Let's Talk About Sleep regressions

Before even getting pregnant I had heard this buzz term that scared the shit out of me. Sleep regression.

The second I found out I was pregnant I had exactly ONE concern: my sleep. I am a verrrrrrrry sleep-dependent person and the thought of being sleep deprived really did not appeal to me. Obviously that is something that comes with the territory of having a baby so I was mentally trying to get myself prepared, but in the end we made the decision to hire a Night Nurse because turns out Paul & I are both incredibly dependent on sleep. And sidenote, almost every living human being is, too. Some people can function on 3 hours, but I can’t imagine that is healthy. NO judgement whatsoever, but I fully believe in 8 hours of sleep for optimal productivity, happiness, recovery, and overall health.

Even with our Night Nurse I was terrified of the day she left us and we would enter the sleep regressions (4 months, 8 months, 14 months…). There are tons of articles out there about when to expect them and honestly depending on where you look you’ll find out that pretty much every month can potentially be a regression. I was most nervous about the 4 months one since it was coming right after we ended our Night Nurse and so my Google search history looked something like:

+ How to prevent sleep regressions

+ Why is there a sleep regression?

+ Tricks to avoid sleep regressions

+ How long do sleep regressions last?

+ How to end a sleep regression?

It went on and on and on and on…I was giving research, which I hate, my best efforts to ensure I was ready. Enter the 4th month and I went to bed with straight up anxiety. All my friends with kids told me on the 4th month EXACTLY their kids had fucked up sleep. Capri slept through the night like an angel and like a moron I went on my IG stories to brag about it.

Mistake #1: Never speak out loud about how light traffic is, how great the weather is, how well your child sleeps…because the second you do, you’re fucked. LOL.

So the same day I bragged was also the same day Capri had her first bad sleep. She woke up every 2 hours. Then at 4AM I changed her diaper and she refused to be put back down in the crib so I sat in the chair in her nursery until morning. I was shook.

Mistake #2: Do not pick up your baby!

Okay, so depending on how you sleep “train” your child there are endless methods and Do’s and Don’ts. For us, we went with the method of absolutely no holding or picking up. We were (& are) very lucky that if Capri wakes up all it takes is a pacifier. Ever since she learned to put it in herself life has been glorious. But even now sometimes she moves into a corner and can’t reach her Paci so she makes noise and we go in to hand it to her. Super easy. The ONE night I picked her up was the ONE & ONLY night I had to be awake longer than 60 seconds to give her a pacifier.

The regression last about 9 days. And each day it got better and better. First night was a mess (thanks for my stupidity), but the nights after that were easy. She would get up 2-3 times per night, Paul & I would alternate getting up to give her a Paci, and then eventually she stopped. I know each kid is different and it can last longer or shorter, but I think not picking her up was key. We didn’t introduce any bad habits that she could get used to during the regression.

I happen to believe that Capri is a VERY easy baby. I can’t imagine that it’s that simple for everyone, but I also like to think that because we never allowed any “bad habits” from Day One, we were setting us up for success. She is now almost 9 months and we are still doing great – she sleeps through the night (12 hours) and even now with teething we have only had to give her Tylenol a couple times for pain before bed. We are extremely grateful for this, because as I mentioned above, as two working parents we need our sleep.

I secretly still have a little anxiety sometimes going to bed. I hear phantom crying and basically any tiny noise I freeze up and ask Paul if it’s the baby, LOL. Am I a bit neurotic? 100%. I think God blessed me with a sleep-loving baby because he just KNEW that we would all be better off with our 8 hours of beauty sleep! THANK YOUUUUUUU!

So, I turn to you since Google failed me. Any tips of regressions? Just in case, you know?!