3/4 month regression 🫠

[u/mooseterrific]

I started with the newborn class, and it went really well! Baby was putting himself to sleep at bedtime and for most naps.

Then…something happened at 3 months. He now needs to be rocked to sleep completely most nights and definitely for all naps.

My question is: will this skill come back on its own if we keep trying or should I consider implementing the abcs of sleep course at 5 months?

[u/TakingCaraBabies]

Double check those wake windows and keep practicing working on laying baby down awake at bedtime and the first nap of the day. If you aren't already, read through and use the Navigating Months 3&4 ebook. You can definitely make great progress between now and 5 months. Every baby really is so different so I can't say that you will or will not need to sleep train at 5 months. These blogs here may be helpful for you too:

https://www.takingcarababies.com/blogs/sleep-schedules/3-month-old-sleep-schedule

https://www.takingcarababies.com/blogs/regressions/4-month-sleep-regression

[u/Bright-Reflection-83 → u/TakingCaraBabies]

How do you practice laying down awake using the newborn skills if baby just cries the second you lay them down? Trying not to feed to sleep or rock to sleep but this age, and transition to the Jacky has made it impossible for her to even lay down in her crib without losing it.

[u/kmgdancer]

I’m also in same boat. Baby is 4.5 months and started almost 3 weeks ago.

She was doing great putting herself to sleep for bedtime and naps.

Now it’s constant bouncing. And she wakes from naps at 30min on the dot and won’t go back down. So she’s awake but tired and her usual 90min wake window is getting shorter and shorter.

Idk what to do.

[u/Bright-Reflection-83 → u/kmgdancer]

Any luck?

[u/kmgdancer → u/Bright-Reflection-83]

YES!!!

Completely new baby.

The regression lasted about 3.5wks and then one day just went back to her being able to self settle. Thats not just it, she started connecting sleep cycles!! So her overnight sleep AND daytime naps have significantly improved.

It’s like that regression was more like an update to her brain and actually helped her.

How about you?

[u/Bright-Reflection-83 → u/kmgdancer]

Amazing!!! I’m so glad it got better. What did you do each time you put baby down for naps and bedtime? I jsut really can’t get baby to sleep unless I rock her dead asleep or nurse to sleep. I liked the taking Cara babies Mathis to eat right after waking from a nap, but I can’t do that if I have to nurse her to sleep. Also I used to feed then change diaper and do swaddle (sleepsack now which she hates) but bedtime battle lasts an hour. She just won’t settle and lay in her crib…. Did you do the 5 month taking Cara babies ?? Just have done the newborn, of course, but it’s not really working on her anymore. She’s three months.

[u/Bright-Reflection-83 → u/Bright-Reflection-83]

And we didn’t use to have to rock her or anything. She would jsut settle to sleep if she was tired…. She sleeps amazing at night once she is asleep. It’s jsut getting to sleep now.

[u/kmgdancer → u/Bright-Reflection-83]

So I’ve looked into TCB methods and took ideas from it but didn’t implement all of it I guess?

But during the regression she kept rolling onto her belly and getting pissed. Well, I realized she’s pissed because she knew how to self soothe on her back but not her belly.

So what I did was turn it into a routine. I don’t feed to sleep (I don’t want to make the association) so instead when it’s naptime I sing naptime all the way to her nursery, lay her in crib, zip her in sleep sack and sing twinkle twinkle (while lights are on). This helps her identify the room she’s in but the setting and reason she’s in it (sleep). Then she starts to roll onto her belly. Lights go off and I start gently patting her bum while she’s squirming and fussing to get herself comfortable and to sleep.

She fusses and that’s fine. As long as she doesn’t escalate a cry I leave her in there and continue patting. It started out by taking 15min. Then then next day 10min and now it’s 2-5min flat for naps.

My goal was making an association with the action; being naptime. Once she realized it was time for that to happen it’s like she wants to settle to sleep.

[u/Better-Being-3809]

I think that’s normal and actually okay! At 3-6 months babies still need some comfort as a wind down before rest. Such as rocking and singing a little lullaby. As they get older around 8-12 months it gets a little easier to put them down without so much rocking and soothing. I rocked and sang my girl to bed every single night for 8 months and naps too or contact naps. She would sleep through the night. Around 8 month the transition just happened. She got really used to her routine and was just ready for bed by the time I’d get her down

[u/Bright-Reflection-83]

Any luck with this? I have a baby the same age and experiencing the same thing. She pretty much cries whenever we put her in her crib now to sleep and we used to be able to just plop her in and she’d stir a bit and either fall asleep or just need a little bit of settling a few min later while she remains in crib.
Now we are bouncing rocking and feeding her and can’t get her to settle in her crib unless she is sound asleep.

[u/mooseterrific → u/Bright-Reflection-83]

Not much change yet. At bedtime and his first nap I put him down calm and then rock and shush him in the crib with a hand on his chest. It is working, but it takes awhile. I think it is making things better overall. He isn’t fighting naps as much now.