This cannont be normal. (Sleep - long post.)
Show your support
4 naps is a lot! maybe instead of cutting them out let him get one long nap (no more than hour and a half) and shorten the other three to thirty minutes. i’ve also found play before bedtime more beneficial than a soft quiet bedtime routine, almost like telling baby last chance to get your wiggles out!
Do you ever breastfeed back to sleep? Could just still be hungry! I know some don’t like to but it’s the quickest way to get my lo back down. We are bf on demand though and seems like you have a routine.
Is it possible he is teething and too uncomfortable to sleep? He could be having a sleep regression tbh as it does happen around his age! My daughter went through terrible sleep at 5 months old it lasted weeks but it did get better
@Bianca sorry I didn’t specify, he has actually been doing 3 naps more often recently and he has never napped more than 40 minutes 😞 we will try the play time thing, but most of the time he is just super fussy when it comes to bedtime and doesn’t want anything to do with us
@Rosie he usually falls asleep at the breast and I will try to wake him but he doesn’t wake, he still burps, and then I’ll try to dream feed on the other side and he’ll take it. He usually feeds for a longer time right before bed. I will only breastfeed him back to sleep when he is waking up crying, most of the time he is just waking up content, rolling over to his tummy, kicking, seeming like he just wants to wake up and play. 🤦🏼♀️
@Becky I didn’t specify, he has been doing 3 naps a day recently. His gums have been swelling but he usually doesn’t wake up upset, he kinda just wakes up kicking and rolling to his tummy and he’ll think it’s play time at 3am!
That’s pretty similar to what happened for my girl around the 4 month sleep regression stage and up until crawling took place about a month ago. She had a sleep regression for the better part of a month before she figured out how to crawl somewhat and then she went back to fairly normal. I did things during the day like play groups to keep her up longer too since those would mentally and physically exhaust her for a nap. The nights do get easier! Around the 4-6 month mark is where you need to see about implementing a schedule rather than following wake windows. You may want to see a pediatric sleep consultant about this stuff or a midwife/doula.
My instinct is it's a sleep regression. If he's not in discomfort, it's unlikely to be teething and if he's kicking around, it would make sense to be a regression. Unfortunately, if it is this, all you can do is wait for it to pass. Tough I know! Regressions are torture!
I feel like for my son the transition between 4-3 naps were the hardest. 4 naps was too much but needed but 3 naps was too little. Its really just making sure he was most comfortable. Play time before bed usually helps since it tired him out. But honestly its the transition thats hard for your LO.
He’s still so young and hasn’t developed the ability to link sleep cycles yet. My boy used to be like this. Sleep training works best from 6 months so I’d try it again once he’s turned 6 months. We used the book The Helping Babies Sleep Method by Dr Sarah Mitchell at 6 months and it was transformative! And very gentle!
@Emily ah I see, yeah my boy is crying when he wakes up so it’s very obvious what he wants. He wakes up like that in the mornings 😂
Yeah I have a friend who’s going through a regressive like this. Maybe teething? Growth spurt? I personally co sleep with my daughter cause if not she wakes and cries for me a lot. She usually eat 2-3 times during the night anyways. Idk if that helps? Good luck!
When did baby go to sleep? Read the book The Discontented Little Baby!! I was in the same boat just last week, waking between every sleep cycle. Some things you can implement now: waking at a consistent time each morning and getting outside first thing, fresh air and sunshine; don’t try to “lengthen” naps bc every baby’s sleep needs are different (no such thing as a crap nap); lots of stimulation especially in the evenings! Don’t do the dim environment, keep house lots on lots of play and socializing all the way up til bedtime routine starts; don’t put to sleep too early, you need sleep pressure to build, and as tempting as it is to try to stay within wake window “guidelines” the truth is sleep need vary greatly baby to baby. If not enough sleep pressure builds your baby will be waking more. I’m seeing results from this now after doing it maybe 5 days? Give it a week and see how it goes! But really READ THAT BOOK it’s changed the game completely for me!!
House lights *
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
to connect with women at a similar stage in life.
Trusted by 5M+ women
We do bath bottle bed as well except one day is walk bottle bed and the other is bath ,in my head this helps his to not get bored of the routine , he was waking up sooo many times when we had a cold so we started ,he is better now but we try to safely co sleep to keep him sleep longer
Is he asleep in his own crib? The only way we have gotten past situations like this is co-sleeping/bedsharing. I strongly recommend you so some research. Particularly as your little one is breastfed, Bedsharing may be an option as if they wake up hungry they can have a quick feed (dream feed) and go straight back to sleep. Also worth looking into- is your little one sick and/or teething? Our little girl slept through the night since birth but a few days prior her teeth piercing the surface she would wake up at 4am ish in pain and wanting to get on with her day rather than going back to sleep