Sleep regressions are something that all new parents have to deal with. One day your baby is sleeping well, and suddenly, they start waking up in the middle of their sleep, night after night. These periods are often hectic and downright troubling for parents for multiple reasons. The most obvious being disruptions in their own sleeping patterns. Additionally, sleep is an important factor in the child’s development; therefore, parents are concerned about their child getting the optimum amount of sleep time required.
No matter when they occur, sleep regressions can be downright exhausting to deal with. However, the good news is that they will pass, and your baby will start sleeping well once again.
While this knowledge is encouraging, it does make your sleepless nights and the tiring days followed by them easier. To help you deal with the phase effectively, let us dive deeper into what sleep regression is, its types, and ways to deal with it.
What Is Sleep Regression?
Now before going into what sleep regression is, let us dive into what it isn’t. There are multiple other reasons why your baby might have sleep difficulties. Your child might have an unusual sleeping schedule if they are dealing with confusion regarding day or night. If the child is in the breastfeeding phase, your child’s sleep disturbances can be due to something they ate or due to sickness.
First, try to rule out these issues. Once they are out of the race, you can safely say that your child might be dealing with sleep regression if they were previously sticking to a sleep schedule and suddenly started having problems falling asleep.
Sleep regression is associated with developmental milestones. They generally occur when your baby’s mind is busy dealing with different changes.
Types Of Sleep Regression
Generally, babies can go through periods of sleep regression at:
- four months,
- six months,
- eight-ten months,
- one year,
- eighteen months, and
- two years.
But don’t let this long list overwhelm you. Your child is not supposed to go through all of them.
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Signs Your Child Is Going Through Sleep Regression
Now that you understand what sleep regressions are and their various types, let us look at the most common signs your child is going through the phase. These include:
- less or disturbed sleeping patterns,
- difficulty falling asleep,
- increased crankiness and fussiness, and
- Increased hunger.
Coping With Sleep Regression
Coping with sleep regression means getting yourself and your little one to get adequate sleep by helping them learn how to fall and stay asleep properly. Here are the best tips to cope with sleep regression.
1. Develop healthy sleeping habits.
Certain habits help cultivate a good sleeping schedule in toddlers. Try to develop these habits in your child. Healthy sleeping habits include:
- making the room dark at bedtime,
- keeping the room temperature cool,
- dressing up your baby according to the temperature in comfortable clothing, and
- reducing noises around the baby while they sleep.
2. Stick to a particular sleeping schedule.
Bedtime routines are a crucial part of any sleep training process. Your bedtime routine can differ from whatever you and your baby enjoy doing together. It can range from singing to them or reading books to them. Simply sticking to this schedule will help your baby cope with sleep regression.
3. Learn your baby’s sleep signs.
Having an understanding of your baby getting sleepy will help you put them to bed when they are actually tired. Simply put, these cues are your child’s way of telling you that they are tired and need to rest.
Sleeping cues can include:
- yawning,
- fussing,
- rubbing eyes,
- avoiding eye contact, etc.
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Conclusion:
Sleep regression is a period of sudden changes in your child’s sleeping habits. This can occur at different stages of growth up to two years ago. Sleep regression is a challenging time for both parents and their children. However, always know that this is a temporary hurdle in your parenting journey, and you will eventually get past it.
Parenting can take a toll on your mental health. Therapy is a great option if you feel drained and exhausted through your parenting journey. With the advent of online therapy, you can now enjoy the comforts of therapy right from your living room. To learn more about the top online therapy platforms, click here.
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