Signs of sleep regression
The classic manifestations of regression in infants are:
- pronounced “40-minute periods” during the day (the sleep cycle in babies lasts about 40 (+/-10) minutes), and if previously the child could sleep peacefully in a stroller for 2 hours, then at one point he begins to wake up every 40 minutes and demand motion sickness. It is these “40-minutes” that distinguish a sleep crisis from a teething period;
- more frequent awakenings at night (while the baby eats little, that is, it is not a matter of hunger), this is precisely due to the fact that the child now experiences natural partial awakenings between sleep cycles and each time he needs help to fall asleep;
- against the background of deterioration in the quality/quantity of sleep, the child becomes overtired and becomes more whiny and excitable.
How to help with a growth spurt
Children want independence, but they realize that they are still small, so in some cases you can expect unquestioning obedience from them. In a dangerous situation, for example, when crossing the road, children will hold your hand tightly.
Now the baby's main way of getting what he wants from you will be whining. If he fails to pity you, he will switch to dad, grandparents and other close people.
What to do during a development crisis of 14 months? Give your child freedom in non-hazardous experiments:
- Don't try to force feed him if he wants to feed himself with a spoon.
- Let him run, jump, climb on the sofa, jump off it, hang from his arms, fall on soft things, tumble - all this is important for his physical development.
- It is important for a child to observe nature, to watch the bustle of ants around an anthill, for example.
- Let him copy the actions of other people, and you control his actions so that he understands what is good and what is bad.
The key point in this crisis will be to set boundaries and restrictions for the child that will be taken into account by all family members without exception.
You can already negotiate with the child. At this age, the child often has hysterics and spontaneous attacks of anger. Let your child let off steam, but you must explain to him how you feel when he behaves inappropriately. He must understand that he can get what he wants not only by screaming and crying, but also by other means.
As in the case of previous crises, various games will be useful now, especially active and role-playing games: cook, janitor, assistant.
Sleeping during a growth spurt
Sleep becomes restless. An excited child has difficulty falling asleep, has restless sleep at night, wakes up early in the morning and has difficulty falling asleep during the day. What to do during a growth spurt? It is necessary to check in advance that the child is calm, and not to let the child get tired by bedtime.
Features of the ninth crisis
The child gains many new abilities and opportunities. His thinking becomes more complex and abstract. He not only does something according to plan, but he himself can plan, change his plans, and violate the original plan. He is already thinking about his actions, reflecting on the very process of thinking. He is very interested in the thought processes in his head, which is reflected in his behavior.
End of the crisis. What changed.
When the developmental crisis ends, communicating with the child will become much easier. He is already independent, active, observant. The baby is able to play alone for a long time, he is calmer. He is more interested in doing chores than toys. He can express his opinion on the matter of preferences.
Author: Tatyana Kremneva.
How to Prepare for Your Baby's Sleep Regression
As experts in children's sleep note, you can prepare mentally for sleep regression. The first crisis period is sleep regression at 3.5 - 4 months, the signs of which are associated with the child’s transition to adult, cyclical sleep, deep sleep develops.
“It is important for parents to know that this natural process exists and that this phenomenon is temporary. Since the baby’s sleep usually deteriorates during this period, you should not plan a two-week vacation, long flights, sudden change of environment, etc. during this time, since familiar surroundings, rituals, and the usual rhythm of the day are the main helpers in any regression sleep (not only at 4 months),” says baby sleep expert Olga Dobrovolskaya.
At the same time, there is no need to prepare in advance for the fact that everything will be bad: parents often wait for this crisis with horror, but it is important to remember that each baby is unique. Sometimes this period passes almost unnoticed, and you definitely shouldn’t prepare yourself for the bad in advance.
At what age does sleep regression occur?
The first unreasonable sleep disorder most often appears in infants, at the age of 4 months, and the next time - at the age of about 8-10 months - when the little person begins to stand up, sit down on his own, likes to crawl and tries to take his first steps. Next, be prepared for a similar phenomenon when your baby turns one and a half to 2 years old.
Sleep regression in children at any age most often lasts 2 weeks, in rare cases it can last up to a month and a half. After this, the child will begin to sleep peacefully again.
4 months
At the age of 3-4 months, it is important not to overtire or overstimulate the child during waking hours, then the child will sleep peacefully and allow you to get enough sleep.
A baby's sleep regression at 4 months is a sign of a new stage in its development. The child’s physical and mental capabilities increase and, accordingly, the need for rest increases.
The beginning of life for such a tiny person is intense and uneven. With each new stage, a certain crisis is overcome, which also affects the child’s sleep. The reason is that the previous regime no longer meets the needs of a growing organism.
It is necessary to distinguish age-related sleep regressions, which are not indicators of illness, from those periods when the child does not sleep peacefully because he is teething, colic in the stomach, or because he has recently been vaccinated and the body is trying to adapt. There are also temporary situations associated with sudden changes in the situation: trips, moving. Sometimes severe fright can trigger sleep disturbances
At 4 months, sleep deterioration is usually most difficult to resolve. But this first regression, as well as subsequent ones, is associated with the emergence of new opportunities and skills in the child.
8-12 months
Sleep regression on the threshold of the first anniversary is due to the fact that the child is actively mastering motor skills, trying to pronounce his first words - all this makes the brain work more intensely, and the fragile child’s psyche is faced with a huge flow of information. The child gets tired faster, and this leads to problems falling asleep.
1.5-2 years
At the age of 1.5 years, the baby already begins to feel like a separate person and explores the boundaries of independent existence. In particular, this may be expressed in his resistance to rules, including sleep patterns. Even at this age, the child develops his first serious fears that can wake him up in the middle of the night.
