing the putting her down to bed, she has a teddy that she loves……I always put the teddy in bed first and tell her to be quiet because he is asleep. I then put her down next to him. She usually tells me ‘sshhhh ted ted’ and then comforts him (and herself) to sleep. As for the 4am and 6am – I am completely dumbfounded. I’ve tried getting up and comforting her and as soon as she is put back in her cot she screams plus she starts smiling and looking really chuffed with herself that I am up (which I do actually think is really cute, much to my husband’s disgrace!), I have tried leaving her to go back to sleep (I’ve waited over an hour, and she doesn’t). Is there anything else I can try? Co-sleeping isn’t an option, she fidgets like mad, keeps me up ALL NIGHT, my husband up as well as disturbing herself – it doesn’t work for any of us!

She has all of sudden just started talking A LOT, she’s learnt so many new words and recognises the names of so many new things (it’s actually taken me a little by surprise!). The article does mention that sometimes sleep regression does happen off the back of learning something new i.e. crawling, walking, talking etc. Could this be the case?

I am pregnant and was hoping to start preparing her for a new little brother or sister, but I think my main aim is to get her comfortable, feeling safe and back to her (and ours!) familiar routine.

Thank you for listening. I think I partly wanted to have a little moan with other mothers going through the same thing! 

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Surviving Motherhood January 24, 2013 at 2:36 pm

Thank you so much for your comment! Isn't the rollercoaster of parenting fun?! Just when you conquer one thing, there is another thing waiting in the balance! I do like the book Touchpoints a lot by Brazelton. If my kids are acting out of their norm, I read what they are going through at that age/stage and it usually gives me some insight as to why them may be acting a certain way. Please feel free to email our sleep specialist: lifeinprogress@ymail.com. Keep us posted!! Good Luck! -Jennie

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Theresa February 20, 2013 at 8:45 am

Our son is 9 months. He is normally a good sleeper but lately has been refusing his 2nd nap and waking up super early. He has a bit of a cold so we didn’t think much of it BUT last night was horrific. He woke up scream crying at 1139. We tried soothing, offering a bottle, offered a teether toy, gave pain med (thought maybe teething), laid him down in crib (sometimes he just needs less stimulation and soothes himself to sleep) nothing worked! Finally by 12:45am we realized he was basically wide awake and brought him downstairs to play in hopes that he would get tired. He played until 130am. We noticed a yawn and rubbing eyes and we were able to get him back to sleep after he had a bottle. I feel like we did what we had to do last night but we are concerned of starting a bad habit. We don’t want him to think its ok to wake up and play in the middle of the night. What should we do if this happens again?

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Surviving Motherhood March 3, 2013 at 10:41 am

Teaching your kids to sleep and getting through their transitions are challenging! I had a lot of issues with my first son and it was trying! Just from personal experience, I would say one or two nights of this won't create a pattern, but beware….. allowing them to do this consistently can create bad patterns. Please feel free to email our sleep specialist (email included in the post) for further tips! Good Luck!

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Kim May 31, 2013 at 6:03 am

My son is 9m 1w old and up until 8 months old was sleeping through the night from 7 to 7 no worries since about 6m of age. He started on solid food at 4.5m of age with a dreamfeed at 10pm-ish that saw him through until morning, then eventually dropped the dreamfeed from about 6m.

The last 5 weeks have been nothing short of a shock to our system with our boy waking at least twice during the night (up to 6 times some nights), and only a dummy or feed will settle him back to sleep. At first I assumed it was teething because two teeth came through about a week after this all started, the teething was followed by a cold and two ear infections, the second of which he’s just getting ove with antibiotics now. He wakes almost the same time every night, about 10ish, so I feed him and he goes back to sleep, then he wakes anywhere between 2 and 4am, again after trying a dummy, patting, rocking etc, generally a feed is all that will get him back to sleep, then he wakes at about 5-5:30am ready for the day…. Not so pleasant in winter and when you’re used to a 7am baby!

I am trying to wein him off the early morning feed by getting his dad to comfort him (it feels like if he sees me he doesn’t give up until he gets milk from me), but after an hour or so, we give in and feed him so we can get some sleep. I’ve also been told that formula may satisfy him better so I’ve decided to wein him off breastmilk and start formula. We’ve warmed his room so I don’t think it’s the room temp that’s waking him up. From reading this post aend others like it, I’m starting to think this might be sleep regression. 5 weeks of this and I feel like there’s no end in sight, any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

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Juliana June 2, 2014 at 7:32 am

I think my son may be going they thru this as well except he's suddenly waking up at the a$$ crack of dawn. How long do regressions generally last? It's been a little more than a week now and I'm exhausted

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Motherhood Support June 2, 2014 at 8:43 am

So sorry to hear this! Regressions are the worst! I notice they last typically a few weeks. Stay consistent and things will go back to routine. I like the book Touchpoints. It walks you through their transitions and why they are happening. Good luck!Sent from my iPhone

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Bloved December 9, 2014 at 12:03 pm

My grandson is 26 months and for about a month, he is sitting up in his crib rocking side to side and moaning. He will do this 2-4 times a night. This is happening at night. He usually sleeps about 4 hours, then it starts. Is this part of sleep regression? When he awakens in the morning, it's usually with his muslin blanket over his head rocking back and forth. You can lay him back down, he doesn't cry, is easy to put to bed and usually only takes one nap a day l l/2, maybe two hours.

