How to handle a sleep regression...
First name / there, has your usually predictable little sleeper suddenly started resisting bedtime, waking randomly in the night, or begun catnapping?
Are you wondering when their sleep will go back to normal, or whether you need to change something?
Well here’s a 7-day plan to follow before jumping to any conclusions,
Days 1 to 3, just wait it out. It might be a random sleep blip.
Even as adults we can have random nights where we just don’t sleep as well. Babies are the same! It’s really common for them to wake in the night and decide it’s a perfect time to practice a new skill. The key is to not force them back to sleep, just leave them be and give them the space to fall back to sleep when they’re ready.
Sickness and teething can also cause some temporary disruptions to sleep. So check whether they’re showing any other symptoms during awake periods as well.
Days 4 to 6, play detective. Has anything recently changed?
Has your routine slipped a little? Are they eating as well? Have you changed their sleepwear? Has anything in their environment changed? Are they getting more or less active time? Has your approach to bedtime changed?
Work out whether there’s been any recent changes and revert back for a few days to see if it fixes the problem.
Days 7 plus, sound the alarm!
If you’ve ruled out all of the above, and it’s been more than a week - then it’s likely a more permanent sleep issue and it might mean something will need to change for you to be able to get their sleep back on track.
Getting sleep back on track...
Often all that's needed is a simple tweak to their routine, they might need their nap timings adjusted or maybe they're ready to drop a nap. If you're not sure how much total day sleep or many naps your baby even needs, go grab an age-appropriate routine. This might be enough to solve your little one's random sleep regression. But if you think you're stuck in a BIG REGRESSION, and your baby is no longer self settling, or they're waking several times in the night and it's been a couple of weeks, then this is when our Complete Sleep Support Package is ideal. Read how we've helped countless other families get their sleep on track here.