At the age of 2, some children are already sent to kindergarten, where teachers begin to work with them and where they begin to communicate with peers. This serves as both an impetus for the child’s development and a source of stress, which invariably affects the child’s sleep.
Whether this sleep disturbance at two years of age will be the last or will happen at a later age, for other reasons, depends on the parents.
How to Deal with Sleep Regression
It is the calmness of parents that experts call the key to success. After all, kids always feel the mood of mom and dad. So you need to be patient. “Yes, this disrupts sleep for a short time, spoils the baby’s mood and brings some chaos into the life of the family, but at the same time it means that the child grows and develops in accordance with his age - and this is good,” the expert notes.
If a baby fell asleep with minimal support up to 3-4 months, but suddenly began to demand more active help from mom/dad, help, especially when it comes to naps in the afternoon (they are the most difficult for children). But at the same time, try to find a middle ground between “help more than usual” and “do all the work for the baby.”
For example, if you have never rocked to sleep before, and during a period of regression, only this method helps the baby fall asleep, you can involve him in the most difficult bedtimes, but it is important to try to offer the baby other options: put a sleepy but not sleeping baby in the crib, stroke him, support him with your presence, sing a lullaby.
After all, the regression will pass, and the child’s habit of falling asleep in a certain way (only with rocking or only on the chest) may persist, so it is important to help, but do not forget to regularly give the baby space for greater independence.
In addition, it is important to monitor the amount of time you are awake between naps. At 3-4 months it should not exceed 90 minutes. Since the baby sleeps worse and does not get enough sleep, it is important to give him the opportunity to “catch up” during the day by going to bed earlier at night. Pay a little more attention to your baby than usual, and the crisis period will make your family even stronger and your sleep more stable!
Sleep regression (3-5 months)
Many mothers are perplexed by what happens to their baby at the age of about 4 months ! The baby suddenly becomes very capricious. His sleep is significantly worsening, although it seemed to only get better after the colic went away. It’s as if the child has been replaced! The whole family is not getting enough sleep and is trying to unravel the complex puzzle of the reasons for such changes. Are the colics back? Are your teeth starting to cut? Does your tummy hurt? Is mom bad? Is dad bad? Or maybe someone has jinxed it? First of all, I want to reassure you: you are probably wonderful parents and give your baby maximum love and care! The point here is different.
Sleep begins to develop in a child even before birth. REM sleep has been observed since 6-7 months of pregnancy. After a month, the slow-wave sleep phase appears. By the end of the eighth month, both phases have already been formed in the fetus.
In the first months after birth, sleep also consists of two phases. During this period, sleep may be unorganized and last from 30 minutes to 4 hours . At the age of 3-5 months, slow-wave sleep begins to be divided into 4 phases (sometimes it is customary to conditionally combine two of them). Also, there remains rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REM sleep), which is characterized by rapid eye movement and dreams.
Now the baby's sleep becomes similar in structure to the sleep of an adult! approximately 4-6 months, biorhythms are formed with sleep cycles of 40-60 minutes (in which the phases of deep and REM sleep alternate) and a single night's sleep of 10-11 hours . The cycles alternate with each other during the night, and partial awakening occurs between the changes in sleep cycles. It is during this period that children who cannot calm down on their own ask for parental support in the form of the usual conditions for falling asleep: breast, pacifier, rocking, stroking, etc. From this time on, more or less clear 3 daytime sleeps are also subdivided.
The period of change in sleep structure is called the 4-month sleep regression . This stage is inevitable and very important in the development of a child! Sleep regression can last from several days to several weeks . Usually, it is very difficult for parents. However, it is a very grateful period for establishing sleep with a reserve for the future!
How a child learns to calm down now largely determines his sleep for several years to come.
So what to do in Sleep Regression?
Create the conditions
Since the neurological structure of sleep is changing, the baby, who recently slept to various noises, in daylight and no matter where, now, just like you and me, needs comfortable conditions! Dim the lights, reduce the noise (use white noise), the sounds around should be monotonous, the room should have a comfortable temperature and humidity.
Permanent place to sleep
Try to put your baby in his crib during all his dreams! It is possible, of course, if necessary, to spend one of the naps in a stroller/car seat. However, sleeping in motion not only creates conditions for the formation of negative associations in the form of motion sickness, but also does not provide complete rest for the baby!
Schedule
It is too early to talk about an established clear routine, however, it is important to build the correct sequence of the day, monitor the time of wakefulness and the amount of sleep, so as not to lead to overtired baby.
Before bed ritual
It's time to introduce a ritual before bed. Repeat the same steps every day when preparing your baby for bed! They calm your baby and give you a sense of predictability that babies love.
Your attention
When your baby is awake, try to give him maximum attention. Believe me, it’s just as difficult for him now as it is for you! Such drastic changes occur in his life and body and at such a breakneck speed that they can frighten him. The baby becomes more capricious not because he is trying to “punish” you, he just needs support and love. Overcome growing up together!)
Falling asleep on your own
Pay more attention and time to training your SZ skills! Watch for signs of fatigue and don't miss your window to sleep. Prepare for sleep properly, then the baby will be most relaxed and will not resist sleep. Put your baby to bed sleepy, but not asleep. Let him start his own nap. For some children this is a little easier, for others it is more difficult. However, developing the skill of falling asleep independently is an important stage in a baby’s life and the beginning of healthy, sound sleep!
The article was prepared by KiddyHelp children's sleep consultants.