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Motherhood Support December 9, 2014 at 1:22 pm

It sounds like it! A lot of these typically happen when they're about to reach a new milestone.I would be sure to continue laying him back down every time he gets up at night, staying consistent that it is still bed time and he should go back to normal sleeping patterns. You can always ask your pediatrician for other recommendations!Sent from my iPhone

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Nicole Thorgersen March 23, 2015 at 12:40 am

My son is 2.5 years old and has always been put down to sleep awake and has been amazing. Suddenly in the last 4 nights he is screeming that he doesn't want to go to bed before we even enter his room. We have dropped his day sleep so he is tired, he has a great night routine but the screaming cries are unbearable. He literally fights us when putting him down and is running to the door before we have even left.

I have now resorted to lying on the floor while he goes to sleep, which doesn't take too long at bedtime but he is also waking at night, normally between 12-2 and the exact same thing happens.and I end up lying in his floor till he sleeps which at that time is anywhere from 1-3 hours.

Help!!! What else can I do???

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Motherhood Support April 14, 2015 at 1:29 pm

Have you looked into what is happening developmentally at this age? A lot of time if a child is changing and going through a big developmental milestone it can effect their sleep until they master it. I would say to research that and just keep his routine the same and within a few weeks he should go back to being the good sleeper that he was before this started happening! Hope this helps and you are getting rest! Kids sleep patterns can be so hard to figure out!Motherhood Support <a href="http://www.motherhoodsupport.comwww.motherhoodsupport.com<br />FacebookTwitter You TubeInstagramPinterest 

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Fiber Bed May 20, 2015 at 1:14 am

Thank you for sharing! I really enjoyed reading the post.

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Motherhood Support May 20, 2015 at 4:48 pm

Thanks!Motherhood Support <a href="http://www.motherhoodsupport.comwww.motherhoodsupport.com<br />FacebookTwitter You TubeInstagramPinterest 

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Jayms September 20, 2015 at 2:24 pm

Hi,

I came upon your website regarding sleep regressions while searching endlessly to see what's going on with my 12.5 month old. I'm hoping you can help me on how to deal with it.

It seems like she's going through the 12/13 month sleep regression. In the article it mentions to just let the baby "rest" if they aren't crying during their nap time, but what do you do if she is crying and still resisting to nap even though is clearly tired? These days, the only way that she'll take a nap is in the carseat or the stroller. I don't want to create that habit, but also feel that a nap is very critical for her and us! It doesn't seem to matter how long she's been up, as soon as I try and put her down for her nap, she cries. I do try and soothe her and she doesn't want that. If I leave her in her crib, she will cry for long periods of time but will not settle. I'm pretty sure there is nothing else that's bothering her.

This has been going on for about 2 weeks now…please help!!

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Alexandra January 18, 2016 at 12:59 pm

Hello,

I am stumped. My 16-month old goes to sleep at night well but at least once per night she’ll wake and sit up in her crib holding her lovies/blankets for comfort and not crying. She will then lye back down, sit up, roll around for anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. What’s going on? Her Pediatrician has indicated that she is probably transitioning to another sleep cylcle.

Of course I watch all this on the monitor so I’m not sleeping. I’d love to know your thoughts on this.

Thank you.

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Motherhood Support January 24, 2016 at 11:32 am
Jennie January 25, 2016 at 4:16 pm

Please contact Kate- sleep specialist for any questions. http://www.motherhoodsupport.com/2015/11/baby-chi

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Jenann January 29, 2016 at 1:10 pm

So my daughter is just about 13 months. She alters between 1-2 naps a day and She goes to bed around 915 every night. The past 2 weeks she’s been waking up at 3am wide awake wanting to play. After about 2-3 hours she goes back to bed. She goes down for naps perfectly fine, she falls asleep on us after about 5-8 minutes, and sleeps for well over an hour. But like clock work, at 3am she is awake jumping in her crib… is this normal? There’s nothing I can do but let her play and drink some warm milk. Will this end? I’m so exhausted!

