The 4 month sleep regression


Right now, as I write this, my baby is asleep on me—finally. I’m afraid to move because I know the second I shift or breathe too loudly, it’ll be over. Again.

We’re smack in the middle of the 4-month sleep regression, and let me tell you: I was not prepared. I’d heard people mention it before—“Oh, wait until four months…”—but I brushed it off, thinking maybe we’d get lucky. Maybe it wouldn’t hit that hard.

It did. And to make it better he has started teething early... And yeah I know your probably say " no your just mistaking the fussiness for teething" nope I am not, there is a tooth that has already broken through!!!


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Nights Feel Endless

It started with a few extra wake-ups at night. Then it snowballed. Some nights, he’s up every 45 minutes. I feel terrible but it seems sometimes I just have to let him cry himself back to sleep if I know it's not time for a bottle.

And naps? What are those? Twenty-minute catnaps at best. If I get him down for more than 30 minutes, it feels like I’ve won the lottery.


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By the time my husband gets home from work all we do is argue, he feels like I'm not giving him attention but what he doesn't realize is I'm running on little sleep, I've been spit up on multiple times a day, I can't use the bathroom without the baby screaming....I just need five minutes to decompress.

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I Know This Is Normal... But That Doesn’t Make It Easier

I’ve read enough to know this is a thing. His sleep cycles are changing, his brain is developing, he's learning how to connect sleep cycles. That’s amazing, right?

Except it doesn’t feel amazing when I’m on day five of barely sleeping and my patience is shot and I snap at my partner for chewing too loud.

It’s hard to remember that this is a sign of growth when it feels like I’m unraveling.


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What I'm Doing to Cope (Barely)

This isn’t a list of expert advice—it’s just what’s helping me hold it together:

1. Letting go of the “right” way to do things
Sometimes he sleeps in her crib. Sometimes on me (most the time during the day.) Sometimes in the car. I’ve decided that any sleep is good sleep right now.


2. Trying to stick to a routine, even if it’s messy
We do a bath, pajamas, feeding, lullabies. It doesn’t always work, but the predictability is grounding—for both of us.


3. White noise + blackout curtains = small wins
Anything that makes the room feel sleepier seems to help. Or maybe it just makes me feel more in control.




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Honestly there's no fix all salutation find what works for you. Sometimes I just put him in the car turn the radio up and drive till he falls asleep. And it's ok to sit in the car and scroll through tick Tok and take 5 minutes to breathe while the baby sleeps ( it will probably only last 10 minutes but at least its something)


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If You’re in This Too…

Mama, I see you.

If you’re holding your baby and scrolling your phone with one hand, wondering how long this phase lasts—same. If you're crying in the bathroom because you feel touched out and drained and defeated—same.

I don’t have a perfect solution. I’m still in it. But I know we’ll get through it.

Everyone says, “It’s just a phase.” And I do believe that. But that doesn’t mean it’s not hard as hell while you’re in it.


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Here’s What I’m Holding Onto

My baby is learning, changing, growing—even if I can’t see it in the moment.

I’m doing my best. That’s enough.

This isn’t forever. It just feels like it at 2:13 AM.



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Philippians 4:13 NIV
[13] I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

If you’re walking this road too, know you’re not alone. I’m here, right in the thick of it with you. And one day, we’ll sleep again.

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