Little Love Letters

Sleep regressions are every parent’s nightmare. As soon as you think you have a solid routine or schedule, something happens and changes the rhythm of your family.

Sleep regressions are temporary periods when a baby or young child who previously slept reasonably well begins waking more often, resisting naps, or having trouble settling. Potential causes can include include:

• Developmental changes: Learning to roll, crawl, walk, talk, or develop new cognitive skills can make it harder to “switch off.” When my son started rolling he started waking more at night and traveling all over his crib. It made for less rest for me, but it was so exciting to see his development progress – even as he slept.
• Separation anxiety: Often appears around 6–18 months and can lead to increased night waking or resistance at bedtime. For my son, it was naps that suffered. As soon as he realized I wasn’t in the room anymore, he’d wake up with no uncertain intentions of not falling back asleep.
• Changing sleep needs: A child may need fewer naps, a later bedtime, or a different nap schedule as they grow.
• Growth spurts or hunger: Increased calorie needs can temporarily disrupt sleep, especially in younger infants. I always fed my son when he’d wake and it seemed to help put him back to sleep easier.
• Teething: Gum discomfort may make settling and staying asleep harder. Speak with a healthcare provider about options for pain relief on hard days. My go-to was brewing chamomile tea and putting the cooled tea in silicone molds to freeze. Then I’d hand him his fruit strainer with the frozen tea and it eased his discomfort before bed – this is of course not medical advice, just something that worked for him.
• Illness or discomfort: Colds, ear infections, reflux, eczema, constipation, or fever can affect sleep. A virus threw my son’s routine off by hours. I found it helped to gradually ease my infant back into his bedtime in 15 minute increments each day.
• Changes in routine: Travel, daycare, moving, visitors, holidays, or inconsistent nap and bedtime timing. If there’s a small time difference where you’re going and you’ll be returning soon, I found keeping my baby’s routine around the same time in our home timezone worked well.
• Overtiredness: Missing naps or staying awake too long can increase fussiness and nightwaking rather than improving sleep. It sounds contradictory, but overtiredness can easily throw a wrench into bedtime.
• Environmental changes: Noise, light, temperature, a new room, or transitioning from a crib can interfere with sleep. I like having blackout curtains in the room, keeping it at 70-72 degrees and always keeping him in his safe sleep space for a consistent environment.
• Sleep associations: A child may wake between sleep cycles and need the same help they had at bedtime—feeding, rocking, or being held—to fall back asleep. For my son, it was feeding him again and sometimes singing his bedtime lullaby.
• Stress or emotional changes: Family changes, starting childcare, or other disruptions can temporarily affect sleep.

Regressions can (annoyingly) last a few days to several weeks. Keeping a predictable routine, offering age-appropriate naps, and checking for illness or discomfort can help. As always, reach out to a pediatrician if sleep disruption is severe or prolonged, or if it comes with breathing pauses, loud persistent snoring, poor feeding, fever, unusual lethargy, significant pain, or poor growth.

Common infant sleep-regression periods are around:

• 3–4 months: Sleep cycles mature, so babies may wake more fully between cycles. This is often the most noticeable regression. This can throw parents for a loop. It threw me off. I didn’t know much about sleep regressions until my son was 4 months old. Major lightbulb moment, but that knowledge only helps so much. I needed solutions. Read below for those.
• 5–6 months: Rolling, increased alertness, changing nap needs, and sometimes starting solids can disrupt sleep. The increased alertness was so fun but also mildly exhausting. Your little muffin isn’t a newborn anymore. 
• 8–10 months: Crawling, pulling up, separation anxiety, and practicing new skills may cause frequent waking. Your baby may even practice crawling in their sleep like mine.
• 12 months: Walking, standing, separation anxiety, and a possible nap transition can affect sleep. The different nap needs can contribute to overtiredness or under tiredness making bedtime more difficult.
• 15–18 months: Toddler independence, language development, teething, and moving from two naps to one may cause disruption.

These timeframes are approximate—not every baby experiences each one, and some babies have sleep changes outside these periods. Illness, teething, hunger, travel, and schedule changes can cause similar disruptions at any age.

No solution prevents every regression, but these approaches have the best evidence for improving infant sleep:

• Keep a consistent routine: Use the same short sequence each night—bath, diaper, pajamas, book, song, feed, bed. Keep wake time and naps reasonably consistent.
• Use an age-appropriate schedule: Avoid both under tiredness and overtiredness. Watch for sleepy cues such as staring, yawning, reduced activity, or fussiness.
• Give the baby a minute to try and settle themself during brief waking moments. Not every stir needs reassurance, but if your baby is upset, not able to settle themself or are really agitated, you can settle them with snuggles or a feed for comfort.
• Respond consistently: After ensuring the baby is safe and comfortable, use a predictable approach—brief reassurance, gentle patting, or gradually increasing check-in intervals.
• Offer appropriate feeds: Young infants may still need night feeds. Don’t reduce or eliminate feeds without guidance from a pediatrician, especially if the baby is under 6 months, not gaining weight well, or was premature. I continued feeding my son at night until he was 9 months old if he needed it. Nobody wants to sleep hungry.
• Optimize the sleep environment: Keep the room dark, comfortably cool, and quiet; use steady white noise at a safe low volume placed away from the crib.
• Maintain safe sleep: Place baby on their backon a firm, flat surface with only a fitted sheet—no pillows, blankets, bumpers, or toys. Room-share without bed-sharing when possible.
• Check for discomfort: Address illness, reflux symptoms, eczema, constipation, or teething pain with medical guidance. Avoid putting cereal in bottles or using sleep medications.

For babies under about 3–4 months, focus mainly on responsive care, safe sleep, and gradually establishing routines. Seek medical advice for breathing pauses, persistent loud snoring, poor feeding or weight gain, fever, or inconsolable pain.

My son continued waking at night to eat until around 9 months old. But I know I don’t get much sleep when I’m starving, so I fed him and then we get more rest.

Not all babies are the same. Don’t compare your sleep journey to someone else’s in a way that makes you feel like you’re doing something wrong. 

Every baby is different and every parent is different. As always, what works for you and your family.

Is there anything that helped your baby through sleep regressions? Share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe for more parenting solutions!