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Lindsay March 28, 2016 at 12:08 pm

Hi, I need some help…big time. I started sleep training my then 7 month 3 week baby boy who I love to the moon & back because he was dependent on the boob to sleep. All my fault. He was “sleeping through the night” at 8 weeks, 9-4, boob, 430-730/8 & it was glorious! Then teething came into play right around 5 months. The only way to comfort him & get him back to sleep was to nurse…and BOOM, I then, not realizing it created the nurse to sleep habit. So we started sleep training. (followed the sleep lady shuffle, stand by crib 3 days, offer comfort, move closer to door & so on…well I never made it to the door.) He was doing really well, fussing, no crying for 10-20 minutes & would drift off, waking around 3, (which I can deal with) nurse, sleep til 630-7. After about 5 nights, naps became increasing shorter & he just couldn’t settle down. He turned 8 months & is now pulling himself up & standing for long periods of time, one hand, no hands etc. I wasn’t going to start nap training (I’m home) until we conquered bedtime, but bedtime was/is getting more & more difficult & I thought it would be easier by now, (3 weeks yesterday) but I realized that he is over tired from not napping. So I tried for him to nap any way necessary, nurse, car ride, stroller, etc, but he just can’t seem to sleep. He’s visibly tired, rubbing eyes, yawning, etc. but he can’t settle down. While he’s nursing he’s climbing all over me. So I read up and came up with the idea that this MUST be a regression? Naps really began to suffer about 9 days in only taking 30 minute & if I’m lucky 1 hour naps. Typically I had him in crib by 725, asleep by 740, up at 3 nurse, then sleep until 6ish…the time change didn’t help things either! Blah!! The past two nights have been awful & have gone like this; asleep by 8, last night woke at 11, up at 3, boob, down at 330, up at 440 & despite my better judgment brought him to bed to only have him stay UP until 720!! As I lay in bed crying while I write this, I do believe this is a regression (I think) I’m a new mom & just hope something isn’t wrong. I get he’s not self soothing & still dependent on the nipple, BUT even that isn’t helping him sleep at naps or the middle of the night. 😞 Please any insight you can give would be so appreciated.

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Motherhood Support March 28, 2016 at 8:28 pm

So sorry for your little one and mama!! It isn't easy! Please email the sleep specialist (her info is in the post and comments) and hopefully she can give you some insight! Good luck!Sent from my iPhone

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grace May 24, 2016 at 3:22 am

thank you. your share is fantastic

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Desiree June 28, 2016 at 10:16 pm

Hi, my little will be 3 in 3 months. She has slpet in her big girl bed on her own for the laat 3 months perfectly fine. We had a nice routine going. And then hell broke loose.. I took a weekend to myself for the first time in 3 years and let me just add that my little already had seperation anxiety as it was (im a single mom). Anyway, i come back from my weekend trip and everything seems to be fine.. Until i try to lay her down for a nap like i always do. She refused to stay in her bed. So after an hour passed, i gave up. That night i put her to bed with the same routine as always.. She ended up falling asleep during pur cuddle time. Ok, no big deal.. But the next night, nope.. Out of bed before i could even get the door shut. So after loosing my mind i found the info on sleep regression.. Yay! Not!! Wonderful!!!

So i sat on the edge of her bed until she fell asleep. So tonight i prepped to do the same. Now mind you, her normal bed time is 8pm. This kid did not pass out until 9:45pm. I am freaking out because i cannot continue to do this every single night.. This late i mean.. What do i do???

How do i work away from getting out of her room?

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Motherhood Support June 30, 2016 at 9:55 pm

I would contact the sleep specialist in this post for a direct response :)Sent from my iPhone

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ANASTASIOS July 20, 2016 at 10:40 am

Hi! Our little one is 10 months and a half old and although he is almost perfect (in terms of mood and energy) during daytime things get really tough at night.
During his first 3-4 months he seemed to enjoy sleeping although he woke up often for feeding. The last few months things got more complicated. He doesn't want to sleep during the day, mostly in the weekends when my wife and I stay with him all day, but most importantly the night time has become a true nightmare for us.
Let me be more specific: When he was 6-7 months old he, out of the bloom, began to wake up every night and cry in panic for about an hour until he got back to sleep. At first we were really upset and unable to help him and the only thing we could think of was that this may have occurred as a result of his mother getting back to work. Fortunately, this phase came to an end after 2 months and suddenly our baby spent 9 whole nights sleeping like a ..baby! We felt sooo happy!
But, all happy things never last for long, a few days later we faced a new reality that has now been going on for about a month. After going to sleep and having spent 4-5 hours of noiseless sleep he starts moaning during his sleep, wakes up, goes back to sleep, moaning again until he gets a bottle of his favorite milk. A couple of hours later the moaning starts again and we keep getting up to check on him until the sun comes out, we get ourselves prepared for work and our little baby smiles again as he knows it is time for him to get up and play after another ..adventures night.
I should also add that he recently got his first teeth, hence we believe that this may be the cause of all that.. However, we desperately need to believe that this sleep interruption will come to an end.
We are looking forward to hearing your advise!

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Motherhood Support July 20, 2016 at 4:11 pm

I would email our sleep specialist directly! Her email is listed in the post. Good luck!Sent from my iPhone

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Dina June 4, 2017 at 12:48 am

Once you are through the worst of the 4 month sleep regression you will want to focus on helping your baby break her sleep associations, and on heaping her learn to fall asleep without help from you.

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